CIVIC NEWS COMPANY

THROUGH UNBIASED REPORTING, OUR REPORTERS HELP THE PUBLIC EXAMINE HOW THE CIVIC INSTITUTIONS OF SCHOOLS AND ELECTIONS ARE OPERATING, SCRUTINIZE KEY POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE HAPPEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, AND GAIN ACCESS TO IMPORTANT DATA AND CONTEXT THAT WOULD NOT OTHERWISE BE MADE TRANSPARENT. BY BUILDING OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES' UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEX DEVELOPMENTS, INNOVATIONS, AND CHALLENGES THAT AFFECT STUDENT OUTCOMES, WE CAN IMPROVE THEIR ABILITY TO SERVE STUDENTS BETTER - WHETHER THROUGH THEIR WORK AS PRACTITIONERS, POLICYMAKERS, AND LAWMAKERS, OR THROUGH THEIR DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION AS PARENTS, STUDENTS, AND VOTERS. BY BUILDING OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES' UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANICS OF VOTING AND ELECTIONS, WE CAN HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND OUR SYSTEM OF DEMOCRACY SO THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN STRENGTHENING IT. THE FOLLOWING IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES THAT THE ORGANIZATION UNDERTAKES IN ITS EDUCATION REPORTING PROGRAM:REPORTING, WRITING, EDITING, AND PUBLISHING ORIGINAL NEWS CONTENT RELATED TO EDUCATION, WITH A FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITIES WHERE THE ORGANIZATION HAS BUREAUS: THE VAST MAJORITY OF ORIGINAL NEWS CONTENT IS PRODUCED BY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES OF THE ORGANIZATION. THE ACTIVITY IS CONDUCTED ON A DAILY BASIS IN OUR BUREAUS IN NEW YORK, COLORADO, INDIANA, TENNESSEE, DETROIT, CHICAGO, NEWARK AND PHILADELPHIA. ADDITIONALLY, THE ORGANIZATION DOES NATIONAL EDUCATION COVERAGE, WHICH KNITS TOGETHER REPORTING FROM LOCAL BUREAUS AND SITUATES IT WITHIN THE BROADER NATIONAL CONTEXT. THE MAJORITY OF THE ORGANIZATION'S EDITORIAL STAFF TIME IS DEDICATED TO THIS ACTIVITY.TO FURTHER EXPAND AND DEEPEN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT EDUCATION, THE ORGANIZATION'S WEBSITE INCLUDES A "FIRST PERSON" SECTION, FEATURING OP-ED PIECES AND COMMENTARIES FROM A DIVERSE ASSORTMENT OF INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTING A VARIETY OF OPINIONS. THESE ACTIVITIES FURTHER THE ORGANIZATION'S EXEMPT PURPOSES BY EDUCATING A BROAD CROSS-SECTION OF THE PUBLIC ON PRESSING ISSUES IN PUBLIC EDUCATION.IN FISCAL YEAR 2024, CHALKBEAT'S WEBSITE PUBLISHED 1,800 STORIES, GENERATED 6,596,466 PAGEVIEWS, AND HAD 4,191,740 UNIQUE VISITORS.THE FOLLOWING IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES THAT THE ORGANIZATION UNDERTAKES IN ITS ELECTIONS REPORTING PROGRAM:REPORTING, WRITING, EDITING, AND PUBLISHING ORIGINAL NEWS CONTENT RELATED TO VOTING AND ELECTIONS, WITH A FOCUS ON THE STATES WHERE THE ORGANIZATION HAS BUREAUS: THE VOTEBEAT PROGRAM PROVIDES INDEPENDENT NONPARTISAN COVERAGE OF ELECTION INTEGRITY IN ARIZONA, MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA, AND TEXAS, AS WELL AS NATIONAL REPORTING. VOTEBEAT'S REPORTING INFORMS DEBATES AT STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE LEVELS, AND HAS GENERATED DISCUSSION AMONG OFFICIALS ABOUT ELECTION ADMINISTRATION AND VOTING IN FOUR STATEWIDE BUREAUS. IN FISCAL YEAR 2024, VOTEBEAT'S WEBSITE PUBLISHED 190 STORIES, GENERATED 231,822 PAGEVIEWS, AND HAD 156,739 UNIQUE VISITORS.THE FOLLOWING IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES THAT THE ORGANIZATION UNDERTAKES THROUGH BOTH CIVIC NEWS COMPANY AND VOTEBEAT:REACHING AND ENGAGING A BROAD AUDIENCE THROUGH STRATEGIC DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH: THE ORGANIZATION'S EDITORIAL STAFF OVERSEES THE DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT TO DECISION-MAKERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC AT NO COST. THROUGH OUR WEBSITES, EMAIL NEWSLETTERS, DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIPS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES, THE ORGANIZATION ENSURES THAT ITS CONTENT REACHES AS DEEP AND BROAD AN AUDIENCE AS POSSIBLE. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO HOSTS AND PARTICIPATES IN EVENTS TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR READERS TO DIRECTLY INTERACT WITH OUR CONTENT, OUR EDITORIAL STAFF, AND ONE ANOTHER.DEVELOPMENT, MAINTENANCE, UPDATING AND UPGRADING OF THE ORGANIZATION'S NEWS WEBSITES (INCLUDING RELATED PRODUCTS LIKE MOBILE PLATFORMS AND DATABASES), WHICH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE ORGANIZATION'S CONTENT DELIVERY: TO ENSURE THAT THE ORGANIZATION'S WEBSITE IS USER-FRIENDLY, EMPLOYS THE LATEST INNOVATIONS IN CONTENT DELIVERY AND IMPACT MEASUREMENT, AND ATTRACTS AND RETAINS READERS, OUR STAFF WORKS CONSTANTLY ON MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES. KEEPING THE WEBSITE RUNNING SMOOTHLY ENSURES THAT CONTENT IS READILY AVAILABLE TO USERS ON A VARIETY OF PLATFORMS (MOBILE PHONES, TABLETS, PCS) AND IS PRESENTED COMPELLINGLY.