American Journalism Project

Legal name: American Journalism Project Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
831772542
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Washington, DC, United States
Phone
3016152145
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$38,097,727
Expenses
$30,264,843
Assets
$66,446,853
Liabilities
$1,739,049

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARABETH BERMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • FREDERICK KRIFT (CEO, FREE PRESS INDIANA)
  • MICHELLE SRBINOVICH (VICE PRESIDENT, GROWTH INVESTMENTS)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARABETH BERMAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $369,173 total reported compensation
  • PATTY SLUTSKY (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $263,507 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL OUIMETTE (CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER): $257,729 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Dedicated to trusted local news. Local news and information helps weave communities together, keeps institutions honest, and strengthens civic life. Builds support for the American Journalism Project’s mission by engaging and educating funders, cultivating partnerships, and raising resources. Amber DeLind Director, Individual Giving & Advancement Operations ## Shawnie Dockery Director, Foundation Partnerships ## Julia O’Connell Senior Manager, Philanthropic Engagement ## Baybars Orsek Head of Strategic Partnerships ## Courtney Parker Senior Development Analyst People & Operations Team. We collaborate with mission-aligned partners to advance and accelerate our work. Our partnerships allow us to reach more communities, learn about innovative approaches to advancing local news, and expand the support we offer our portfolio. Each collaboration plays a vital role in building sustainable...

What it reported doing in 2024

Startups program - american journalism project works with civic leaders, place-based funders, and community foundations to identify and address information gaps in their communities. American journalism project provides local philanthropic partners with services such as community listening, information ecosystem research, solution design, and business modeling. Additionally, experience and resources are leveraged to incubate new organizations from the ground up. Incubation support can include organization establishment, team recruitment, visioning and strategic planning, raising seed capital, stakeholder engagement, and equitable organization design.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 67% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.5%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $35.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.6%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.2; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 34.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 73.5% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $27.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $369K · 20 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 61 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 50 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.