Florida · Nonprofit
FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC
FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC (Florida) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $17,111 to it, the largest being Gobioff Foundation ($7,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $586k
- Funders on record
- 4
- Grants received
- $17k
- Net assets
- $924k
What Friends of the Riverwalk Inc does
Mission
Friends of the riverwalk supports the expansion, development, activation, and promotion of the tampa riverwalk to increase public access to the waterfront; improve connectivity and mobility; create inviting, people-oriented experiences; and foster a strong sense of community through public spaces, events, and programming.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
In 2025, friends of the riverwalk promoted the tampa riverwalk through multiple programs supporting local businesses and placemaking. The corporate banner program featured 188 banner spaces across 107 light poles, with 53 organizations participating, leveraging annual riverwalk foot traffic exceeding 2.1 million visitors. The specialty cup program enabled licensed vendors to sell beverages within a designated open-container area, with 17 participating organizations contributing to a vibrant, social atmosphere. The paving the way program raised vital funds while enhancing the riverwalk's identity through engraved granite pavers; 210 custom pavers were installed in 2025 to commemorate individuals, milestones, and community pride.
$30,877 spent$24,663 earned by the program9% of program spendingIn 2025, friends of the riverwalk hosted free, family-friendly events along the 2.6-mile tampa riverwalk, including tampa riverfest, the july 4th boat parade & blessing of the fleet, riverwalk trick-or-treat, the holiday harbour tree lighting, the holiday spectacular, and the holiday lighted boat parade. These events attracted more than 150,000 attendees and were supported by over 100 local business sponsors and vendors, generating economic activity and strengthening community engagement. The organization also hosted quarterly riverwalk cleanups, collecting 144 bags and 742 pounds of trash to maintain a clean, safe, and welcoming waterfront.
$277,894 spent$98,651 earned by the program81% of program spendingFriends of the riverwalk produces the tampa attractions & riverwalk brochure, the region's leading visitor guide, published twice annually with a distribution exceeding 150,000 copies statewide. The organization also manages the official tampa riverwalk website, which receives more than 400,000 visitors annually, and maintains active social media channels. In addition, friends of the riverwalk distributes the weekly riverwalk roundup newsletter to more than 5,000 subscribers, achieving an average 50% open rate and providing timely information on riverwalk events and activities.
$34,147 spent10% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $342,918.
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 2024 to 2025, from $1.0M to $1.1M (+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 27% · 2018 28% · 2020 33% · 2021 25% · 2022 47% · 2025 4%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
70% of FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (18% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 9 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
Marybeth Williams
Executive director
Board chair
Anthony Derby
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income fell $5k → $2k.
2 of 4 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 30% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $47k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Florida Health Sciences Center Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC raised.
From the IRS filings of FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK 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 THE RIVERWALK INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 99%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
30% 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 FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 99% · 2023 99% — broadly stable.
“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
FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC draws 58% of its grant income from funders outside Florida, across 2 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $5k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 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 THE RIVERWALK INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 10,453 recreation & sports nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 10,453 recreation & sports nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK 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 Florida
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
75% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK 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 THE RIVERWALK INC?
- FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC (Florida) receives grants from 4 organizations whose IRS filings report $17,111 to it, the largest being Gobioff Foundation ($7,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC have?
- IRS filings report 4 organizations giving $17,111 in grants to FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC?
- Gobioff Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $7,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FRIENDS OF THE RIVERWALK INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Florida. 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 Friends of the Riverwalk →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 4 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