California · Nonprofit
826 National Inc
826 National Inc (California) receives grants from 49 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,121,130 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($4,541,000). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 73% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.6M
- Funders on record
- 49
- Grants received
- $8.1M
- Net assets
- $2.3M
What 826 National Inc does
Mission
826 is the largest youth writing network in the country. 826 National serves as the hub of the movement to amplify student voices and champions the belief that strong writing skills are essential for lifelong success. Founded in 2002, the 826 Network now serves more than 900,000 students annually ages 6-18 in under-resourced communities each year through nine chapters in twelve US cities and via 826 Digital, a free online platform serving educators through lesson plans, student writing, and resources, designed to help teach and ignite a love of writing. In addition, there are more than fifty 826-inspired organizations across the globe. Collectively, we work toward a country in which the power and the joy of writing is accessible to every student in every classroom. We believe writing is the key to cultivating a new generation of creative and diverse thinkers who will define a better, brighter, and more compassionate future.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Program
826 National provides programmatic, training, and financial support to our 9 chapters. Additionally we provide a digital learning platform to teachers and users both within and outside of our chapter communities.
$1,931,788 spentof which $469,270 as grants$315,550 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $1,931,788.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $1.4M to $2.5M (+81%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 0% · 2018 1% · 2019 5% · 2020 4% · 2021 11% · 2022 5% · 2023 3% · 2024 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
88% of 826 National Inc’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Laura Brief
CEO
Board chair
Sandro Olivieri
Board President
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 7 funders to 15 funders, grant income rose $129k → $1.4M.
15 of 49 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 73% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of 826 National Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 49 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
826 National Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 56% of grant income and the top three 78%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
73% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund 826 National Inc.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 39% · 2018 33% · 2019 22% · 2020 31% · 2021 26% · 2022 63% · 2023 70% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
44% of 826 National Inc's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 51% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
73% of 826 National Inc's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $2.2M that is directly attributable, 63% of it comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
826 National Inc holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 9,398 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,398 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding 826 National Inc receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $90k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$70k
- Corporation for National and Community Service$20k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like 826 National Inc
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
72% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
93%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for 826 National Inc: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds 826 National Inc?
- 826 National Inc (California) receives grants from 49 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,121,130 to it, the largest being VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM ($4,541,000). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 73% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does 826 National Inc have?
- IRS filings report 49 organizations giving $8,121,130 in grants to 826 National Inc, 25 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of 826 National Inc?
- VANGUARD CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT PROGRAM is the largest funder on record, with $4,541,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like 826 National Inc find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 49 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing