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Nonprofiteer
← LEXINGTON OBSERVER INC

Form 990 for tax year 2024

Filed by LEXINGTON OBSERVER INC.

Totals

Total revenue
$4,040,925
Total expenses
$4,979,798
Contributions and grants received
$4,028,034
Grants paid
$812,000
Program service revenue
$0
Investment income
$12,891
Other revenue
$0
Total assets, end of year
$175,806
Total liabilities, end of year
$11,382
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$164,424
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$4,937,976
Management and general expenses
$41,822
Fundraising expenses
$0
Program service expenses (Part III)
$4,937,976

Program services were 99.2% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Revenue

Part VIII, the statement of revenue.

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $4,028,034

  • 3 · Investment income

    total $12,891 · excluded $12,891

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments

    total $812,000 · program services $812,000

  • 5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees

    total $344,314 · program services $332,314 · management and general $12,000

  • 7 · Other salaries and wages

    total $37,244 · program services $33,520 · management and general $3,724

  • 10 · Payroll taxes

    total $13,741 · program services $12,367 · management and general $1,374

  • 11c · Fees: accounting

    total $16,375 · management and general $16,375

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $3,683,485 · program services $3,683,485

  • 12 · Advertising and promotion

    total $13,241 · program services $13,241

  • 13 · Office expenses

    total $12,559 · program services $10,902 · management and general $1,657

  • 14 · Information technology

    total $34,253 · program services $34,253

  • 16 · Occupancy

    total $2,992 · program services $2,693 · management and general $299

  • 17 · Travel

    total $1,415 · program services $1,415

  • 19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings

    total $1,343 · program services $1,343

  • 23 · Insurance

    total $4,541 · management and general $4,541

  • 24a · Other expenses: BANK FEES

    total $1,852 · management and general $1,852

  • 24b · Other expenses: MEALS

    total $443 · program services $443

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $742,953 · end of year $109,314

  • 2 · Savings and temporary cash investments

    end of year $36,076

  • 3 · Pledges and grants receivable

    beginning of year $400,000 · end of year $30,416

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $39,656 · end of year $11,382

  • 27 · Net assets without donor restrictions

    beginning of year $1,103,297 · end of year $164,424

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

THE LEXINGTON OBSERVER IS A HYPERLOCAL, DIGITAL-FIRST, NONPROFIT NEWS SITE COVERING ISSUES THAT MATTER MOST TO PEOPLE IN LEXINGTON, INCLUDING LOCAL GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE. THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION IS TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING AND PARTICIPATION IN LEXINGTON MASSACHUSETTS THROUGH LOCAL, COMMUNITY JOURNALISM.

  • LEXINGTON OBSERVER: STARTED BY LEXINGTON RESIDENTS IN 2021, THE LEXINGTON OBSERVER IS A NONPROFIT DIGITAL NEWSROOM DEVOTED TO REPORTING ON ISSUES THAT MATTER MOST TO PEOPLE IN OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING EDUCATION, CULTURE, HOUSING, ECONOMY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.

    Expenses $326,847 · Grants $50,000

  • LOCAL NEWS HUB: THE LOCAL NEWS HUB'S (LNH) MISSION IS TO SUPPORT THE ESSENTIAL WORK OF LOCAL AND INDEPENDENT NEWS ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY BY PROVIDING CONSULTATIONS AND ADVICE, DISTRIBUTING GRANTS, AND ACTING AS A FISCAL SPONSOR. THROUGH FISCAL SPONSORSHIP AND RE-GRANTING EFFORTS, LNH HAS DISTRIBUTED FUNDS TO NONPROFIT NEWSROOMS IN ARIZONA, COLORADO, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, NEVADA, NEW MEXICO, OREGON, OHIO, TEXAS, WISCONSIN THROUGH AN INVITATION-ONLY GRANT-MAKING PROCESS.

    Expenses $4,611,129 · Grants $762,000

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

  • Nicholas Mele

    CHAIR

    Total calculated
    $224,314
    From this org
    $224,314
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    5

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $224,314
    Bonus
    not reported
    Other
    not reported
    Deferred
    not reported
    Nontaxable benefits
    not reported
    Filer's total
    $224,314

  • Cameron Hickey

    SECRETARY

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2.5

  • Nagarjuna Venna

    TREASURER

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5

  • Craig Sandler

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5

  • Elizabeth Hansen

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Answered yes

  • 3 · Approval by the board or compensation committee

Answered no

  • 4a · Severance or change-of-control payment
  • 4b · Supplemental nonqualified retirement plan
  • 4c · Equity-based compensation arrangement
  • 5a · Pay contingent on this organization's revenues
  • 5b · Pay contingent on a related organization's revenues
  • 6a · Pay contingent on this organization's net earnings
  • 6b · Pay contingent on a related organization's net earnings
  • 7 · Other non-fixed payments
  • 8 · Paid under the initial-contract exception

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2024
Filed
17 November 2025
IRS schema version
2024v5.0
Source object
202543219349317439

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