The War Horse

What The War Horse does

The War Horse News, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom (EIN 82-1669255) founded in 2016 by Thomas J. Brennan and headquartered in Richlands, Virginia. The organization publishes award-winning journalism on the human impact of military service, with a content portfolio spanning a core newsroom of investigative and feature reporting, a 'Reflections' series of first-person essays from service members, veterans, and military families, the all-expenses-paid Writing Seminars program for veteran and military-family writers (which has trained 100+ War Horse Fellows as of October 2025), and specialized multimedia projects including the Shadows of Fallujah series and the Operation Timeline interactive data product. Audience segments include veterans and active-duty service members, military families, civilian readers interested in military affairs, and policy makers and government oversight entities who consume its investigative work.

The publication is built on the Newspack digital publishing platform and distributes content via its own website, free email newsletters (the War Horse Newsletter and 'Debrief', and 'Under the Wire'), RSS, active social channels (Facebook, Instagram, X, BlueSky, LinkedIn, YouTube), and Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 republishing. Wider reach is achieved through co-publishing and amplification partnerships with NPR, Mother Jones, PBS NewsHour, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, the American Veterans Center, the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Penn State, and the George W. Bush Institute.

The business model is donation- and grant-based rather than revenue-generating in a commercial sense. All journalism is provided free and ad-free; the newsroom is supported by individual donors (the 2016 Kickstarter seed campaign drew 500+ contributors and $50,000), foundation grants, and institutional support from 'dozens' of foundations, Fortune 100 companies, and Ivy League universities. Leadership consists of founder and executive director Thomas J. Brennan, writing seminars director David Chrisinger, and director of operations Samantha Gannon Daniels, operating with a 1-10 person core staff supplemented by fellows, freelance beat reporters, and contributors.

Name

The War Horse

Legal name

The War Horse News, Inc.

Website

https://thewarhorse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The War Horse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom that publishes investigative journalism and first-person essays on military service, veterans, and military families, complemented by writing seminars for veteran writers and special projects such as Operation Timeline and Shadows of Fallujah, funded by donations, foundations, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Journalism

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Veterans Affairs & Military Family Services (BPAIAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Veterans & Military Family Benefits Administration (BPAIAKAI)

Keywords

• Nonprofit journalism
• Military reporting
• Veteran affairs
• Investigative reporting
• Writing workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Richlands

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Individual Contributions: The War Horse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 82-1669255) funded primarily through donations from individuals. The site prominently features donation CTAs and a dedicated donation portal.
2. Foundation and Grant Support: Supported by dozens of foundations and major institutional donors including Fortune 100 companies, Ivy League universities, and philanthropists from around the world.
3. Newsletter Subscriptions: Free newsletters including The War Horse Newsletter and Debrief, and Under the Wire: Breaking Down the Headlines Using Operation Timeline. The newsroom is ad-free.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The War Horse is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom that publishes original investigative journalism and first-person essays on the human impact of military service, covering veterans, service members, military families, and related policy issues. In addition to its newsroom and Reflections essay series, the organization runs an all-expenses-paid Writing Seminars program for veterans and military family members. Content is distributed free of charge via its website, newsletters, and partnerships with major outlets, supported by donations and grants.

Product overview

The War Horse is a nonprofit newsroom offering a unified journalism platform focused on military service, war, and veteran impact. The core offerings include the Newsroom (investigative reporting), Reflections (first-person essays), and Writing Seminars (professional development for veteran writers). Supporting products include two newsletters—The War Horse Newsletter and Debrief, and Under the Wire (which leverages Operation Timeline data). Special multimedia projects include Operation Timeline (policy tracking), Shadows of Fallujah, The Fallujah Files, and the Southern Border Military Project. The organization is funded by donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and operates independently without advertising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shadows of Fallujah: Multimedia reporting project commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fallujah
• Operation Timeline
• Writing Seminars
• Echoes Project

Products and services

• Newsroom Original investigative and feature reporting covering military service, veterans, and their families. Includes news articles, investigations, and multimedia storytelling on policy, healthcare, and military affairs. Available free to the public.
• Reflections First-person essays from service members, veterans, and military family members sharing personal experiences of military life, combat, PTSD, and reintegration. Available free to the public.
• Writing Seminars All-expenses-paid, weeklong workshops for veterans and military family members who are or aspire to be writers. Brings participants together with journalists, agents, and publishers focused on nonfiction and personal writing.
• The War Horse Newsletter and Debrief Free email newsletter delivering award-winning journalism about military service, war, and its impact directly to subscribers' inboxes.
• Under the Wire Free weekly newsletter breaking down headlines using Operation Timeline data, focusing on policy changes affecting troops and veterans.
• Operation Timeline Interactive data tracking tool documenting policy changes in the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Produced in partnership with The Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley.
• Shadows of Fallujah Multimedia series commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fallujah, following a platoon of Marines through Operation Phantom Fury and their healing journey 20 years later.
• The Fallujah Files Yearlong multimedia reporting project bringing together a platoon of Marines for the first time since the battle to remember and heal.
• Southern Border Military Project Investigative reporting examining the military's role in securing the US-Mexico border one year later.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% reader satisfaction rate among surveyed readers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• NPRflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2025The War Horse partnered with NPR to investigate the veteran disability benefits claims consulting industry. War Horse reporter Leah Rosenbaum teamed up with NPR's investigative unit to uncover how for-profit companies charge disabled veterans thousands of dollars for help filing disability claims. The investigation was broadcast on NPR's All Things Considered and featured a searchable database of VA warning letters.
• The Human Rights Center at UC BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Produced Operation Timeline project in partnership with UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center to document policy changes affecting military and veterans under the Trump administration.
• Mother JonescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2024Collaborated on the 'Shadows of Fallujah' multimedia reporting project for the 20th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fallujah. Published in partnership with Mother Jones and The American Veterans Center.
• The American Veterans CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2024Collaborated on the 'Shadows of Fallujah' project commemorating the 20th anniversary of Operation Phantom Fury, including video documentary and firsthand accounts of combat veterans.
• Reveal from The Center for Investigative ReportingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2024Audio reporting collaboration for the Fallujah project, with the podcast published through Reveal. The collaboration was recognized with awards from Military Reporters and Editors Association and National Press Foundation.
• PBS NewsHourcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2024Partnered on the 'Shadows of Fallujah' reporting project, extending reach to PBS NewsHour's national audience.
• University of Chicago Harris School of Public PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaborated on white paper analyzing survey results on military reporting news deserts and their threat to national security. Policy researchers independently analyzed data and co-authored findings.
• George W. Bush InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021Collaborated on survey design and launch to understand how military and veteran-related media coverage affects the military-civilian divide. Part of a broader research initiative on military reporting.
• Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Penn State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021Partnered with IVMF and Penn State University to design and launch a reader survey exploring military-related media coverage and its impact on national security.
• Pat Tillman FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWar Horse founder Thomas Brennan interviewed Marie Tillman at the 2025 Pat Tillman Leadership Summit. The War Horse also led a training session titled 'Empowerment Through Storytelling' at the summit.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reveal (Center for Investigative Reporting): Nonprofit investigative newsroom producing long-form journalism and a podcast. The War Horse already partners with Reveal on the Shadows of Fallujah audio project; both share a small-team, grant-funded investigative model with multimedia output.
• The Intercept: Nonprofit digital newsroom producing investigative and adversarial journalism. Comparable in nonprofit newsroom operations and reliance on foundation/reader support, though the Intercept operates at a larger scale and broader topical remit.
• Type Investigations: Nonprofit investigative newsroom and editorial home for long-form reporting. Closely comparable in size, nonprofit funding model, and editorial focus on investigative stories that have driven policy outcomes.
• The Marshall Project: Nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on criminal justice, founded in 2014. Closest comparable peer to The War Horse in operating model: small staff, donations- and grant-funded, prize-winning investigative reporting, and a single-issue thematic focus that drives both editorial output and donor alignment.

Broad incumbents

• Mother Jones: Investigative magazine with nonprofit ownership. Already a co-publisher of The War Horse's Shadows of Fallujah series; comparable in investigative depth and willingness to take on government accountability stories, though at much greater scale.
• ProPublica: Largest U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom. Comparable as a nonprofit investigative model with major foundation funding and Pulitzer-level recognition, but operates at substantially greater scale and covers general-interest public-interest journalism rather than a single vertical like military affairs.
• Military.com: Largest commercial digital media outlet serving the military community. Overlaps with The War Horse's audience but operates as a for-profit information portal rather than an investigative nonprofit, with much higher content volume.

Emerging players

• Task & Purpose: Digital media outlet covering military and veteran culture. Comparable target audience (service members, veterans, military families) but operates as a for-profit commercial publication with significantly broader content output.
• Connecting Vets: Digital media outlet covering veteran issues and benefits. Comparable audience (veterans and military families) and topical overlap with The War Horse's reporting on VA benefits and policy, but operates as a commercial outlet.

Regional players

• Stars and Stripes: Independent news organization covering the U.S. military community, historically editorially independent and government-funded. Comparable audience focus on service members and families, though it is a U.S.-only operation with a broader news mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thewarhorsenews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmmhYB6ZknIgYaO0oLM2vcw
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheWarHorseNews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-war-horse
• Instagraminstagram.com/thewarhorsenews

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The War Horse