Pushblack is building a mass media network to change the hearts and minds of black americans through empowering narratives and actions that can advance black liberation at a systems-wide level.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
63¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 6 volunteers and 31 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $205K a year · 4% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
63%
of spending
Worth a look: 63% of spending went to programs; under 65%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.6M
to officers and key staff · 33% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 33% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $4.3M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 2.0 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
13
named funders · $6.7M
Looks good: 13 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$121K
2% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 2% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
3
of 4 voting members
Looks good: 3 of 4 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.2M
-87% vs prior year
Spent
$5.0M
To programs
63%
Net assets
$5.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.2M
FY2025▼ -87%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$5.4M
FY2021$3.0M
FY2022$7.7M
FY2023$1.8M
FY2024$9.6M
FY2025$1.2M
Expenses
$5.0M
FY2025▼ -17%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$2.6M
FY2021$3.4M
FY2022$5.1M
FY2023$5.4M
FY2024$6.1M
FY2025$5.0M
Net assets
$5.1M
FY2025▼ -43%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$4.3M
FY2021$3.8M
FY2022$6.5M
FY2023$2.9M
FY2024$8.9M
FY2025$5.1M

From the FY2025 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 2018.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

63 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 63% · $3.2M Management & general 25% · $1.3M Fundraising 13% · $630K

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

15 people listed on the 990; $1.6M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Chief Executive Officer (until 5/25)
$377,876Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Content Officer
$205,234Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$187,779Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Marketing Officer (until 12/25)
$185,206Pt VII · Sec A
Chief of Staff
$170,727Pt VII · Sec A
Director of People and Culture
$141,703Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Dir. of Business Operations
$124,441Pt VII · Sec A
Managing Editor
$114,048Pt VII · Sec A

Julian Walker’s $378K as Chief Executive Officer (until 5/25) is at the 98th percentile of top reported officer pay among 797 $1–10M civil rights & advocacy 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Julian Walker$377,876$255,852$248,788$237,608$210,842$98,228
Gelila Workneh$205,234$203,183$194,871———
Daonese Johnson-Colon$187,779$199,984$194,441$149,938——
Tareq Alani——$195,602$166,050$166,483—
Kevin McFall$185,206$102,003————
Richard McDermott$170,727$148,275————
Darrell Scott—————$157,271
Arthinia Morgan—$144,994————

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.

See Pushblack executive salaries →

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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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Educates and activates Black Americans through media and Black history to build power and create change.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $3.2M · in their own filed words · FY2025
01

Education & Civic Engagement

Pushblack uses the power of narrative, especially black history, to educate and activate subscribers to build personal power and create lasting economic and political change.

$3.2Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 13 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.2M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$947K
Investment incomeLn 3$212K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$41K
Money outPt IX
$5.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$3.2M
Managementcol C$1.3M
Fundraisingcol D$630K
Owns and owesPt X
$5.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$830K
Total assetsLn 16$5.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$121K
PeoplePt VI, VII
15
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b3
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$947K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$41K
Investment incomeLn 3$212K
Other incomeLn 4–11$5K
Total revenueLn 12$1.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$830K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$830K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$4.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$12K
Total assetsLn 16$5.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$121K
Net assetsLn 32$5.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 531
VolunteersI 66
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.7M$830K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$6.7M$4.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$21K$12K
Total assetsLn 16$9.1M$5.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$203K$121K
Net assetsLn 32$8.9M$5.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$1.1M$521K$422K$119K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$2.5M$1.9M$302K$381K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$43K$18K$24K$682
Other employee benefitsLn 9$296K$196K$63K$37K
Payroll taxesLn 10$357K$239K$73K$46K
Legal feesLn 11b$121K$45K$76K
Accounting feesLn 11c$116K$116K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$102K$28K$30K$44K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$40K$39K$980$40
Office expensesLn 13$4K$157$2K$1K
Information technologyLn 14$197K$148K$48K$348
OccupancyLn 16$14K$14K
TravelLn 17$13K$1K$12K$139
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$3K$3K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$8K$8K
InsuranceLn 23$29K$29K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$87K$58K$28K$332
Total functional expensesLn 25$5.0M$3.2M$1.3M$630K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $1.2M$5.0M−$3.8M$5.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $9.6M$6.1M$3.6M$8.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 $1.8M$5.4M−$3.6M$2.9M 990 PDF
FY2022 $7.7M$5.1M$2.7M$6.5M 990 PDF
FY2021 $3.0M$3.4M−$419K$3.8M 990 PDF
FY2020 $5.4M$2.6M$2.9M$4.3M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $1,204,376 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $9,416,486$946,622
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $87,891$40,703
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $111,928$211,969
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $4,805$5,082
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $9,621,110$1,204,376
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $4,276,227$4,302,419
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,785,815$732,200
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $6,062,042$5,034,619
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $3,559,068−$3,830,243
Part VI · Governance 3 of 4 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body4
VI-1b Independent voting members3
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,204,376 across 6 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$946,622
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$946,622
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $40,703$40,703
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $211,969$211,969
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $5,082$5,082
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $45,785 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $211,969$1,204,376
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,034,619 across 17 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $521,313 · Management $421,790 · Fundraising $119,050$1,062,153
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,859,928 · Management $302,353 · Fundraising $381,244$2,543,525
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $18,356 · Management $24,199 · Fundraising $682$43,237
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $195,606 · Management $63,384 · Fundraising $37,138$296,128
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $238,959 · Management $72,505 · Fundraising $45,912$357,376
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $44,890 · Management $75,743$120,633
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $115,806$115,806
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $27,791 · Management $30,399 · Fundraising $44,000$102,190
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $38,613 · Management $980 · Fundraising $40$39,633
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $157 · Management $2,256 · Fundraising $1,106$3,519
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $148,279 · Management $48,272 · Fundraising $348$196,899
IX-16 OccupancyManagement $13,768$13,768
IX-17 TravelPrograms $1,194 · Management $11,543 · Fundraising $139$12,876
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsManagement $2,972$2,972
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $8,131$8,131
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $28,892$28,892
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $58,462 · Management $28,087 · Fundraising $332$86,881
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $3,153,548 · Management $1,251,080 · Fundraising $629,991$5,034,619
Part X · Balance sheet $5,232,541 assets, 12 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,749,336$830,151
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $640,457$4,146
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $34,786$39,914
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $20,724$12,171
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $6,686,461$4,346,159
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $9,131,764$5,232,541
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $202,572$120,863
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $202,572$120,863
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $5,337,225$4,205,835
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $3,591,967$905,843
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $8,929,192$5,111,678
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $9,131,764$5,232,541
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,111,678 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,204,376
XI-2 Total expenses$5,034,619
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$3,830,243
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$8,929,192
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$12,729
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$5,111,678

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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