Virginia · Nonprofit
Washington Media Scholars Foundation
Washington Media Scholars Foundation (Virginia) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $46,557 to it, the largest being THE LINDSAY FAMILY FOUNDATION ($25,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $393k
- Funders on record
- 5
- Grants received
- $47k
- Net assets
- $205k
What Washington Media Scholars Foundation does
Mission
Educational Programs and Scholarships for College Students
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Media Fellow Scholarships (Fall) 98 scholarships were awarded for $1,500 each. Scholarships were given upon a review process based on merit and financial need.1 special memorial scholarhip in the amount of $2,500 honoring a longtime Contributor to the WMSF.
$150,000 spentof which $150,000 as grants55% of program spendingMedia Scholars Week From June 8-13, 2025 the Foundation brought 13 undergraduate students to Washington, DC to meet with leaders in the media industry. Experts lectured to the group, deepening the students understanding of public policy media strategy, research, and placement.
$95,204 spent35% of program spendingMedia Case Competition 87 undergraduates participated in the 2025 case competition from schools across the country. 12 finalists were flown to Washington, DC for Media Scholars Week. Two winners of the competition from California State University, Long Beach were awarded $5,000 each and two runners up from Temple University were awarded $3,000 each. In addition, 6 remaining students were awarded $1,000 who did not place in the competition. A special memorial award of $2,500 was given to one student from Brigham Young University and one student from University of Southern California in memory of a deceased former WMSF winner.
$27,000 spentof which $27,000 as grants10% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $272,204.
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 2017 to 2018, from $150k to $63k (−58%).
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.
99% of Washington Media Scholars Foundation’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (91% 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 3 funders, grant income rose $5k → $7k.
1 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 0% 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 Washington Media Scholars Foundation’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
Washington Media Scholars Foundation leans on a few funders — its largest provides 54% of grant income and the top three 93%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 52% · 2023 71% — 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.
Where its funders are
Washington Media Scholars Foundation draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Virginia, across 4 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $57 arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state 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
Washington Media Scholars Foundation is better cushioned than half of the 13,062 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 13,062 human services nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like Washington Media Scholars Foundation
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 Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
70% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
66%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 15 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Washington Media Scholars Foundation: 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 Washington Media Scholars Foundation?
- Washington Media Scholars Foundation (Virginia) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $46,557 to it, the largest being THE LINDSAY FAMILY FOUNDATION ($25,000). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Washington Media Scholars Foundation have?
- IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $46,557 in grants to Washington Media Scholars Foundation, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Washington Media Scholars Foundation?
- THE LINDSAY FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $25,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Washington Media Scholars Foundation find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 5 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