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LEXINGTON OBSERVER INC

EIN 87-4640985 LEXINGTON, MA

Revenue 2024
$4,040,925
Expenses 2024
$4,979,798

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

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
A33
Classification
1000
Street
162 MARRETT RD

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

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.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • 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. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2024
    Revenue
    $4,040,925
    Expenses
    $4,979,798
    Contributions
    $4,028,034
    Grants paid
    $812,000
  • 2023
    Revenue
    $1,737,014
    Expenses
    $640,394
    Contributions
    $1,737,013
    Grants paid
    $150,000

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Form 990-N e-Postcard, tax year 2022

Tax period
1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022
Principal officer
NICHOLAS MELE
Mailing address
PO BOX 343LEXINGTON MA 02420
Website
WWW.LEXOBSERVER.ORG

As filed, from the IRS e-Postcard file of 26 October 2026. The IRS publishes only each organization's most recent postcard, so earlier years are not shown. A 990-N carries no financial detail. The postcard also gives the principal officer's address, which is not shown here.

Grants made

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Where these grants went next →

Grants received

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 13 October 2026 and read 26 October 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2024, the newest we have parsed for this organization.