CIVIC News Company

“There is no such committee.”

“The form 990 was prepared by an outside cpa firm. The draft form 990 is reviewed by internal management. Upon completion of their review the 990 will be circulated to chalkbeat's board members and will be revised for any changes recommended by them before filing with the irs.”

“The organization was operating under the fiscal sponsorship of colorado nonprofit development center (cndc), and thus it followed cndc's conflict of interest policy. In fy 16, the organization adopted, approved, and follows its own conflict of interest policy.”

“The organization makes its forms 990/990-ez, governing documents and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“When the original return form 990-ez was filed the financial information had not been audited. Since filing the original return, there has been a complete audit performed. Thus, some financial information for the organization has changed causing the organization to file form 990, instead of form 990-ez. Form 990, part iii, line 4a: updated the description for program services accomplishments. Form 990, schedule a, part ii, section a, column (e): updated the revenue information for 2014.”

“Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering educational change efforts and changing the education landscape in the communities where we work. Our mission is to provide deep, local coverage of education policy and practice to inform the decisions and actions that lead to better outcomes for children and families, especially those in the low-income communities where improvement can have the largest impact.”

“Through unbiased reporting, our reporters help the public examine how schools are truly operating, scrutinize key policy and legislative developments that would otherwise happen behind closed doors, and gain access to important data and context that would not otherwise be made transparent. By building our local communities' understanding of the complex developments, innovations, and challenges that affect student outcomes, we can improve their ability to serve students better - whether through their work as practitioners, policymakers, and lawmakers, or through their democratic participation as parents, students, and voters. The following is a description of the specific activities that chalkbeat undertakes: 1. Reporting, writing, editing, and publishing original news content related to education, with a focus on the communities where chalkbeat bureaus exist. The vast majority of original news content is produced by full-time employees of the organization. The activity is conducted on a daily basis in new york city, the denver metropolitan area, indianapolis, and memphis and will also be conducted in future chalkbeat expansion sites. Producing the content furthers chalkbeat's mission, which is to provide deep local coverage of education policy and practice, to inform decisions and actions that lead to better outcomes for children. The majority of chalkbeat's editorial staff time is dedicated to this activity. It is funded through donations from philanthropic foundations, sponsors, and individuals. 2. Reaching and engaging a broad audience of readers through strategic distribution of content and community outreach. Chalkbeat editorial staff oversees the distribution of content to decision-makers and the general public at no cost. Through social media, web publications, email newsletters, distribution partnerships and public appearances, chalkbeat ensures that its content reaches as deep and broad an audience as possible. Chalkbeat also hosts and participates in events to create opportunities for readers to directly interact with our content, our editorial staff, and each other. To further expand and deepen the conversation about education, chalkbeat includes a first person section, featuring op-ed pieces and commentaries from a diverse assortment of individuals representing a variety of positions on issues. These activities further chalkbeat's exempt purposes by educating a broad cross-section of the public on pressing issues in public education. The work is funded through donations from philanthropic foundations, sponsors, and individuals. 3. Development, maintenance, updating and upgrading of chalkbeat's news website (including related products like mobile platforms and databases), which is an integral part of chalkbeat's content delivery. To ensure that chalkbeat websites are user-friendly, employ the latest innovations in content delivery and impact measurement, and attract and retain readers, staff must work constantly on maintaining and upgrading them. Keeping the website running smoothly ensures that content is readily available to users on a variety of platforms (mobile phones, tablets, pcs) and is presented compellingly. This activity is funded through donations from philanthropic foundations, sponsors and individuals.”