Maryland · Nonprofit
MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC
MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC (Maryland) receives grants from 17 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,519,686 to it, the largest being JOHN S AND JAMES L KNIGHT FOUNDATION ($485,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $548k
- Funders on record
- 17
- Grants received
- $1.5M
- Net assets
- $680k
What Military Veterans in Journalism Inc does
Mission
Get more military veterans working in america s newsrooms. Veterans bring perspective, nuanced understanding and on-the-ground experience about the military and veteran affairs that ultimately benefit newsrooms and news consumers.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2025 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
MVJ's Disability Narrative Initiative program was in its infancy in 2024 and therefore was not included on the 2024 return. This program expanded significantly in 2025 and is continuing into 2026.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
MVJ's Information Integrity Project (IIP) is a nonpartisan team of veterans and military family members working to guide the military/veteran community toward reliable information and away from harmful narratives. We launched the campaign in 2024 and our goal for this project is to partner with content creators to create videos that promote media literacy and highlight reputable organizations that foster a sense of community for Veterans. We are aiming to prevent the spread of bad information within the Veteran/Military community and remain nonpartisan by promoting media literacy and critical thinking.
$211,398 spent$3,800 earned by the program57% of program spendingDisability Narrative Initiative: The Disability Narrative Initiative, led by Military Veterans in Journalism (MVJ) in collaboration with the Disabled Journalists Association (DJA) and other partners, supports stronger disability coverage by giving journalists, editors, and media professionals practical tools for better reporting, editing, and storytelling. At the center of this work is Fix the Frame: A Newsroom Guide to Disability Narratives - a practical resource developed with disabled journalists and disability media experts to support more accurate, respectful, and useful coverage.
$23,606 spent6% of program spendingMVJ25 Journalism Convention - MVJ25 was a two-part event, featuring one day of in-person educational conversation and the annual Top Ten Veterans in Journalism Awards ceremony, and a virtual career fair of top newsrooms and journalism schools one month later. We welcomed veterans, military spouses, newsroom professionals, and supporters of diversity in the industry to join us for networking and shared growth.
$22,669 spentof which $2,827 as grants$47,280 earned by the program6% of program spendingJournalist Development Series: Throughout 2025, MVJ hosted the Journalist Development Series, once-monthly webinars, as an opportunity for general professional development for our members and mentorship community. The events were moderated live by a trusted MVJ professional journalist with one or more coaches presenting on a particular topic/subject matter.
$18,804 spent5% of program spendingRemaining Misc. Programs: Mentorship program, entrepreneurial journalism program, career development programs, press passes, and general program administration.
$92,994 spentof which $3,125 as grants$6,263 earned by the program25% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $369,471.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 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 2023 to 2024, from $389k to $579k (+49%).
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.
94% of MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (84% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 5 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
Zachary Baddorf
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2020 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 7 funders, grant income rose $133k → $493k.
3 of 17 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 24% 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 MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 32% of grant income and the top three 71%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
28% 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 MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2020 94% · 2021 42% · 2022 50% · 2023 51% — diversifying over time.
“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
57% of MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC's funders are still giving 2 years after their first grant; 41% 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
MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Maryland, across 8 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $365k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 1,934 public benefit nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,934 public benefit nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM 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 Maryland
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
85% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Part of a family of 2 related entities
- Liberty Shield Network LLC · disregarded
- Lsn · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM 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 MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC?
- MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC (Maryland) receives grants from 17 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,519,686 to it, the largest being JOHN S AND JAMES L KNIGHT FOUNDATION ($485,000). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC have?
- IRS filings report 17 organizations giving $1,519,686 in grants to MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC?
- JOHN S AND JAMES L KNIGHT FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $485,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MILITARY VETERANS IN JOURNALISM INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Maryland. 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 2021–2025), and the filings of 17 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