Ohio · Nonprofit
AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE
AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE (Ohio) receives grants from 11 organizations whose IRS filings report $415,000 to it, the largest being THE R C DURR FOUNDATION INC 541 BUTTERMILK PIKE SUITE 500 ($75,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $3.3M
- Funders on record
- 11
- Grants received
- $415k
- Net assets
- $1.6M
What America's River Roots Experience does
Mission
America's river roots' mission is a quest to forge deeper connections to america's inland river waterways, aiming to highlight the pivotal role the ohio river played in shaping our nation. Sparked by america's 250th anniversary, this signature national celebration seeks to inclusively engage wide audiences and boost cultural tourism with experiences that both educate and entertain through intentionally crafted and enriching moments that showcase this unique river culture, its cuisine and music.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
America's River Roots Experience plans to host a multi-day public event along the ohio river's frontage adjacent to downtown cincinnati and northern kentucky, which celebrate the vibrant culture of america's river cities. The fusion of historic riverboats, a wide variety of cuisine, musical performances from a range of genres, and other educational programs will aid in celebrating the kick off of america's 250th birthday.
$1,646,579 spent$830,672 earned by the program86% of program spendingFreedom journey:this project will create a digital platform that will serve as an educational and cultural tourism hub with a wide range of information and experiential content on the freedom journey sites in cincinnati and ohio river communities. The goal is to provide content for a self-guided tour, tour operator guide and schools. Users will be able to download a tour on their mobile device and experience a self-guided tour with video and narrated stories at each site. The national underground railroad museum will work with the national park services to identify the most significant stops on the trail. The platform is designed to be a permanent legacy and will be promoted as an ongoing tourism attraction.
$136,624 spent7% of program spendingRiverwalk:a 4-mile walking tour of our region's unique history circling the riverfront of cincinnati, covington and newport. From the dinosaurs that roamed this valley, to its early settlement and tremendous growth, to historic figures that influenced the nation, the riverwalk tells the story of our ties with the ohio river. Clearly marked by colorful tile pavement inserts and directional signage, the tour is organized in nine zones featuring 46 stations that capture the spirit our unique heritage and place in america. Dramatic views of the river and city, and reference to historic sites and events are highlighted along the route. This project will create a digital platform that will serve as an educational and cultural tourism resource with a wide range of information and experiential content that will bring the riverwalk to life. Visitors will be able to download the tour on their mobile device and experience a self-guided tour with video and narrated stories at each station. The riverwalk tour will be launched in october 2025 with a promotional event targeting families with school age children and visitors attending river roots. The platform is designed to be a permanent legacy…
$88,891 spent5% of program spendingRobert o'neal multicultural arts center 501(c)3 will develop the content and produce 30 second vignettes on the ohioans that influenced the origins of american roots music. Leveraging the past work of the black music walk of fame and rock and roll hall of fame, this project will elevate national and international awareness about ohio's rich musical heritage. The vignettes would be distributed on instagram one year before america's river roots event followed by six months of announcing the national roots artists performing at the festival.sounds from the river, an interactive, immersive concert that traces the historical development and migration of musical genres of diverse populations that traveled along the ohio river.america's river roots festival will debut sounds from the river, a groundbreaking educational production created by kathy wade and learning through art, inc. As part of lta's three-time emmy winning performing arts literacy program, books alive! For kids. The program brings to life the music and stories born along america's great waterways and will premiere as part of the five-day festival, oct. 8-12, 2025, before becoming part of a national curriculum that will…
$50,000 spent3% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,922,094.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2024, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2024, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $514k to $1.6M (+211%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2025 11%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
75% of AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 2 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Susan Fischer
Executive director
Board chair
Richard Griewe
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
Grant support over time, funder by funder — shade shows the grant size each year.
3 of 11 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 34% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 18% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
48% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
62% of AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE's grant income comes from Ohio funders.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $140k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,230 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Ohio
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
87% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE?
- AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE (Ohio) receives grants from 11 organizations whose IRS filings report $415,000 to it, the largest being THE R C DURR FOUNDATION INC 541 BUTTERMILK PIKE SUITE 500 ($75,000). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE have?
- IRS filings report 11 organizations giving $415,000 in grants to AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE?
- THE R C DURR FOUNDATION INC 541 BUTTERMILK PIKE SUITE 500 is the largest funder on record, with $75,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS EXPERIENCE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Ohio. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds America's River Roots Experience →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2024–2025), and the filings of 11 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing