Resolve Philadelphia

Resolve Philadelphia is a left-of-center nonprofit news outlet that focuses on stories from specific neighborhoods within the Philadelphia region. The group has an “Equal Info Text Line,” which provides news and resources in response to questions over text.  1

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At-A-Glance

Type: 501(c)(3)
Ideological Alignment: Left of Center
Website: resolvephilly.org
Formation:

2019

Executive Director:

Sara Shahriari

Location: Philadelphia, PA View on map
Tax ID: 83-2762074
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $854,099 Revenue: $1,579,359 Expenses: $3,132,703

Contents

    In June 2023, Resolve Philadelphia released a report titled “Broke in Philly,” which claimed to be focused on providing policy approaches to poverty in the city. The report was the product of a “reporting collaborative,” which was given permanent status that year and named the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative. Resolve Philadelphia claims that over two dozen newsrooms participated in the effort of the creation of the report. 2

    Background

    Resolve Philadelphia is a left-of-center nonprofit news outlet that focuses on stories from specific neighborhoods within the Philadelphia region.  1 According to its website, Resolve Philadelphia claims its mission is to “develop and advance journalism rooted in equity, collaboration, and the elevation of community voices.”  1

    Resolve Philadelphia has an online hub dedicated to news stories within the local neighborhood of Germantown, as well as having a digital newsletter for Germantown and the neighborhood of Overbrook. The group also has an “Equal Info Text Line,” which provides news and resources in response to questions in the form of text messages.  1

    In June 2023, Resolve Philadelphia released a report titled “Broke in Philly,” which claimed to be focused on policy approaches to poverty in the city. The report was the product of a “reporting collaborative,” which was given permanent status that year and named the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative. Resolve Philadelphia claims that over two dozen newsrooms participated in the creation of the report.  2

    Funding

    In 2024, Resolve Philadelphia reported $1,579,359 in revenues, $3,132,703 in expenses, and $ 759,059 in net assets.  3

    The Ford Foundation gave $100,000 in 2025 and $150,000 in 2024 to Resolve Philadelphia.  4

    Independence Public Media Of Philadelphia gave $1,522,340 in 2020, $287,000 in 2021, $727,000 in 2022, $1,750,000 in 2023, and $200,000 in 2024 to Resolve Philadelphia.  5  6  7  8  9

    The Lenfest Institute for Journalism gave $1,830,000 in 2020, $100,000 in 2022, $311,500 in 2023, and $50,000 in 2024 to Resolve Philadelphia.  10  11  12  13

    The Democracy Fund gave $300,000 in 2023 and $165,000 in 2024 to Resolve Philadelphia.  14  15

    The Solutions Journalism Project gave $100,000 in 2019, $190,400 in 2020, and $33,900 in 2021 to Resolve Philadelphia.  16  17  18

    In 2024, the John D. and Catherine T. Macarthur Foundation gave $350,000 to Resolve Philadelphia.  19

    In 2024, the John S And James L Knight Foundation gave $75,000 to Resolve Philadelphia.  20

    In 2021, the Science Literacy Foundation gave $25,000 to Resolve Philadelphia.  21

    Impactassets gave $112,500 in 2023 and $152,500 in 2024 to Resolve Philadelphia.  22  23

    Leadership

    Sara Shahriari is the executive director of Resolve Philly, having held the role since 2025. Previously, she was the chief programs officer at Resolve Philly and a director of leadership development at the Institute for Nonprofit News.  24

    Resolve Philadelphia’s board includes Liza Gross of the Solutions Journalism Network; Malika Matthews of Planned Parenthood Northern, Central Southern New Jersey; Sheryl Kantrowitz; Cheryl Thompson-Morton of the Center for Community Media at the Newmark J-School; Chenjerai Kumanyika; Glenn Bergman; David Pisauro; Danielle Martinez of the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University; and Anna Nirmala of the American Journalism Project.  25

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $854,099 $1,579,359 $3,132,703 View
    2023 $2,451,087 $4,397,928 $3,137,921 View
    2022 $1,249,729 $2,443,342 $2,488,396 View
    2021 $1,461,224 $1,151,164 $1,825,583 View
    2020 $1,997,435 $3,609,977 $1,942,760 View

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 37

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Jean Friedman-RudovskyEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU 4/11/25)$147,632
    Rebecca GorlickCOO$110,044
    Sheryl KantrowitzBOARD SECRETARY$2,000

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $11,160,354
    • Number of Grants: 82
    • Number of Funders: 28

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $1,830,0002020 The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of Tpf(I) = $760,000, (J) = $1,000,000, (K) = $10,000, (L) = $60,000
    $1,600,0002023 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncFOR GENERAL SUPPORT
    $1,500,0002020 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncFOR THREE-YEAR GENERAL OPERATING AND CAPACITY BUILDING SUPPORT
    $500,0002022 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncTO SUPPORT RESOLVE PHILLY'S EFFORTS TO ENSURE FAMILY-SUSTAINING SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR ITS EMPLOYEES.
    $350,0002024 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationIn support of general operations.
    $336,0002023 William Penn FoundationSHAKE THE TABLE
    $321,5502024 William Penn FoundationSHAKE THE TABLE
    $311,5002023 The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of Tpf(O) = $211,500, (P) = $100,000
    $250,0002021 The Ford FoundationGeneral support for journalism based on equity, collaboration, and community voices, serving the Philadelphia region and modeling work for other communities
    $225,0002022 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncTO GROW GERMANTOWN INFO HUB AND TO SERVE AS THE PILOT FOR RESOLVES COMMUNITY WIRE SERVICE, A NETWORK OF HYPERLOCAL BUREAUS SERVING NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION NEEDS AND AS A MECHANISM FOR CITY-WIDE DISTRIBUTED AUTHENTIC AND ACCURATE COMMUNITY-LEVEL COVERAGE.
    $225,0002021 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncGERMANTOWN INFO HUB – TO SUPPORT GERMANTOWN INFO HUB AND TO SERVE AS THE PILOT FOR RESOLVE'S COMMUNITY WIRE SERVICE (CWS)A NETWORK OF HYPERLOCAL BUREAUS SERVING NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION NEEDS AND AS A MECHANISM FOR CITY-WIDE DISTRIBUTED AUTHENTIC AND ACCURATE COMMUNITY-LEVEL COVERAGE.
    $190,4002020 SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM NETWORK INCSUPPORT TRAINING
    $165,0002024 Democracy Fund IncGeneral support
    $152,5002024 ImpactAssetsGENERAL SUPPORT
    $150,0002024 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncTO SUPPORT GERMANTOWN INFO HUB, A HYPERLOCAL NEWSROOM IN THE GERMANTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD
    $150,0002024 The Ford FoundationGeneral support for journalism based on equity, collaboration, and community voices, serving the Philadelphia region and modeling work for other communities
    $150,0002023 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncSUPPORT OF GERMANTOWN INFO HUB
    $150,0002023 Democracy Fund IncGeneral support
    $112,5002023 ImpactAssetsGENERAL SUPPORT
    $100,0002022 The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Special Asset Fund of Tpf(C) = $100,000.00
    $100,0002021 Independence Public Media of Philadelphia IncFUNTIMES – TO CREATE AWARENESS OF COVID VACCINE SAFETY AND MITIGATE VACCINE HESITANCY THROUGH STORIES AND FEATURE ARTICLES, AND VIRTUAL AND LIVE PRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS BY COLLABORATING DIASPORA PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL PERSONNEL. THE CAMPAIGN WILL TARGET PHILADELPHIA AND ITS FIVE-COUNTY METROPOLITAN AREA AND ENGAGE THE AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES THROUGH FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS BY LEVERAGING ITS DECADE-LONG RELATIONSHIPS AND SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH.
    $75,0002024 John S. and James L. Knight FoundationTO SUPPORT RESOLVE PHILLY'S EDITORIAL OPERATIONS AS IT WORKS THROUGH A SHORT-TERRN CASH CRUNCH.
    $75,0002024 SCATTERGOOD FOUNDATIONSHAKE THE TABLE
    $75,0002023 SCATTERGOOD FOUNDATIONPROGRAM/SHAKE THE TABLE
    $75,0002022 SCATTERGOOD FOUNDATIONMENTAL HEALTH- OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. Resolve Philly. 2025. “What We Do – Resolve Philly.” December 3, 2025. https://resolvephilly.org/what-we-do/ 
    2. Flipsnack. n.d. “Resolve Philly 2023 Annual Report.” Flipsnack. https://www.flipsnack.com/9DDBD699E8C/resolve-philly-2023-annual-report/full-view.html 
    3. “Resolve Philadelphia,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2024. Page 1 Part I Lines 12, 18, and 20.
    4. “Grants Database.” Ford Foundation. Accessed April 23, 2026. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/?search=Resolve%2BPhiladelphia. 
    5. “Independence Public Media Of Philadelphia,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2020, Page 11 Part XIV. 
    6. “Independence Public Media Of Philadelphia,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF), 2021. Page 11 Part XIV 
    7. “Independence Public Media Of Philadelphia,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2022, Page 11 Part XIV. 
    8. “Independence Public Media Of Philadelphia,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2023, Page 11 Part XIV 
    9. “Independence Public Media Of Philadelphia,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2024, Page 11 Part XIV 
    10. “The Lenfest Inst For Journalism,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2020. Schedule I. 
    11. “The Lenfest Inst For Journalism,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2022. Schedule I 
    12. “The Lenfest Inst For Journalism,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2023. Schedule I 
    13. “The Lenfest Inst For Journalism,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2024. Schedule I 
    14. “The Democracy Fund,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2023. Page 11 Part XIV. 
    15. “The Democracy Fund,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2024. Page 11 Part XIV. 
    16. “Solutions Journalism Project,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2019. Schedule I. 
    17. “Solutions Journalism Project,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2020. Schedule I. 
    18. “Solutions Journalism Project,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2021. Schedule I. 
    19. “John D & Catherine T Macarthur Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2024. Page 11 Part XIV. 
    20. “John S And James L Knight Foundation,” Return of Private Foundation Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990 PF) 2024. Page 11 Part XIV. 
    21. “Science Literacy Foundation,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2021. Schedule I. 
    22. “Impactassets Inc,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2023. Schedule I. 
    23. “Impactassets Inc,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2024. Schedule I. 
    24. Ajamu, Rasheed. 2025. “Resolve Philly Announces Next Executive Director.” Resolve Philly. February 12, 2025. https://resolvephilly.org/new-ed-2025/ 
    25. “Our Board.” Resolve Philly, January 6, 2025. https://resolvephilly.org/our-board/.