Skip to content
American Rivers Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

American Rivers Inc

American rivers is championing a national effort to protect and restore all rivers, from remote mountain streams to urban waterways.

$6.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
54
Grants FY2025still arriving
20
States reached
$1.2M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Environment$22MScience & Tech$71kYouth Development$10k
02FY2025 · 54 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k9 grants · $61k
  • $10k–50k27 grants · $562k
  • $50k–250k10 grants · $920k
  • $250k+8 grants · $5.0M
$25,000
Median grant
20
States reached
$40M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION$1,223,328
MOUNTAIN TRUE$1,007,776
NORTH CLACKAMAS URBAN WATERSHEDS COUNCIL$734,174
TERRA FUEGO RESOURCE FOUNDATION INC$584,804
US DEPT OF INTERIOR-YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK$491,600
HGS LLC$451,894
STANFORD UNIVERSITY$279,920
KEARNS & WEST INC$263,370
NATIONAL HYDROPOWER ASSOCIATION INC$207,805
AMERICAN WHITEWATER$177,197
CALIFORNIA SPORTFISHING PROTECTION ALLIANCE$82,003
KRIS BASS ENGINEERING PLLC$73,000
UNIQUE PLACES TO SAVE$72,440
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY RESEARCH FOUNDATION$70,664
RIDGES TO RIFFLES INDIGENOUS CONSERVATION GROUP$68,574
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–25, $250k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%SHASTA INDIAN NATION: $11k → 16%FAMILIES ANCHORED IN TOTAL HARMONY INC: $10k → 15%FAMILIES ANCHORED IN TOTAL HARMONY INC: $10k → 15%HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION: $45k → 14%FAMILIES ANCHORED IN TOTAL HARMONY INC: $8k → 15%HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION: $35k → 14%WE THE PEOPLE OF DETROIT: $12k → 21%HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION: $33k → 14%WE THE PEOPLE OF DETROIT: $15k → 21%HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%WE THE PEOPLE OF DETROIT: $12k → 21%HISPANIC ACCESS FOUNDATION: $30k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
MA
OR
NV
WY
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CA
UT
CO
KY
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
NC
SC
DC
OK
MS
AL
GA
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$19M · 90 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +71% since the first grant, against +36% for those funded once.

90 repeat relationships: 41 still active in FY2025, 49 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

90
77

Total granted

$19M
$2.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+71%
+36%

Still filing today

72%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 97% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $216k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentCommunity ImprovementEducationAnimalsHuman ServicesArts & CultureOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • AW
    American Whitewater
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.4M · revenue +44%
  • NC
    NORTH CLACKAMAS URBAN WATERSHEDS COUNCIL
    2× · 2024–2025 · $829k · revenue +100% · 40% of their budget
  • TU
    TROUT UNLIMITED INC
    7× · 2018–2025 · $629k · revenue +104%

Funded once

  • YR
    Yuba River Charter Schoolgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $330k · revenue +49%
  • SC
    SKAGIT COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPT
    one grant, 2024 · $154k
  • YF
    YES FOR RESPONSIBLE MINING
    one grant, 2019 · $106k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Washington Water Trust

Wwt's mission is to protect and restore water in rivers and streams across washington state. washington water trust restores and protects water in rivers and streams and promotes sustainable freshwater management in washington, and, more…

Environment
2
Resource Renewal Institute

The resource renewal institute facilitates the creation, development and implementation of practical strategies to solve the entire complex environmental problem by addressing it comprehensively.

Environment
3
Western Rivers Conservancy

Western rivers conservancy's mission is to protect outstanding river ecosystems in the western united states. continued on schedule o.we acquire land to conserve critical habitat, provide public access for compatible use and enjoyment, and…

Environment
4
Idaho Conservation League Inc

Icl's mission is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love.

—
5
Sustainable Conservation

Sustainable Conservation advances the collaborative stewardship of Californias land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. For over three decades, Sustainable Conservation has built coalitions of people with different…

Environment
6
Cascadia Wildlands

Cascadia wildlands defends and restores cacasia's wild ecosystems in the forests,in the courts, and in the streets. we envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and…

Environment
7
CalWild

The California Wilderness Coalition protects the natural landscapes that make California unique, providing clean air and water, a home to wildlife, and a place for recreation and spiritual renewal.

—
8
Tuolumne River Preservation Trust dba Yosemite Rivers Alliance

At Yosemite Rivers Alliance, we unite conservation and community to protect and restore the three rivers that ?ow through the Yosemite Regionthe Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced.

—
9
Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council

The Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council is a local nonprofit organization that strives to enhance and restore habitat for fish and wildlife our community and for future generations. Our Board of Directors consists of seven members with…

Environment
10
Bitterroot Water Partnership

BWP leads reliable and intentional conservation initiatives that promote and provide clean, ample water for people and habitats by working with key partners and our communities

Environment
11
Uviation World Water

To leverage education, technology, and innovative solutions to improve river health.

Environment
12
WaterWatch of Oregon

WaterWatch is a water conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring streamflows in Oregon rivers for fish, wildlife and the people who depend on healthy rivers.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is River Partners; the most unlike its peers is Urban Tilth. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

133 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 133 of the 183 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
52
Early backer (in before they grew)
130/133
Grantees still filing
96/133
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: $1,788,837 · OtherOREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONHGS LLC: $1,281,906 · OtherHGS LLCNATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKS: $998,431 · OtherNATIONAL MALL AND MEMORIAL PARKSSUTTER BUTTE FLOOD CONTROL AGENCY: $792,523 · OtherSUTTER BUTTE FLOOD CONTROL AGENCYKEARNS & WEST INC: $658,288 · OtherKEARNS & WEST INCCORONA ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING LLC: $454,481 · OtherLITTLETON WATER AND LIGHT: $426,145 · OtherNATIONAL HYDROPOWER ASSOCIATION INC: $413,894 · OtherAYLWARD MCCOY AND PILZ CONSULTING LLC: $355,025 · Other+75 more: $3,283,888 · Other+75 moreMountainTrue: $1,478,225 · EnvironmentMountainTrueAmerican Whitewater: $1,395,828 · EnvironmentAmerican WhitewaterTERRA FUEGO RESOURCE FOUNDATION INC: $667,909 · EnvironmentTERRA FUEGO RESOURCE FOUNDATION INCCalifornia Sportfishing Protection Allia: $504,088 · EnvironmentCalifornia Sportfishing Protection AlliaAPPLEGATE PARTNERSHIP INC: $363,620 · EnvironmentIDAHO RIVERS UNITED: $256,815 · Environment+70 more: $3,032,058 · Environment+70 moreTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $629,055 · AnimalsCALIFORNIA TROUT INC: $461,516 · Animals+5 more: $106,820 · AnimalsYuba River Charter School: $330,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $279,920 · EducationUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation: $208,957 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $96,134 · Education+5 more: $103,000 · EducationNORTH CLACKAMAS URBAN WATERSHEDS COUNCIL: $829,006 · Public Benefit+1 more: $10,000 · Public BenefitFRIENDS OF THE RIVER FOUNDATION: $306,582 · Recreation & SportsHispanic Access Foundation: $172,605 · Human ServicesWe the People of Detroit: $39,000 · Human ServicesFamilies Anchored in Total Harmony: $27,500 · Human ServicesShasta Indian Nation: $11,000 · Human Services
Other$10,453,418Environment$7,698,543Animals$1,197,391Education$1,018,011Public Benefit$839,006Recreation & Sports$306,582Human Services$250,105

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMountainTrue: $1,478,225 over 2y, 9.2% of budgetAmerican Whitewater: $1,395,828 over 9y, 12% of budgetNORTH CLACKAMAS URBAN WATERSHEDS COUNCIL: $829,006 over 2y, 40% of budgetTERRA FUEGO RESOURCE FOUNDATION INC: $667,909 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetTROUT UNLIMITED INC: $629,055 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetCalifornia Sportfishing Protection Allia: $504,088 over 9y, 23% of budgetCALIFORNIA TROUT INC: $461,516 over 9y, 1.7% of budgetNATIONAL HYDROPOWER ASSOCIATION INC: $413,894 over 2y, 2.7% of budgetAPPLEGATE PARTNERSHIP INC: $363,620 over 3y, 21% of budgetSOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE: $345,608 over 9y, 2.5% of budgetYuba River Charter School: $330,000 over 1y, 9.6% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE RIVER FOUNDATION: $306,582 over 9y, 6.9% of budgetIDAHO RIVERS UNITED: $256,815 over 9y, 15% of budgetUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation: $208,957 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL INC: $202,950 over 2y, 5.2% of budgetHispanic Access Foundation: $172,605 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetSOUTHEASTERN ASSOC OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES INC: $153,142 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetMILWAUKEE WATER COMMONS INC: $151,000 over 4y, 10% of budgetUNIQUE PLACES TO SAVE: $135,045 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetDucks Unlimited Inc: $134,484 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMULTIPLIER: $125,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetFoothill Conservancy: $122,690 over 9y, 18% of budgetBrandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art: $120,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetRESOURCES LEGACY FUND: $108,878 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetTHE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC: $104,150 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetWatershed Management Group Inc: $101,000 over 4y, 2.9% of budgetJohnson Creek Watershed Council: $101,000 over 2y, 9.8% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $96,134 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetGallatin River Task Force: $93,750 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetLow Impact Hydropower Institute: $92,926 over 2y, 6.7% of budgetUPPER SNAKE RIVER TRIBES FOUNDATION: $85,000 over 2y, 6.1% of budgetRIDGES TO RIFFLES INDIGENOUS CONSER: $78,574 over 2y, 4.1% of budgetPARTNERSHIP FOR THE DELAWARE ESTUARY INC: $71,596 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetRIVER PARTNERS: $63,633 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetJUNCTION COALITION: $60,500 over 4y, 8.7% of budgetMainspring Conservation Trust Inc: $60,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetThe Pew Charitable Trusts: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFLINT RIVERKEEPER INC: $46,585 over 3y, 5.1% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $43,111 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCONSERVATION VOTERS OF SC EDUC FUND: $43,000 over 2y, 7.8% of budgetBONNEVILLE ENVIRONMENTAL FOUNDATION: $41,738 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWe the People of Detroit: $39,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetUNITED CONGREGATIONS OF METRO EAST: $35,250 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetNORTH CAROLINA CONSERVATION NETWORK: $35,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetWater Environment Federation: $34,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGROUNDWORK MILWAUKEE INC: $33,500 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetBLUE RIDGE RESOURCE CONSERV AND DEVEL: $30,831 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetSierra Foothill Conservancy: $30,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds MountainTrue ↗
  • Who funds American Whitewater ↗
  • Who funds NORTH CLACKAMAS URBAN WATERSHEDS COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds TERRA FUEGO RESOURCE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds TROUT UNLIMITED INC ↗
  • Who funds California Sportfishing Protection Allia ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA TROUT INC ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL HYDROPOWER ASSOCIATION INC ↗
  • Who funds APPLEGATE PARTNERSHIP INC ↗
  • Who funds SOUTH YUBA RIVER CITIZENS LEAGUE ↗
  • Who funds Yuba River Charter School ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE RIVER FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds IDAHO RIVERS UNITED ↗
  • Who funds FAIR FUTURE MOVEMENT INC ↗
  • Who funds University of Kentucky Research Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL INC ↗
  • Who funds Hispanic Access Foundation ↗
  • Who funds SOUTHEASTERN ASSOC OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES INC ↗
  • Who funds MILWAUKEE WATER COMMONS INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIQUE PLACES TO SAVE ↗
  • Who funds Ducks Unlimited Inc ↗
  • Who funds MULTIPLIER ↗
  • Who funds Foothill Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art ↗
  • Who funds RESOURCES LEGACY FUND ↗
  • Who funds THE GRAND CANYON TRUST INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

PatagoniaorgNational Fish and Wil…The Nature ConservancyResources Legacy FundWater FoundationNational Wildlife Fed…The Rose Foundation f…Windward FundUnited States Energy …Clif Family FoundationRiver NetworkThe Pew Charitable Tr…
PatagoniaorgCA59.3× affinity40 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Patagoniaorg · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · Resources Legacy Fund · Water Foundation · National Wildlife Federation · The Rose Foundation for Communities the Environment · Windward Fund · United States Energy Foundation · Clif Family Foundation · River Network · The Pew Charitable Trusts

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization American Rivers Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from American Rivers Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Bonneville Environmental Foundation: 100% of income from government
  • Applegate Partnership Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Inc: 69% of income from government
  • Connecticut River Watershed Council Inc: 40% of income from government
  • Johnson Creek Watershed Council: 23% of income from government
  • Delaware Nature Society Inc: 13% of income from government
  • Sustainable Northwest: 5% of income from government
  • American Whitewater: 5% of income from government
  • The Orion Society Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • New Jersey Audubon Society: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
28report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
3rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 183 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on American Rivers’ filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home