West Virginia · Nonprofit
FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC
FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC (West Virginia) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $874,488 to it, the largest being CLAUDE WORTHINGTON BENEDUM FOUNDATION ($200,000). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $690k
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $874k
- Net assets
- $359k
What Friends of Blackwater Inc does
Mission
The mission is to educate the public about the environment.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Highways: obtained an expert engineering report analyzing the favored wv department of transportation (wvdot) route for corridor h from parsons to davis. Funds were also utililized on legal consultation for the project and to build a grassroots coalition to anaylze the negative impacts of the wvdot favored corridor h route south and advocating for an alternate route.
$9,863 spent3% of program spendingPublic lands: fob is writing a guidebook with maps and tours of the public lands in the blackwater watershed. Additionally, fob is improving the rail trail from thomas to douglas falls by removing invasive species of plants whicj will lead to eco tours of the area. The trail is maintained so that it can be open to hikers and bikers. The organization also partners with other organizations to advocate against the cutting of older growth trees which diminishes the forest carbon sink which is a hedge against the negative effects of climate change.
$65,322 spentof which $7,173 as grants18% of program spendingBlackwater/northfork watershed: the organization received multiple grants from the west virginia department of environmental protection to plan a water treatment plant on the north fork of the blackwater next to the rail trail and one at beaver creek. The project consultant, bio most, analyzed the level of acid mine drain pollution, the sources of water pollution and the flow or volume of water from key sites and designed the piping to the plant. In addition bio most engineered the processing and the removal of the waste product from the treatment site and worked on permitting and land owners agreements for both sites. We have also continued to monitor water monthly along the north fork and along beaver creek of the blackwater. Additionally, new historic signage was planned for the north fork by working with consultants.
$118,830 spent33% of program spendingRiver trail projects: the organization is planning and designing the wv railroad heritage trail from thomas, wv to cumberland, md. Also, a consultant is planning and designing an 8.5 mile the blackwater river loop trail. The trail follows the mon national forest's historic rail trail and joins trails in blackwater falls state park at douglas falls. The trail will connect to the state park with a pedestrian bridge over the north fork of the blackwater. History:the organization researches, writes and produces public meetings and a dramatic reading of coal miners in tucker county. The script was taken from recordings made in the 1970's. The vent was free and open to the public at blackwater falls state park. Additionally, the organization created a traveling exhibit of their historic signage taken from the thomas rail trail, downtown davis, davis city park and blackwater falls state park and is studying and documenting historic african american sites in the west virginia highlands.
$165,334 spent$8,122 earned by the program46% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $359,349.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 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 $106k to $359k (+239%).
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: 2020 61% · 2021 56% · 2022 65% · 2023 49% · 2024 34%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
99% of FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 9 funders, grant income rose $50k → $82k.
6 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 6% 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 FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER 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
FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 23% 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
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 41% · 2018 24% · 2019 37% · 2020 31% · 2021 46% · 2022 37% · 2023 49% — 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.
How long its funders stay
64% of FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% 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
FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC draws 81% of its grant income from funders outside West Virginia, across 8 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $50k 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
FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 4,264 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,264 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Government funding FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $101k on record.
- Department of the Interior$65k
- Department of Agriculture$36k
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 FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER 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 West Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% 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 FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER 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 FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC?
- FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC (West Virginia) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $874,488 to it, the largest being CLAUDE WORTHINGTON BENEDUM FOUNDATION ($200,000). 12 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $874,488 in grants to FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC, 12 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC?
- CLAUDE WORTHINGTON BENEDUM FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $200,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in West Virginia. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2020–2024), and the filings of 24 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