The Lens FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

New Orleans, LA501(c)(3)Since 2010EducationEIN 27-2072772Revenue $692K in FY2023

On file with the IRSthelensnola.orgPo Box 13242, 70185-3242 · New Orleans, LATax-exempt since Dec 2012Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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To educate,engage and empower the residents of the city of new orleans and the gulf coast by providing information and analysis necessary to advocate for more accountable and just governance.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
71¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$277K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $13K a year · 2% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
71%
of spending
Fine: 71% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$277K
to officers and key staff · 53% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 53% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
11
named funders · $310K
Looks good: 11 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$0
0% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 5 voting members
Looks good: 5 of 5 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$692K
+58% vs prior year
Spent
$520K
To programs
71%
Net assets
$227K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$692K
FY2023▲ +58%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$418K
FY2021$444K
FY2022$438K
FY2023$692K
FY2024$651K
FY2025$561K
Expenses
$520K
FY2023▲ +14%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$431K
FY2021$435K
FY2022$456K
FY2023$520K
FY2024$641K
FY2025$641K
Net assets
$227K
FY2023▲ +316%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$64K
FY2021$73K
FY2022$55K
FY2023$227K
FY2024$237K
FY2025$157K

From the FY2023 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2012.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

71 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 71% · $371K Management & general 2% · $12K Fundraising 26% · $137K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

9 people listed on the 990; $277K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Managing Editor
$75,000Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$72,204Pt VII · Sec A
Founder/Director
$68,426Pt VII · Sec A
Deputy Editor/Reporter
$61,700Pt VII · Sec A
Chair/Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer/Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director/Co-Founder
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Anne M Mueller’s $87K as Chief Operating Officer is at the 76th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $100K–1M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 5 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Anne M Mueller$87,045$75,815$72,204$69,769$68,493$68,965
Katy Rechdahl—$75,000$75,000———
Karen Gadbois$73,500$73,500$68,426$66,118$64,909$65,167
Marta Jewson—$64,785$61,700$55,560——
Charles Maldonado———$47,622$60,660$60,902

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Empowering residents with information to advocate for accountable and just governance.

Questions for The Lens

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $371K · in their own filed words · FY2023
01

The lens spent $371,387 on providing hundreds of unique, public-interest journalism articles that educate the citizens of new orleans on matters of interest in the areas of criminal justice, land use, schools, government and politics and the environment.

$371Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 11 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$692K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$666K
Other incomeLn 4–11$22K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4K
Money outPt IX
$520K
Ln 25
Programscol B$371K
Managementcol C$12K
Fundraisingcol D$137K
Owns and owesPt X
$227K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$224K
Total assetsLn 16$227K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A4
Voting boardVI 1a5
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$666K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$4K
Other incomeLn 4–11$22K
Total revenueLn 12$692K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$224K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$224K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$600
Total assetsLn 16$227K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
Net assetsLn 32$227K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 511
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$72K$224K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0$0
Total assetsLn 16$72K$227K
LiabilitiesLn 26$17K$0
Net assetsLn 32$55K$227K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$376K$260K$2K$114K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$360$360
Other employee benefitsLn 9$12K$12K
Payroll taxesLn 10$29K$20K$2K$7K
Legal feesLn 11b$4K$4K
Accounting feesLn 11c$4K$4K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$13K$13K
Office expensesLn 13$3K$2K$293$613
Information technologyLn 14$4K$2K$583$972
OccupancyLn 16$6K$3K$825$1K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$10K$6K$1K$2K
InsuranceLn 23$1K$1K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$60K$49K$986$10K
Total functional expensesLn 25$520K$371K$12K$137K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $561K$641K−$80K$157K 990 PDF
FY2024 $651K$641K$10K$237K 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $692K$520K$172K$227K 990 PDF
FY2022 $438K$456K−$18K$55K 990 PDF
FY2021 $444K$435K$9K$73K 990 PDF
FY2020 $418K$431K−$13K$64K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $692,338 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $436,103$666,044
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $2,200$4,275
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $0$22,019
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $438,303$692,338
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $370,123$416,909
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $86,367$103,189
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $456,490$520,098
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$18,187$172,240
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body5
VI-1b Independent voting members5
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $692,338 across 6 lines filed
VIII-1b Membership dues$81,183
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$584,861
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$666,044
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $4,275$4,275
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $22,019$22,019
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $26,294 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$692,338
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $520,098 across 13 lines filed
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $259,554 · Management $2,257 · Fundraising $114,354$376,165
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $360$360
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $11,521$11,521
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $19,915 · Management $1,732 · Fundraising $7,216$28,863
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $3,522$3,522
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $3,878$3,878
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $12,610$12,610
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,760 · Management $293 · Fundraising $613$2,666
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $2,333 · Management $583 · Fundraising $972$3,888
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,300 · Management $825 · Fundraising $1,375$5,500
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $5,729 · Management $1,428 · Fundraising $2,381$9,538
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,186$1,186
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $49,241 · Management $986 · Fundraising $10,174$60,401
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $371,387 · Management $11,626 · Fundraising $137,085$520,098
Part X · Balance sheet $226,819 assets, 10 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $71,767$224,019
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$2,200
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $0$0
X-15 Other assets$600
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $71,767$226,819
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $17,188$0
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $54,579$168,534
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictions$58,285
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $54,579$226,819
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $71,767$226,819
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $226,819 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$692,338
XI-2 Total expenses$520,098
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$172,240
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$54,579
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$226,819

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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