Word on Fire Catholic Ministries
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.
Word on Fire Catholic Ministries at a glance
- Total assets
- $56,587,672
- +9.1% vs 2024
- Revenue (2025)
- $30,699,778
- +14.3% vs 2024
- Net investment income (2025)
- $1,092,831
- +40.1% vs 2024
- Expenses (2025)
- $26,210,877
- +36.8% vs 2024
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
Who Word on Fire Catholic Ministries funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Grant Size Distribution
1 grant across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 1 grant of 1 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Cities
How Word on Fire Catholic Ministries gives
- Giving fell 74% from 2020 to 2023. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
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.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic University of America Washington, DC | Conference Sponsorship | $25,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $56,587,672 | $30,699,778 | $26,210,877 | — | — | $1,092,831 |
| 2024 | $51,846,355 | $26,852,104 | $19,160,697 | — | — | $780,046 |
| 2023 | $38,688,249 | $21,638,201 | $14,569,865 | $25,000 | 1 | $558,135 |
| 2022 | $28,188,890 | $13,917,766 | $10,112,354 | — | — | $1,110,819 |
| 2021 | $26,397,119 | $17,209,550 | $7,111,181 | $20,592 | Total only | $604,754 |
| 2020 | $16,583,879 | $9,227,971 | $3,630,471 | $95,820 | 2 | $187,608 |
| 2019 | $10,672,847 | $4,598,701 | $3,057,984 | — | — | $145,735 |
"Total only": grants paid as reported on the IRS filing, which lists no individual grants for that year.
About Word on Fire Catholic Ministries
Based on IRS filings
Word on Fire Catholic Ministries is a public charity focused on religion, 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
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
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, 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.
Data update history
(4)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 15, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 16, 2022)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Word on Fire Catholic Ministries funds
Religion Related Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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