Honolulu Civil Beat is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt news organization dedicated to cultivating an informed body of citizens, all striving to make Hawaii a better place to live. We achieve this through investigative and watchdog journalism, in-depth enterprise reporting, analysis and commentary that gives readers a broad view on issues of importance to our community.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar launched Civil Beat in 2010 as a local digital platform that looks beyond traditional print and television media approaches. To expand our reach so that more people in Hawaii have access to the information they need, Civil Beat removed its paywall in June 2016 and transitioned to 501(c)3 nonprofit status. We are members of the Institute for Nonprofit News, a coalition of more than 400 nonprofit newsrooms across the U.S.

Civil Beat receives substantial support from Pierre and Pam Omidyar through the Omidyar Ohana Fund, a donor advised fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation. We also rely on donations from individuals, foundations and businesses.

Our goal is to challenge our leaders to do better. We are the watchdogs of the public’s trust and we take seriously the mission to educate our citizens on important public issues.

We provide a number of different forums for a broad range of news, views and commentary where citizens can debate the issues in a civil manner, free from cheap shots and personal swipes. Besides publishing CivilBeat.org, we hold regular public events including Civil Cafes, Pop-Up Newsrooms and Hawaii Storytellers. Our Morning Beat newsletter is emailed to tens of thousands of subscribers. Our Facebook page and Facebook groups host robust community debate and commentary.

Our long-term goal is to produce journalism with a purpose, to stimulate positive change. We do not align with political or special interest groups and adhere to the strictest journalistic standards and ethics. Generally, we follow the guidelines set out by the Society of Professional Journalists in its ethics code as well as more general news practices outlined by the Associated Press. You can find our policy on anonymous sources here and our policy on corrections here.

We believe news is a public asset and that Civil Beat can and should be a good community partner, not just an arms-length observer recounting news of the day. We have a stake in this community as much as it has a stake in us.

Honolulu Civil Beat’s Form 990: 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

Employer Identification Number (EIN): 81-2803662