Arizona · Nonprofit
FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER
FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER (Arizona) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,143,532 to it, the largest being THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ($1,891,520). 10 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.7M
- Funders on record
- 20
- Grants received
- $4.1M
- Net assets
- $665k
What Friends of the Verde River does
Mission
To work collaboratively for a healthy flowing verde river system.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Environmental consulting services sustaining flows. Friends of the Verde River advanced water conservation and reuse initiatives to sustain river flows across the verde valley. In fy25, the organization launched wastewater reuse planning projects with local landowners, including a major collaboration with page springs vineyards that is projected to save 1 million gallons of water per year. Through the river friendly living program, friends awarded 45 small grants to homeowners, businesses, and agricultural producers, supporting projects such as irrigation efficiency upgrades, rainwater harvesting, and fixture replacementstogether estimated to save approximately 81 million gallons of water annually. The new verde watershed fellowship research project engaged students as scientists, collecting and analyzing data on local river health and building the next generation of conservation leaders.this program had expenses of 909,828 and grants paid to other organizations of 95,600 during the fiscal year.
$1,005,428 spentof which $95,600 as grants63% of program spendingEnvironment, conservation, and wildlife habitat restoration. Friends of the Verde River and its verde watershed restoration coalition partners achieved significant restoration milestones in fy25, including the removal of invasive plants along nearly 17 miles of fossil creek,a federally designated wild and scenic river. Fvr funded crews from arizona conservation corps, verde earth technologies, and wild az also removed giant reed, tamarisk, and other invasive species throughout the verde river greenway and wild and scenic sections of the lower verde. In upland areas, friends implemented low-tech process-based restoration projects in stringtown wash and pine creek to slow water flow, improve groundwater recharge, and restore natural channel processes. These efforts strengthened habitat, reduced wildfire risk, and enhanced ecological resilience throughout the watershed. Friends of the Verde River also received two arizona forward awards for its restoration work at fossil creek.this program had expenses of 356,983 and grants paid to individuals of 11,000 during the fiscal year.
$367,983 spentof which $11,000 as grants23% of program spendingNature parks and other similar promoting community stewardship. Community science and education programs continued to expand in fy25. The verde water watchers monitored 26 sites, collecting 263 water samples and contributing 257 volunteer hours to identify and respond to water quality issues. The fifth annual verde bioblitz engaged 502 students from 18 classes across eight schools, generating 6,820 observations of local biodiversity. The 25th verde valley birding & nature festival celebrated a quarter-century of community engagement, with record attendance, expanded vendors, and enhanced educational programs. Friends hosted ecoflights to provide partners and donors with aerial views of restoration work, and the fiesta de la garza and river champions events honored outstanding community partners and volunteers. Together, these efforts connected people, science, and stewardship to protect a healthy, flowing verde river for generations to come.this program had expenses of 225,450 and grants paid to individuals of 3,000 during the fiscal year.
$228,450 spentof which $3,000 as grants14% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,601,861.
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 2022 to 2023, from $550k to $836k (+52%).
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 9% · 2021 26% · 2022 24% · 2023 37% · 2024 45% · 2025 27%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
99% of FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (82% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 6 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 3 funders to 11 funders, grant income rose $72k → $922k.
5 of 20 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 49% 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 THE VERDE RIVER’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 VERDE RIVER leans on a few funders — its largest provides 46% of grant income and the top three 81%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
63% 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 VERDE RIVER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 65% · 2018 88% · 2019 100% · 2020 63% · 2021 74% · 2022 57% · 2023 57% — 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
57% of FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER'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 THE VERDE RIVER draws 99% of its grant income from funders outside Arizona, across 11 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.0M 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 THE VERDE RIVER's funding base is broadening — from 3 funders to 11 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,504 philanthropy nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.9M on record.
- Department of Agriculture$1.7M
- Department of the Interior$147k
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 THE VERDE RIVER
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 Arizona
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
87%
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 VERDE RIVER: 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 VERDE RIVER?
- FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER (Arizona) receives grants from 20 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,143,532 to it, the largest being THE NATURE CONSERVANCY ($1,891,520). 10 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER have?
- IRS filings report 20 organizations giving $4,143,532 in grants to FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER, 10 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER?
- THE NATURE CONSERVANCY is the largest funder on record, with $1,891,520 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like FRIENDS OF THE VERDE RIVER find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Arizona. 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 20 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