Baltimore Beat INC

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Our mission is to honor the tradition of the black press and the spirit of alt-weekly journalism with reporting that focuses on community, questions power structures, and prioritizes thoughtful engagement with our readers.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
84¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 3 volunteers and 2 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 4
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $119K a year · 18% of revenue · last 4 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 4 of the last 4 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 4 filings
Spent on programs
84%
of spending
Looks good: 84% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$105K
to officers and key staff · 13% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 13% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 7.0 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
6
named funders · $408K
Looks good: 6 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$25K
5% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 5% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
3
of 3 voting members
Looks good: 3 of 3 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$833K
+22% vs prior year
Spent
$829K
To programs
84%
Net assets
$476K
By yearFY2021–FY2024
Revenue
$833K
FY2024▲ +22%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2021$400K
FY2022$729K
FY2023$684K
FY2024$833K
Expenses
$829K
FY2024▲ +38%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2021$176K
FY2022$566K
FY2023$600K
FY2024$829K
Net assets
$476K
FY2024▲ +0.9%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2021$224K
FY2022$388K
FY2023$472K
FY2024$476K

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Feb 2022.

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

Where the money goes

84 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 84% · $694K Management & general 10% · $82K Fundraising 6% · $53K

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

4 people listed on the 990; $105K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$104,594Pt VII · Sec A
Board Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Lisa Snowden McCray’s $105K as President is at the 90th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2216 $100K–1M arts & culture 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Lisa Snowden McCray$104,594$95,000$93,462$11,539
Brandon Soderberg———$11,538

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.

See Baltimore Beat INC executive salaries →

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

Championing community-focused journalism that questions power and engages readers.

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1 program · $694K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Local news coverage and investigative journalism baltimore beat provides critical local news coverage with a focus on underserved and underreported communities in baltimore. Through investigative journalism, the organization highlights key issues such as police reform, housing, civil rights, and the allocation of city resources.

$694Kprogram 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
Ford FoundationFY2024$150K
Total grants receivedfrom 6 funders$408K
See all 6 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$833K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$815K
Investment incomeLn 3$17K
Money outPt IX
$829K
Ln 25
Programscol B$694K
Managementcol C$82K
Fundraisingcol D$53K
Owns and owesPt X
$476K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$481K
Total assetsLn 16$500K
LiabilitiesLn 26$25K
PeoplePt VI, VII
4
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a3
IndependentVI 1b3
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$815K
Investment incomeLn 3$17K
Total revenueLn 12$833K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$481K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$481K
Other assetsLn 15$5K
Total assetsLn 16$500K
LiabilitiesLn 26$25K
Net assetsLn 32$476K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 52
VolunteersI 63
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 FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$454K$481K
Total assetsLn 16$474K$500K
LiabilitiesLn 26$2K$25K
Net assetsLn 32$472K$476K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$106K$90K$11K$5K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$135K$115K$13K$7K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$4K$3K$355$178
Other employee benefitsLn 9$99K$85K$10K$5K
Payroll taxesLn 10$18K$16K$2K$920
Management feesLn 11a$130K$110K$13K$6K
Accounting feesLn 11c$38K$32K$4K$2K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$134K$104K$12K$18K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$18K$15K$2K$911
Office expensesLn 13$77K$66K$8K$4K
Information technologyLn 14$24K$20K$2K$1K
OccupancyLn 16$4K$3K$374$187
TravelLn 17$38K$32K$4K$2K
InsuranceLn 23$4K$4K$418$209
Total functional expensesLn 25$829K$694K$82K$53K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 10, 2025 $833K$829K$4K$476K 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Oct 29, 2024 $684K$600K$84K$472K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 2, 2023 $729K$566K$164K$388K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2022 $400K$176K$224K$224K 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $832,886 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $675,104$815,481
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,974$17,405
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $6,500$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $683,578$832,886
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $223,534$361,834
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $376,249$467,038
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $599,783$828,872
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $83,795$4,014
Part VI · Governance 3 of 3 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body3
VI-1b Independent voting members3
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 $832,886 across 4 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$815,481
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$815,481
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $17,405$17,405
VIII-12 Total revenueExcluded from tax $17,405$832,886
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $828,872 across 14 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $89,814 · Management $10,566 · Fundraising $5,283$105,663
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $114,553 · Management $13,478 · Fundraising $6,739$134,770
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $3,018 · Management $355 · Fundraising $178$3,551
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $84,533 · Management $9,945 · Fundraising $4,972$99,450
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $15,640 · Management $1,840 · Fundraising $920$18,400
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $110,192 · Management $12,964 · Fundraising $6,482$129,638
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $32,346 · Management $3,805 · Fundraising $1,903$38,054
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $104,124 · Management $12,250 · Fundraising $18,124$134,498
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $15,485 · Management $1,822 · Fundraising $911$18,218
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $65,573 · Management $7,715 · Fundraising $3,858$77,146
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $20,193 · Management $2,376 · Fundraising $1,188$23,757
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,182 · Management $374 · Fundraising $187$3,743
IX-17 TravelPrograms $32,138 · Management $3,781 · Fundraising $1,890$37,809
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $3,548 · Management $418 · Fundraising $209$4,175
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $694,339 · Management $81,689 · Fundraising $52,844$828,872
Part X · Balance sheet $500,331 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $454,049$480,826
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $19,634$14,505
X-15 Other assets$5,000
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $473,683$500,331
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,984$24,618
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,984$24,618
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $471,699$475,713
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $471,699$475,713
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $473,683$500,331
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $475,713 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$832,886
XI-2 Total expenses$828,872
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$4,014
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$471,699
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$475,713

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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