Community News Foundation

Harrisonville, MO · EIN 83-3525020 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for calendar year 2024 (tax year 2024) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Community News Foundation reported $10.1 million in revenue and $9.9 million in expenses for calendar year 2024. Of every $100 it spent, $99.35 went to program services, $0.64 to management and general costs and $0.01 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 100.0% of the total. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $30,000 (PAST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR). Revenue rose 2374% between 2019 and 2024. Source: Form 990, 2024.

Where $100 of spending went

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $9.9M

Program services$99.35 $9.8M
Management & general$0.64 $63,781
Fundraising$0.01 $474

For context, the median across 185 covered public & societal benefit charities: $88.81 programs, $11.18 management, $0.01 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

Calendar year 2024 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $10M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$100.00 $10M

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

2024 filing. Median across 185 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	2024	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	99.4%	84.9%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	0.6%	10.7%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	0.0%	0.0%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.00	$0.01
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	100.0%	83.8%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	0.0%	0.0%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	0.0%	3.2%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$30,000	$357,133
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	0.30%	1.52%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	Not reported	12
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	0.6	10.5
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	4 of 4	100.0%

A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.

What the money paid for, in its own words

2024 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$9.8M expenses · 100.0% of program spending

Provided content underwriting support for news reporting on more than 1,000 online news sites that are focused on Community News. Published more than 100,000 articles per month relating to local issues, including data from government databases and industry sources, interviews with citizens, and in-depth reporting. Articles were viewed by more than 1 million readers

Highest reported compensation

2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here

Role	From this org	From related orgs	Other	Total
PAST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Officer, former, 3.00 hrs/week	$30,000	$0	$0	$30,000
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Director/trustee, officer, 10.00 hrs/week	$4,000	$0	$0	$4,000

6 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
2024 ⓘ	$10M	$9.9M	99.4%	$494K	$30,000
2023 ⓘ	$6.0M	$6.0M	99.5%	$307K	$30,000
2022 ⓘ	$3.6M	$3.6M	99.5%	$309K	$30,000
2021 ⓘ	$1.8M	$1.5M	95.5%	$334K	—
2020 ⓘ	$2.7M	$2.8M	99.7%	$23,815	—
2019 ⓘ	$408K	$283K	93.5%	$124K	—

Governance answers, as filed

2024 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means

Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b4 · 4 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13No
Document retention policy Part VI 14No
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aNo
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2No
Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26No
Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4No
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18No
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bNo
Employees Part I, line 50

Largest outside contractors

2024 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only

PIPELINE ADVISORS LLC
Publishing&distribution

$840,000

Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 3 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from Community News Foundation's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Community News Foundation, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

Report a correction Respond as Community News Foundation How this works

Similar-sized charities in this cause

Community Transit of Delaware County
Eddystone, PA · revenue $10M · programs 77.3% · FY2025
Corrie Ten Boom Fellowship
Colleyville, TX · revenue $10M · programs 92.1% · 2024
The Ohio Organizing Collaborative
Youngstown, OH · revenue $10M · programs 92.2% · 2024
America's Vetdogs the Veterans K-9 Corps
Smithtown, NY · revenue $10M · programs 80.2% · FY2025
Southeast Missouri Transportation Services
Fredericktown, MO · revenue $9.4M · programs 86.4% · FY2025

All public & societal benefit charities · Largest charities in Missouri

Questions people ask

How much of Community News Foundation's spending goes to programs?

In calendar year 2024, Community News Foundation reported that 99.4% of its $9.9 million in expenses went to program services, 0.6% to management and general and 0.0% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Community News Foundation pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Community News Foundation reported for one person in calendar year 2024 was $30,000, for the role of PAST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Community News Foundation get its money?

Of $10.1 million in revenue in calendar year 2024, 100.0% came from contributions and grants and 0.0% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Community News Foundation a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 83-3525020 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.

Sources

2024: Form 990 for calendar year 2024, object 202533219349303608 · read the filing · XML
2023: Form 990 for calendar year 2023, object 202433199349302248 · read the filing
2022: Form 990 for calendar year 2022, object 202323199349325772 · read the filing
2021: Form 990 for calendar year 2021, object 202202129349300050 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202123189349300422 · read the filing
2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202023219349316732 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 83-3525020: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.