Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Aug 2017.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
8 people listed on the 990; $796K paid to officers and key staff.
Ashley Bayana Thru Jan 2025’s $131K as Director of Operations is at the 70th percentile of top reported officer pay among 433 $1–10M public safety & disaster nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Gallo Thru Dec 2023 | — | $214,225 | — | — | — |
| Eric Perreca | — | — | $205,921 | — | — |
| Alexander Gallo | — | — | $205,100 | $193,939 | $136,661 |
| Joseph Sowers | — | $180,544 | $172,859 | — | — |
| Tyrome Smith | — | $144,382 | $161,789 | — | — |
| Emily McMahan Thru 012022 | — | — | — | $153,167 | — |
| James Santa | — | $151,525 | — | — | — |
| Ashley Bayana Thru Jan 2025 | $130,864 | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Fosters campus innovation and entrepreneurship to solve national security challenges.
Questions for Hacking for Defense Incorporated
Your first name shows with your question. Hacking for Defense Incorporated answers here, for everyone.
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Develops curriculum and trains educators to use the "hacking 4" problem-solving methodology at more than 60 universities, including those offering hacking for defense and hacking for diplomacy. Over 3,648 students (graduate and undergraduate) worked on 190+ real-world problems, leading to the formation of 68 companies.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.2M | $598K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.6M | $700K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $17K | $11K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.6M | $690K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $51K | $51K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $9K | $9K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $294K | $294K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $978K | $762K | $99K | $117K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $29K | $24K | $2K | $3K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $49K | $41K | $4K | $5K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $88K | $73K | $7K | $8K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $25 | $25 | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $51K | $51K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $113K | $49K | $64K | $265 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $23K | $16K | $5K | $2K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $3K | $2K | $700 | $236 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $59K | $41K | $14K | $5K |
| TravelLn 17 | $24K | $19K | $5K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $42K | $29K | $10K | $3K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $8K | $6K | $2K | $644 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $1.8M | $1.4M | $263K | $143K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.2M | $1.1M | $169K | $859K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 Viewing | $939K | $1.8M | −$884K | $690K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.9M | $2.3M | −$385K | $1.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.4M | $1.8M | $623K | $2.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $2.2M | $1.4M | $882K | $1.3M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $939,064 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 3 of 3 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $939,064 across 4 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,823,215 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $700,461 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $689,667 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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