NABJ faces up to $800K ‘revenue shortfall,’ but remains hopeful due to reserves 

NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry speaks to student reporters at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel in Cleveland on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. NICOLE NEAL/ NABJ Monitor

By Jaden Perry, The Monitor

National Association of Black Journalists former Executive Director Drew Berry said the organization  will likely face a “revenue shortfall” of $600,000–$800,000 following the Cleveland, Ohio, convention. However, Berry remains confident in NABJ’s nest egg as it is in the “best financial shape in the organization’s history.” 

“We don’t have the specifics of the revenue shortfall,” Berry said during Tuesday’s board meeting, adding concrete numbers won’t be available until the fall season. 

NABJ leadership cited the decrease in funding for the year after presidential elections and President Donald Trump’s attack on organizations supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I) programs. 

“So it’s important that you have that dialogue and that you don’t put the organization at risk  by not providing context,” Berry said. 

When Berry stepped into his interim executive director role in 2018, the organization was coming off of a much rougher financial situation — a situation that Lemon said would not have been ideal for dealing with the financial hurdles of today. The organization has closed the year in debt eight times, according to data from tax documents filed from 1997 to 2013.

“I think that we’re in a better shape to weather any storm than we’ve ever been,” Lemon said.

Since then, the organization has worked to secure a stable budget, which includes a $2 million operating budget and $5 million in back-up savings, called the “rainy day fund.”

With the possibly $800,000 deficit likely looming , Berry and his successor, Elise Dunham, remain confident in the organization’s ability to attract donors, even during challenging financial circumstances circulating through the nation. 

Berry declined to provide strategies, citing the competition to secure funding,  — and only hinted at a vague and broad plan called the “win, win, win.” 

“If you don’t get a win, if there’s no value, why would you even engage with us?  So everybody we engage with, we talk about win, win, win,” Berry said. “What is it in for them? We punctuate that. That’s why we’re so successful, too.”

Berry mentioned NABJ receiving “hundreds of thousands” of dollars of revenue from organizations, which are constantly sought out by the executive director. On Wednesday, Berry mentioned a recent meeting with Deborah O’Connell, ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks, as a prospective funder. 

That same day, Lemon mentioned meetings with “a couple” of philanthropic organizations to discuss funding throughout the week. He declined to provide details, citing confidentiality concerns. 

Durham, who was confirmed as NABJ’s new executive director in a Tuesday press conference, believes there’s more revenue streams to tap into — the first being NABJ members. 

“Our brand equity is so high,  yet we’ve never asked our members to give back to the organization that’s given so much to them,” she said. “I think we need to change that.”

Durham proposed creating an annual fund, which is a one-year campaign in which an organization asks their membership to donate. Acknowledging the heavy preparation required for such a campaign, Durham said such a strategy couldn’t be implemented by 2026. 

Beyond financial contributions, Durham proposed encouraging members to give in other ways to the NABJ community such as service, support and mentorship.

“It’s important for us to invest in the very organization  that continues to keep our history thriving. So they can do more in that regard,” Durham  said. “And I’m gonna ask them to do more, you can print that.”

Despite the confidence of the current and previous executive director, Rodney Brooks, a former NABJ treasurer and current financial committee member of the NABJ, disagrees with the lax attitude of the two directors. 

“As a finance guy, if you have a deficit, then you have concerns,” Brooks said, confirming the financial blow that anti-DEI sentiment has dealt to organizations nationwide. 

“I think it’s too late to reduce the deficit, my recommendation was next year, that we have to start thinking about next year,” he said.

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