California · Nonprofit
COLORWAVE PROJECT INC
COLORWAVE PROJECT INC (California) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $287,792 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($127,500). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 98% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $238k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $288k
- Net assets
- $20k
What Colorwave Project Inc does
Mission
The Colorwave Project, Inc. dba Colorwave is organized and operated for educational purposes for underrepresented professionals in the startup and high-growth business sector. Our organization leads an eight-week leadership program to help educate, support and train underrepresented, primarily low-income, first-generation professionals on how America's startup and high-growth business sector works, how to attain jobs within the industry, and gain financial security through employment and entrepreneurship.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
As of 2025, Colorwave celebrated its fifth year of program operations. Since 2021, we have served 600+ individuals across 135 different cities helping to grow their networks and access meaningful career opportunities at high-growth companies across the innovation economy. During 2025, we led three major program initiatives. First, we led our flagship fellowship program in Spring 2025 support 55 fellows in navigating their pathway into startups. During the fall, we led our first pitch competition for early-stage founders with 70 applicants and three final prize winners being awarded non-dilutive funding to grow their business. Finally, in partnership with Stiles Hall, we cohosted the first offering of the Berkeley Rising Leaders Institute course supporting 15 rising undergraduates in leadership development and support in launching independent social enterprises and impact initiatives.
$218,864 spent$238,028 earned by the program100% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$0 spent0% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $218,864.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2021, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2021, 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 2023 to 2024, from $169k to $36k (−79%).
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.
100% of COLORWAVE PROJECT INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 5 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
John Roussel
CEO
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2022 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 3 funders, grant income rose $52k → $123k.
5 of 6 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 98% 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 COLORWAVE PROJECT INC’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
COLORWAVE PROJECT INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 44% of grant income and the top three 87%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
98% 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 COLORWAVE PROJECT INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2022 52% · 2023 81% — growing more concentrated.
“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
98% of COLORWAVE PROJECT INC's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $6k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside California, across 1 state.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $282k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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
COLORWAVE PROJECT INC's revenue grew 19% between 2021 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 16,849 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like COLORWAVE PROJECT INC
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
87% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
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 COLORWAVE PROJECT INC: 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 COLORWAVE PROJECT INC?
- COLORWAVE PROJECT INC (California) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $287,792 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($127,500). 3 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 98% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does COLORWAVE PROJECT INC have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $287,792 in grants to COLORWAVE PROJECT INC, 3 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of COLORWAVE PROJECT INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $127,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like COLORWAVE PROJECT INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 Colorwave Project →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2021–2025), and the filings of 6 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