New York · Nonprofit
BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION
BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 65 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,763,403 to it, the largest being LK WHITTIER FOUNDATION ($5,000,000). 31 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.6M
- Funders on record
- 65
- Grants received
- $11M
- Net assets
- $41M
What Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation does
Mission
Byrd Hoffman Water Mill Foundation a/k/a the watermill center (foundation, incorporated in 1970, was founded for the development of emerging artists and the promotion of innovative performing and visual arts, as well as to collect, preserve, and exhibit various artworks. The foundation operates the watermill center (center),which was founded in 1992 by robert wilson on eastern long island, new york. The center provides a place for study and participation in the artistic and theatrical endeavors.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Residency program - this program is open for artists from allartistic backgrounds as well as social scientists, alumni of thecenter's summer, and former artists-in-residence with a specialfocus on emerging artists and cross-disciplinaryapproaches. Theprojects are evaluated and selected by a prestigious committeeconsisting of people from diverse artistic, humanities and sciencebackgrounds
$1,204,752 spent39% of program spendingCuratorial/exhibitions - the foundation's collection is preserved and cared for by a team of art handlers and conservators and is exhibited at the center, among other rotating venues worldwide. The collection is an integral part of the foundation's activities as it inspires and supplements the research and activities of the foundation's artists-in-residence program and is a tool for any who visit the center.
$590,628 spent19% of program spendingInternational summer program - international summer program consists of daily workshops with robert wilson and his collaborators that focus on new projects in development for theater and opera, installation and exhibition design, furniture and fashion design, film and video, landscaping, and architecture. The participating artists provided site-specific installations and performances for a large open house, which was free to the public. Additionally, guest lecturers spoke to the artists and local community on a variety of subjects regarding science and artduring the summer lecture series series.
$566,674 spent18% of program spendingArtistic resources - the library of inspiration is a program that brings together the foundations archives, library resources and information about the watermill art collection as well as digital materials as a resource for artists and scholars into one complete user friendly database. The primary purpose of the archive is to document the work of robert wilson, as well as that of his collaborators and contemporaries. The archive collects, organizes, preserves, describes and provides access to all formats of documentary materials. In addition, the archive preserves and documents the work of the foundation.
$498,819 spent16% of program spendingEducation and outreach - regular programs are held for pre-k through 12th grade students run by the centers education manager with support from local teaching artists and the international artists-in-residence. Through participation, students explore the visual and performing arts, including music, dance, theater, sculpture, photography and multi-media work.
$259,763 spent8% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,120,636.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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 2018 to 2019, from $36M to $40M (+13%).
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: 2017 1% · 2018 1% · 2019 0% · 2020 6% · 2021 13% · 2022 1% · 2023 1% · 2024 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
93% of BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 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.
Board chair
William Campbell
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 18 funders to 22 funders, grant income fell $942k → $557k.
7 of 65 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 11% 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 BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 65 funders by total. 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
BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 46% of grant income and the top three 66%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 36% · 2018 44% · 2019 27% · 2020 22% · 2021 54% · 2022 33% · 2023 29% — diversifying over time.
“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.
How long its funders stay
30% of BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 48% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION draws 71% of its grant income from funders outside New York, across 11 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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
BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION is better cushioned than half of the 5,136 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 5,136 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $112k on record.
- National Endowment for the Arts$95k
- Department of State$17k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION
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 New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
81%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION: 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 BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION?
- BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION (New York) receives grants from 65 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,763,403 to it, the largest being LK WHITTIER FOUNDATION ($5,000,000). 31 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 65 organizations giving $10,763,403 in grants to BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION, 31 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION?
- LK WHITTIER FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like BYRD HOFFMAN WATER MILL FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Byrd Hoffman Water Mill →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 65 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing