Economic Hardship Reporting Project

What it reported doing in 2025

Journalism Grants, Editorial Support & Co Publishing (Primary Program) In 2025, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project (EHRP) advanced its mission to support journalists with lived experience of economic hardship by providing $72,032 in direct grants to 42 independent reporters, along with editorial guidance, mentorship, and publication support. EHRP also partnered with Magnum Photography to support an additional 510 visual journalists, expanding the organizations reach into documentary photography and visual storytelling. Together, these contributors produced more than 50 published pieces across a wide range of genresincluding investigations, features, first person essays, photo essays, illustrations, poetry, and multimedia reporting.EHRPs work appeared in major national and international outlets such as The New York Times, TIME, Teen Vogue, The Guardian, Mother Jones, The Nation, Rolling Stone, NPR, The Intercept, Esquire, and dozens more. These stories centered the experiences of working class Americans and illuminated the structural forces shaping inequality, housing instability, labor conditions, climate impacts, disability rights, and the rising cost of living. Collectively, EHRP supported journalism reached approximately 3 million people in 2025.EHRPs editorial model emphasizes culture jammingplacing stories about poverty, labor, and inequality in outlets that do not typically cover these issues. This strategy ensures that narratives about economic hardship reach unexpected audiences and disrupt conventional media framing. In 2025, EHRP continued to expand its presence in youth oriented and mainstream lifestyle publications, helping shift public understanding of economic precarity and working class life.Fellowships & Emerging Media Storytelling (NextGen Program) In response to rapidly changing media consumption habitsparticularly the rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube as primary news sourcesEHRP expanded its investment in emerging media through its fellowship programs. In 2025, EHRP provided $30,200 in fellowship payments to seven fellows, including two NextGen Fellows supported by The Puffin Foundation. These fellows produced high impact short form videos and social media native reporting that translated complex economic issues into accessible, engaging content for younger audiences.NextGen Fellow Caitlyn Clark, a union communications worker and content creator with more than 132,000 TikTok followers, produced a series of videos contextualizing EHRP supported reporting with historical and policy analysis. Her work addressed topics such as labor rights, corporate power, the decline of local news, the use of stress as a management tactic, and the role of neoliberalism in shaping economic life. Her videos generated thousands of comments and shares, demonstrating strong resonance with younger viewers seeking clear, trustworthy explanations of economic issues.EHRPs second NextGen Fellow, Meagan Day, partnered with More Perfect Unions YouTube channel (1.64 million subscribers) to produce deeply reported videos on welfare reform, the Walton familys reliance on public assistance, and the privatization of public institutions. Her videos reached hundreds of thousands of viewers and sparked significant public engagement, with comments praising the clarity, depth, and urgency of the reporting.Through these fellowships, EHRP broadened its reach to audiences who increasingly consume news through short form video, ensuring that stories of economic hardship remain visible, relevant, and compelling across platforms.Multimedia Projects, Documentary Storytelling & Public Engagement EHRP continued to expand its impact through a wide range of multimedia projects, including photography exhibits, documentary films, podcasts, radio features, and public events. These projects amplify underrepresented voices, deepen public understanding of inequality, and extend the life of EHRP supported reporting across multiple formats.In 2025, EH

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 43.5%; rating input score 44
• Program expense ratio: 50.3%; rating input score 50
• Fundraising efficiency: $4.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 95.1%; rating input score 95; 46th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 14.2%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 50.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings