Markup News Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MARKUP IS A NONPROFIT NEWSROOM THAT CHALLENGES TECHNOLOGY TO SERVE THE PUBLIC GOOD. THE MARKUP UTILIZES AN UNPARALLELED ROSTER OF ENGINEERS AND JOURNALISTS WHO PURSUE MEANINGFUL, DATA-DRIVEN INVESTIGATIONS AND DEVELOP DIGITAL TOOLS.
- Income
- $227,692
- Spending
- $271,317
- Spent on programs
- 100%
- Reserves
- 0.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 4
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 39 out of 100. Higher than 12% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Reserves
4 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 0.2 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 19% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 63% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 15100% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 91 out of 100. Higher than 87% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 3 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $271,067 spent. EDITORIAL & GRAPHICS - THE MARKUP PUBLISHED INVESTIGATIONS, REPORTS, AND GUIDES THAT REVEALED HARMS CAUSED BY TECHNOLOGY AND HOW PEOPLE USE IT. THEIR JOURNALISM WAS ACTIONABLE AND DROVE REAL-WORLD IMPACT. THEY EXPOSED AND OUTLAWED DIGITAL DISCRIMINATION WITH THE HELP OF READERS. THEY LAUNCHED LANGUAGES OF MISINFORMATION SERIES, ABOUT THE INFORMATION NEEDS AND STRUGGLES OF VIETNAMESE IMMIGRANT ENCLAVES, WHICH WON AN AAJA JOURNALISM OF EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR WORKING DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BRIDGED GENERATIONAL GAPS, AND TAUGHT PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS. IN PARALLEL WITH THEIR REPORTING WORK, THEY CREATED DIGITAL TOOLS THAT ALLOWED READERS TO REPORT WITH THEM.
- PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY - THE MARKUP STARTED WITH A COMPREHENSIVE REDESIGN OF THE HOMEPAGE, ACCOMPANIED BY THE CREATION OF NEW CMS FEATURES TO SUPPORT THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW HOMEPAGE AND MAKE IT EASY FOR EDITORS TO CHANGE IT EXTENSIVELY IF NEEDED. THEY MADE EXTENSIVE FEATURE UPDATES TO THEIR PREMIERE TOOL BLACKLIGHT. THEY UTILIZED SUMMER INTERNS TO HELP MANAGE THE WORKLOAD AND THE END RESULT IS A PLETHORA OF NEW FEATURES INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO "SPOOF" SITE SCANS FROM GERMANY, SCAN AS A DESKTOP BROWSER IN ADDITION TO A MOBILE BROWSER, BYPASS CACHE OF ALREADY SCANNED SITES, AND A HOST OF PERFORMANCE UPGRADES.
- AUDIENCE - IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LAUNCH OF THEIR WEBSITE REDESIGN, THE MARKUP CONTINUED TO GROW THE OVERALL BRAND IMPACT. THEIR WORK WAS REPUBLISHED ACROSS OTHER NEWS NETWORKS 1,223 TIMES AND LOCALIZED BY OTHER NEWSROOMS 8 TIMES. THEIR TOOLS CONTINUE TO HAVE IMPACT WITH THEIR AUDIENCE AS WELL: OVER 13 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE USED THE BLACKLIGHT TOOL. THEY WERE ALSO RECOGNIZED BY LEADERS IN THE INDUSTRY. THEY WON 18 INDUSTRY AWARDS, INCLUDING SEVERAL FROM SOCIETY FOR NEWS DESIGN, SIGMA, SCRIPPS HOWARD, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB, AND THE ONLINE JOURNALISM ASSOCIATION.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 2020.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.