Press Pass Nyc

What Press Pass Nyc does

Press Pass NYC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2021 and fiscally sponsored by the Fund for the City of New York. It operates as New York City's only student news publication accelerator, training teachers and supporting students to launch and sustain student-led news publications in NYC public middle and high schools across all five boroughs. The organization serves schools that lack journalism programs (over 73% of NYC public high schools do not have student newspapers), with more than 90% of partner schools classified as Title 1.

Its core products are structured as a multi-tier program: the Journalism Adviser Fellowship provides 30 hours of professional development, mentorship, curriculum resources, and a guaranteed three years of support to a cohort of up to 20 teachers annually; the Student Journalism Leaders Fellowship equips grades 9-12 students with engagement journalism tools; the Student Editor Bootcamp is an intensive week-long program hosted at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY; and the Middle School Press Corps extends coverage to grades 4-8. Supporting resources include proprietary Journalism Adviser and Student Editor Handbooks, a Student Media Production module (part of the Journalism for All curriculum), free reporting guides, a Speakers Bureau, and a Classroom Mentor Program pairing volunteer journalists with partner schools. Technology is secondary to the human-delivered curriculum model; the digital layer consists of the main website, a Press Pass NYC Showcase (ppnycshowcase.com), and email mailing lists.

The revenue model is primarily philanthropic: donations, foundation grants, and NYC Council discretionary funding from at least five council members, channeled through the Fund for the City of New York. A secondary fee-for-service stream is available for charter schools, school networks, and youth organizations on a negotiated basis. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-school via the Partner School Application process and partnerships with civic and journalism-education organizations including Baruch College's High School Journalism Program, the NYC Youth Journalism Coalition, NSPA, JEA, SPLC, PEN America, and NAHJ. The team is small (1-10 employees) and is currently hiring for a School Program Manager position to absorb a 16-school cohort expansion in 2026-27.

Name

Press Pass Nyc

Legal name

Press Pass NYC

Website

https://presspassnyc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Press Pass NYC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps NYC public middle and high schools launch and sustain student news publications through teacher fellowships, student programs, and free curriculum resources, serving 40+ partner schools primarily in Title 1 communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Services — Student Journalism and Media Literacy

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Education (EDADALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK), Educational/Instructional Public Media Services (Schools, Distance Learning) (MPABADAH)

Keywords

• Student journalism programs
• Journalism education training
• Teacher professional development
• News publication accelerator
• Media literacy education

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Press Pass NYC is a fiscally sponsored project of the Fund for the City of New York, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization relies on donations, foundation grants, and philanthropic support to fund its free programs for public schools.
2. Fee-for-Service (Charter Schools): For charter schools, school networks, and other youth organizations, fees for service can be negotiated based on capacity and scale. This represents earned revenue from non-public-school clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Press Pass NYC is a nonprofit educational organization that serves as New York City's only student news publication accelerator. It helps NYC public middle and high schools launch and sustain student journalism programs by providing free year-long fellowships for teachers (30 hours of professional development, stipends, mentorship, and three years of guaranteed support), student fellowships and a summer Editor Bootcamp at CUNY, the Middle School Press Corps for grades 4-8, and curriculum resources including handbooks, reporting guides, and the Student Media Production module. Programs are delivered at no cost to NYC public schools, funded through philanthropic donations and grants.

Product overview

Press Pass NYC is a nonprofit organization that serves as New York City's only student news publication accelerator. The organization operates as a unified platform offering educator training and student journalism programs. Its core offerings include the Journalism Adviser Fellowship (providing 30 hours of professional development and three-year support for teachers), the Student Journalism Leaders Fellowship (for high school students), the Student Editor Bootcamp (summer intensive at CUNY), and the Middle School Press Corps (for grades 4-8). Supporting resources include Journalism Adviser & Editor Handbooks, the Student Media Production Module (part of Journalism for All curriculum), Free Reporting Guides on various topics, a Speakers Bureau connecting volunteer journalists with schools, and a Classroom Mentor Program pairing journalism professionals with partner schools. The Press Pass NYC Showcase displays student journalism samples from partner schools. All core programming is free for NYC public schools and participants receive stipends.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Journalism Adviser Fellowship A year-long teacher training program providing 30 hours of professional development, mentorship, curriculum resources, and stipends for NYC public middle and high school educators to launch or grow student journalism programs. Fellows join a cohort of up to 20 teachers and receive guaranteed three years of support; no prior journalism experience is required.
• Student Journalism Leaders Fellowship A fellowship program for NYC public high school students (grades 9-12) that equips them with engagement journalism tools and leadership skills. Students meet in person and virtually throughout the semester and receive stipends upon completion of a capstone project.
• Student Editor Bootcamp

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ of partner schools continue publishing year-over-year
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• Fund for the City of New YorkcoreOthers · 1 January 2021Press Pass NYC is a fiscally sponsored partner project of the Fund for the City of New York, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are made through the Fund, and the organization provides administrative infrastructure and nonprofit oversight.
• College BoardflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege Board CEO David Coleman provided statement endorsing Press Pass NYC's model of hands-on journalism learning that empowers critical thinking and civic engagement. College Board recognizes journalism's role in student success.
• Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPress Pass NYC's Student Editor Bootcamp is hosted at the CUNY journalism school. Organization partnered with CUNY to develop Journalism for All curriculum including Press Pass NYC's four-week Student Media Production module.
• Baruch College High School Journalism ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPress Pass NYC collaborates with Baruch College's HSJP which offers annual NYC High School Journalism Conference, journalism competition, and courses to help schools launch newspapers. Both are part of Journalism for All initiative.
• NYC Youth Journalism CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPress Pass NYC is a founding member of the NYC Youth Journalism Coalition, a public-private effort to bring equitable journalism opportunities to NYC public schools.
• National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner providing resources and educational opportunities for student journalists and advisers through the NSPA network.
• Journalism Education Association (JEA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner providing resources, educational opportunities, and mentoring program matching veteran advisers with individuals new to teaching journalism.
• Columbia Scholastic Press AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner providing Quick Courses master-class series for student journalists and advisers through video content.
• Student Press Law Center (SPLC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner providing legal resources for student journalists including FAQs on immigration reporting and press freedom.
• PEN AmericamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner through Writers in the Schools program placing PEN America members including journalists in NYC schools.
• Report for AmericamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner supporting local news ecosystem development in partnership with news organizations.
• National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramming partner providing resources and support for diverse journalism education.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Pulitzer Center: Nonprofit that funds international journalism and runs K-12 educational programs connecting students with journalists and reporting curricula. Comparable audience (student journalists/teachers) but distinct focus on global reporting rather than local school publications.
• Report for America: National service program that places journalists in under-covered local newsrooms. A Press Pass NYC partner addressing the broader local news ecosystem decline that Press Pass NYC's student-side work also tackles.
• PEN America Writers in the Schools: PEN America's program places professional writers and journalists in classrooms to teach writing and reporting. Comparable format (volunteer professionals in NYC schools) and a Press Pass NYC programming partner through this initiative.

Others

• The News/Media Alliance: Trade association representing news publishers. Indirectly comparable as an adjacent stakeholder in journalism ecosystem health, though it does not run student-facing programs.

Direct peers

• News Literacy Project: National nonprofit that teaches students news literacy and critical thinking about media. Highly comparable because both organizations address the same root problem—students lacking journalism skills and trust in media—and serve similar middle/high school audiences.
• Student Press Law Center: National nonprofit that provides legal resources and advocacy for student journalists. Comparable because it supports the same target audience (student journalists and advisers) with overlapping focus on press freedom and First Amendment education.
• Journalism Education Association: National professional organization for journalism teachers and advisers, providing curriculum, mentoring, and conventions. Closely comparable mission of training journalism educators and supporting scholastic journalism programs.
• Baruch College High School Journalism Program: NYC-based program that helps schools launch newspapers through annual journalism conferences, competitions, and courses. The most directly comparable peer, sharing both geography (NYC) and mission (high school journalism support), and a Press Pass NYC partner.
• National Scholastic Press Association: National organization that serves student journalists and scholastic press programs across the U.S. with critiques, awards, and educational resources. A Press Pass NYC programming partner with directly overlapping mission and audience.
• Columbia Scholastic Press Association: Scholastic journalism organization affiliated with Columbia University that provides Quick Courses and master-class content for student journalists and advisers. Overlapping mission and a Press Pass NYC partner providing similar training resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles30 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Press Pass Nyc