Spotlight PA EIN 92-0577182 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Spotlight PA FY2022 filing

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Investigative journalism holds powerful forces accountable, strengthening democracy and communities. For fiscal year 2022 it reported $659K in revenue, $482K in expenses, and $177K in net assets.Pt I

Founded
2022
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Education
Location
Harrisburg, PA
Website
www.spotlightpa.org
Filings
3 on file (2022–2022)
Revenue
$659KFY2022
Expenses
$482K
Net assets
$177K
People
3
Filings
3
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  92-0577182 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Harrisburg, PA Founded 2022
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2022 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 8/19/26 · see original: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Investigative journalism holds powerful forces accountable, strengthening democracy and communities.
Leadership
David Boardman · Chair
Money in and out
$659K revenue, $482K expenses
Bottom line
73% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2022
Total revenue
$659K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$482K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$177K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $177K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.11 Fundraising $0.16
Program efficiency
73%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
1.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+27%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2022 · Form 990
Revenue
$659K
FY2022
Expenses
$482K
FY2022
Total assets
$184K
FY2022
Total liabilities
$6K
FY2022
Total revenue
$659K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$482K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$177K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$177K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$184K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B73%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 33
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 43

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CSpotlight PA
EINHdr · item D92-0577182
Principal addressHdr · item CHarrisburg, PA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.spotlightpa.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2022
State of legal domicileHdr · item MPA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B03)
Ruling yearIRS BMFNov 2022

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a3
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b3
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President & Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Christopher Baxter’s $217K as CEO & President is at the 86th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $1–10M 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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023
Christopher Baxter$217,499$189,825
Matthew Dempsey$130,137$119,028
Carlana Johnson$119,364
Sarah Anne Hughes$119,199
Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein$113,418$107,689
Michelle Mertz$102,448

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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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $352K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2022.
01

Spotlight pa is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to high-quality investigative and public-service journalism about the pennsylvania state government and urgent statewide issues, including elections, voting, the governor, the legislature, rural communities, criminal justice, economic development, health, human services, and…

$352Kprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants100%$659K
Total revenueLn 12$659K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.73 Management & general $0.11 Fundraising $0.16
Program services73%$352K
Management & general11%$51K
Fundraising16%$79K
Total functional expensesLn 25$482K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$49K
Total assetsLn 16$184K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$6K
Total net assetsLn 32$177K
Months of cash on handcomputed1.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2022 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $49K · Operating expenses/yr $482K
1.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $352K · Total expenses $482K
73%
Management & General
Management & general $51K · Total expenses $482K
11%
Fundraising
Fundraising $79K · Total expenses $482K
16%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $79K · Solicited contributions $659K
$0.12 to raise $1
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $659K · Total revenue $659K
100%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $659K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $659K
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $659K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $482K
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $659K · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $177K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $659K · Expenses $482K
+27%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $184K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $177K · Total assets $184K
96%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $184K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual David Boardman · Reported title CHAIR · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $482K
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $338K · Total expenses $482K
70%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 73%
Overhead ratio 11%
Fundraising cost ratio 12%
Legal fee ratio 2%
Accounting fee ratio 0.3%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$250

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$6.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$7.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$659K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2022IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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