Word on Fire Catholic Ministries logo

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

Public charity · Grantmaker Elk Grove Village, IL EIN: 26-1448551 Website

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries is a global media apostolate that supports the work of bishop robert barron and reaches millons of individuals to draw them back to or into the catholic faith.

Key facts about Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

EIN
26-1448551
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025
Total assets
$56,587,672

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990 · View filing

Total Assets

$56.6M

+9.1% YoY

Revenue

$30.7M

+14.3% YoY

Net Investment Income

$1.1M

+40.1% YoY

Expenses

$26.2M

+36.8% YoY

How Word on Fire Catholic Ministries gives

  • Giving fell 74% from 2020 to 2023. Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.

About Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

Based on IRS filings

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries is a public charity focused on Religion Related, based in Elk Grove Village, IL. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $56.6M in total assets. Net investment income was $1.1M.

Focus Areas

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

Grant Distribution by State

3states

Cities

AlexandriaKatyWashington

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$25K$50K$75K$100K0 grants20192 grants2020Total only20210 grants20221 grants20230 grants20240 grants2025

From 2020 to 2023, annual grant giving ranged from $21K (2021) to $96K (2020). In 2023 it made 1 grant totaling $25K.

Hatched bars: grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Grant Size Distribution

1 grants across all recorded years

1<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 1 grant of 1 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

No grants recorded for 2025.

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Revenue
Expenses
Net Investment Income
$0$10M$20M$30M$40M2019202020212022202320242025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$56,587,672$51,846,355$38,688,249
Revenue$30,699,778$26,852,104$21,638,201
Expenses$26,210,877$19,160,697$14,569,865
Net Investment Income$1,092,831$780,046$558,135

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 15, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
  3. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
  4. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

Leadership & Key People

Officers and directors from IRS filings

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries is led by Stephen Grunow, CEO & Executive Producer since 2024 (on filings since 2023); 8 of 16 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Stephen Grunow

    CEO & Executive Producer

    President → CEO & Executive Producer, 2024

    On filings since 2023

    40 hrs/week

    $63K (2023) → $97K (2025)

  • John Barron

    Senior Development Director

    Director → Senior Development Director, 2024

    On filings since 2019

    40 hrs/week

    $128K (2020) → $183K (2025)

  • Brandon Vogt

    Senior Publishing Director

    Employee → Senior Publishing Director, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    40 hrs/week

    $126K (2020) → $175K (2025)

  • Jonathan Bator

    Senior Director of Marketing & Sales

    Employee → Senior Director of Marketing & Sales, 2024

    On filings since 2020

    40 hrs/week

    $115K (2020) → $166K (2025)

  • Matthew Petrusek

    Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute

    Employee → Senior Director of the Word Fire Institute, 2024

    Senior Director of the Word Fire Institute → Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute, 2025

    On filings since 2023

    40 hrs/week

    $246K (2023) → $205K (2025)

  • Robert Barron

    Director

    On filings since 2023

    40 hrs/week

    $42K (2023) → $87K (2025)

  • Sean Davis

    Senior Director of Technology

    Employee → Senior Director of Technology, 2024

    On filings since 2023

    40 hrs/week

    $122K (2023) → $141K (2025)

  • John Croghan

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • John Powers

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Steven Straus

    Director

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • James Perry

    Director

    On filings since 2022

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Joseph Guinan

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Michael Benz

    Director

    New on the 2025 filing

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Mark Bradford

    Fellow for Persons With Intellectual & Development Disabilities

    On filings since 2024

    40 hrs/week

    $140K (2024) → $140K (2025)

  • Diane Archibald

    Secretary

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • John Lehocky

    Treasurer

    On filings since 2019

    5 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Former officers (11)
  • Former: Joe Guinan (2019–2024) — Director
  • Former: Mike Benz (2019–2024) — Director
  • Former: Sean Lee (2020–2023) — Employee
  • Former: Jared Zimmerer (2021–2023) — Employee
  • Former: Douglas Cummins (2022–2023) — Employee
  • Former: Michael Couche (2023) — Employee
  • Former: Bishop Robert Barron (2019–2022) — Director
  • Former: Father Steve Grunow (2019–2022) — President
  • Former: Joseph Gloor (2020–2022) — Employee
  • Former: Jonathan Kearney (2022) — Employee
  • Former: Jim Perry (2019–2021) — Director

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Matthew Petrusek — Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute: $205KMatthew PetrusekSenior Director of the Word on…$205KJohn Barron — Senior Development Director: $183KJohn BarronSenior Development Director$183KBrandon Vogt — Senior Publishing Director: $175KBrandon VogtSenior Publishing Director$175KJonathan Bator — Senior Director of Marketing & Sales: $166KJonathan BatorSenior Director of Marketing &…$166KSean Davis — Senior Director of Technology: $141KSean DavisSenior Director of Technology$141KMark Bradford — Fellow for Persons with Intellectual & Development Disabilities: $140KMark BradfordFellow for Persons with…$140KStephen Grunow — CEO & Executive Producer: $97KStephen GrunowCEO & Executive Producer$97KRobert Barron — Director: $87KRobert BarronDirector$87K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $205K, to Matthew Petrusek (Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute). 8 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Frequently asked questions about Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

How large is Word on Fire Catholic Ministries?

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries reported $56.6M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $30.7M.

What is Word on Fire Catholic Ministries?

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries is a public charity focused on Religion Related, based in Elk Grove Village, IL. It holds $56.6M in total assets as of 2025.

Where does Word on Fire Catholic Ministries operate?

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries has awarded grants in District of Columbia, Texas, Virginia.

What is Word on Fire Catholic Ministries's EIN?

Word on Fire Catholic Ministries's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-1448551. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.

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