named programs · 6 · from sources
What they call their work
Brightness in Black
Multi-year initiative to expand narratives of the Black experience and amplify diverse Black voices nationwide.
Military Voices Initiative
Records and preserves stories of veterans, active-duty service members, and military families through special tours and recording events.
One Small Step
Facilitates conversations between people of different backgrounds and beliefs to bridge divides, including partnerships with universities and public media stations.
StoryCorps App
Digital tool enabling users to self-record and preserve conversations, contributing to the national archive.
StoryCorps Mobile Tour
Traveling recording booth that tours the country year-round to collect stories from communities across the United States.
The Great Thanksgiving Listen
Annual campaign encouraging people to record meaningful conversations with loved ones over the holiday using the StoryCorps app or online tools.
activities · 5 groups
What they do
-
Oral History Collection and Preservation 3 activities
- Advance narratives of underrepresented communitiesRuns multi-year initiatives including Brightness in Black, StoryCorps Griot, Historias, and OutLoud to amplify voices and stories from Black, LGBTQ+, Latinx, and other underrepresented communities across the United States.
- Build and maintain oral history research collectionsMaintains the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered, including specialized archives such as oral histories of New York City transit workers and foundational research on Juneteenth and early African American communities.
- Collect and preserve recorded personal conversationsCollects and preserves audio recordings of conversations from over 700,000 participants since 2003, with archives housed in the U.S. Library of Congress and online. The organization has provided nearly one million Americans with the opportunity to record life interviews, preserving personal stories across generations.
-
-
Justice System Innovation & Inclusion Programs 1 activity
- Facilitate dialogue across dividesConducts the One Small Step initiative, which brings together individuals with differing perspectives—such as formerly incarcerated people and corrections officers—for facilitated or virtual conversations to bridge societal divides.
-
-
Veteran Story Preservation & Public Education 1 activity
- Operate mobile and themed recording toursConducts an annual mobile tour and operates a traveling recording booth that tours the country year-round to collect stories. Includes specialized initiatives such as the Military Voices Tour to record veterans, active service members, and military families.
-
-
Podcast and Radio Production 1 activity
- Produce and distribute public storytelling contentProduces and shares select recorded stories through weekly broadcasts on NPR's Morning Edition, a podcast with new seasons released regularly, animated shorts aired on PBS POV, digital platforms, and best-selling books, reaching more than 20 million people annually.
-
-
Uncategorized 2 activities
- Facilitate national recording campaignsHosts annual campaigns including the Great Thanksgiving Listen and Connect250, inviting the public to record meaningful conversations with loved ones, supported by instructional and promotional materials.
- Provide self-directed recording tools and platformsOffers the StoryCorps App and other self-directed tools to enable individuals to conduct and preserve 40-minute recorded conversations, particularly promoted around occasions like Father's Day and Thanksgiving.
-
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$14.26M
Contributions & grants$10.95M77%
Program service revenue$3.09M22%
Investment income$211K1%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$20.18M
Program expenses75%
Admin / overhead15%
Fundraising10%
Salaries & benefits$11.55M
Grants paid out$287K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$10.78M
Cash$2.27M
Investments$1.23M
Liabilities$3.21M
Net assets$7.56M
Liquid reserves2.1 mo
3 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -15.0%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 9
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SANDRA CLARK | CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | 50 | $392K |
| DAVE ISAY | FOUNDER & PRESIDENT | 50 | $374K |
| STACY MARGOLIS | CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER | 50 | $334K |
| LISA STEIN | CHIEF FINANCIAL & ADMIN OFFICER | 50 | $206K |
| RONALD MARC GUNZBURGER | CHIEF OF STAFF, OSS | 50 | $201K |
| MARTIN OLSON | MNG DIRECTOR, DIGITAL & TECH INNOVATION | 50 | $188K |
| LISA NELSON-HAYNES | CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER | 50 | $182K |
| CHISTOPHER NORRIS | CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER | 50 | $177K |
| MICHAEL GAROFALO | CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER | 50 | $162K |
board members · 16
- AARON BATES — DIRECTOR
- ADELAIDE K JONES — SECRETARY
- ALEX BLUMBERG — DIRECTOR
- BLYTHE HAAGA PARKER — DIRECTOR
- COLLEEN FOSTER — DIRECTOR
- DANE E HOLMES — CHAIR
- DAVID STIEPLEMAN — DIRECTOR
- DAVID WADHWANI — DIRECTOR
- DWAYNE BETTS — DIRECTOR
- GARY KNELL — DIRECTOR
- JAMES RANSOM — DIRECTOR
- JANE DONALDSON — DIRECTOR
- JASON REYNOLDS — DIRECTOR
- JIM MOORE — DIRECTOR
- KIM RUBEY — DIRECTOR
- MICHAEL SHUMAN — VICE CHAIR
relationships · 30
Who they work with
- Acton Family Giving Funder — Financial supporter of StoryCorps initiatives.
- Black Archives of Mid-America Partner — Collaborates with the Black Archives of Mid-America through shared focus on preserving Black history and culture.
- Brightness in Black Network — Initiative under StoryCorps dedicated to highlighting Black voices in the United States.
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting Funder — Receives partial funding support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting Government — Supported broadcast of a StoryCorps conversation through public funding.
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting Partner — Major supporter of StoryCorps.
- Dartmouth Partner — Partners to model authentic dialogue on college campuses through the One Small Step initiative.
- Historias Partner — National initiative focused on Latino/a/x stories.
- Library of Congress Government — Archives recorded conversations collected through StoryCorps programs in the Library of Congress.
- Library of Congress Partner — Partner in preserving recorded interviews; StoryCorps archives are housed at the Library of Congress.
- Military Voices Partner — National initiative preserving stories of military service members and veterans.
- NFL Partner — Partners with the NFL on the One Small Step initiative to bridge divides.
- NPR Partner — Broadcast StoryCorps conversation on Morning Edition.
- NPR Partner — Co-broadcaster of StoryCorps stories on Morning Edition.
- NPR Partner — Collaborates with NPR to air StoryCorps segments on Morning Edition.
- NPR Partner — Collaborates with NPR's Morning Edition on national storytelling initiatives, including Connect250.
- NPR Partner — Partner organization in public media, supporting StoryCorps' storytelling mission.
- NPR Partner — Partners with NPR’s Morning Edition to create a time capsule of American voices for the nation's 250th anniversary.
- National Endowment for the Arts Funder — Receives partial funding support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
- National Endowment for the Arts Government — Supported broadcast of a StoryCorps conversation through arts funding.
- New York Transit Museum Partner — Collaborated with StoryCorps to preserve oral histories of New York City transit workers.
- OutLoud Partner — National initiative focused on LGBTQ+ stories.
- PBS POV Partner — Partners with PBS POV to broadcast animated StoryCorps stories.
- Steve Inskeep Partner — Collaborates with journalist Steve Inskeep to produce participation guidance for StoryCorps initiatives.
- StoryCorps Griot Partner — National initiative dedicated to recording African American stories.
- StoryCorps for Hire Partner — Collaborates with organizations on custom recording projects, content creation, and community presentations.
- Subaru of America Partner — Corporate supporter of StoryCorps programs.
- The Kaplen Brothers Fund Funder — Financial supporter of StoryCorps.
- U.S. Library of Congress Government — Partner in preserving StoryCorps recordings as part of the national archive.
- Vanderbilt University Partner — Partners to facilitate One Small Step conversations between students, faculty, and staff of different backgrounds and beliefs.
strategies · 2
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Democratized Storytelling for Shared Humanitymethodology: democratic_storytellingBy recording and sharing personal stories from diverse individuals—especially those from underrepresented communities—we affirm human dignity and reveal shared humanity, because hearing someone’s full story fosters compassion and challenges dehumanization.
- Structured Dialogue to Bridge Dividesmethodology: one_small_stepBy facilitating one-on-one conversations between people across political, racial, or experiential divides, we reduce polarization and build mutual understanding, because shared personal storytelling fosters empathy and humanizes complex social issues.