High Country News
To inform and inspire people to act on behalf of the west's diverse natural and human communities.
High Country News at a glance
- Total assets
- $2,797,206
- +12.1% vs 2024
- Revenue (2025)
- $4,774,808
- +2.5% vs 2024
- Net investment income (2025)
- $117,041
- +2.6% vs 2024
- Expenses (2025)
- $4,517,082
- +3.4% vs 2024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026.
Who High Country News funds
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2022, annual grant giving ranged from $5K (2022) to $6K (2020). In 2022 it reported $5K in grants paid, as a total without an itemized list.
Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $2,797,206 | $4,774,808 | $4,517,082 | — | — | $117,041 |
| 2024 | $2,495,069 | $4,659,688 | $4,369,923 | — | — | $114,020 |
| 2023 | $2,243,630 | $3,989,987 | $4,379,879 | — | — | $151,498 |
| 2022 | $2,429,237 | $3,528,877 | $4,155,996 | $4,875 | Total only | $94,867 |
| 2021 | $2,812,447 | $5,357,816 | $4,061,537 | $5,150 | Total only | $135,439 |
| 2020 | $1,604,265 | $4,534,613 | $4,162,175 | $6,250 | 1 | $-71,122 |
"Total only": grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
About High Country News
Based on IRS filings
High Country News is a public charity focused on Environment & Animals, based in Paonia, CO. IRS filing data is available from 2020 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $2.8M in total assets. Net investment income was $117K.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
High Country News is led by Samaria Jaffe, President since 2025 (on filings since 2020); 3 of 14 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Samaria Jaffe
President
Treasurer → Director, 2023
Director → President, 2025
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Andy Wiessner
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Bryan Pollard
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Raynelle Rino
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Rich Stolz
Director
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jim Spencer
Director
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Chris Winter
Director
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Greg Hanscom
Executive Di
Executive Director → Executive Di, 2023
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$135K (2021) → $148K (2025)
Gary Love
Marketing Di
Director of Product & Marketing → Marketing Di, 2023
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$116K (2022) → $120K (2025)
Jennifer Sahn
Editor in Ch
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$107K (2025)
Estee Rivera Murdock
Vice President
Vice President → President, 2023
President → Vice President, 2025
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Luis Torres
Emeritus
Director → Emeritus, 2023
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Fatima Luna
Secretary
Director → Secretary, 2022
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Peter Schoenburg
Treasurer
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (15)
- Former: John Belkin (2020–2024) — Director
- Former: Marla Painter (2020–2024) — Director · Filing note: Retired May 2024
- Former: Andrea Otanez (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Dina Gilio-Whitaker (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Wendy Fisher (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Laura Helmuth (2020–2022) — Secretary
- Former: Paul Larmer (2020–2022) — Senior Development Officer
- Former: Seth Cothrun (2020–2022) — Treasurer
- Former: Esther Rivera Murdock (2022) — President
- Former: Jay Dean (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Bob Fulkerson (2020) — Director
- Former: Brian Beitner (2020) — Director
- Former: Florence Williams (2020) — Director
- Former: Nicole Lampe (2020) — Director
- Former: Wayne Hare (2020) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $148K, to Greg Hanscom (Executive Di). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about High Country News
How large is High Country News?
High Country News reported $2.8M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $4.8M.
What is High Country News?
High Country News is a public charity focused on Environment & Animals, based in Paonia, CO. It holds $2.8M in total assets as of 2025.
Where does High Country News operate?
High Country News has awarded grants in Colorado.
What is High Country News's EIN?
High Country News's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 23-7015336. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(4)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS February 12, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS July 8, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS April 26, 2023)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 7, 2026)
Live grants for the work High Country News funds
Environment & Animals Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in High Country News's focus areas in our free grants database
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The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open
Figures come from High Country News's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
High Country News down — hundreds of funders to go?