Colorado · Nonprofit
Fundamental Needs Inc
Fundamental Needs Inc (Colorado) receives grants from 30 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,158,797 to it, the largest being DEL E WEBB FOUNDATION ($205,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $639k
- Funders on record
- 30
- Grants received
- $1.2M
- Net assets
- $300k
What Fundamental Needs Inc does
Mission
At Fundamental Needs we partner with underserved communities in the United States to address critical gaps in access to clean drinking water electricity education and vocational opportunities. By combining community-led approaches with practical solutions we empower individuals and families to overcome systemic barriers and create lasting change.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2025 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
In 2024 Fundamental Needs piloted its Social Entrepreneurship Program providing students with hands-on experience in business fundamentals problem-solving and real-world applications. A key outcome was the student-led conceptualization of the Cortez Makerspace a project designed to provide technical training workforce development and business support for the community. While full implementation of the makerspace is pending funding Fundamental Needs has established partnerships with Fort Lewis College Pueblo Community College and local businesses to lay the groundwork for future workforce development programs. In the interim limited technical training and entrepreneurship workshops have been introduced ensuring progress toward the long-term vision.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
The Oasis Project addresses the lack of access to clean running water on the Navajo Nation by installing off-grid water systems for families who have lived without water infrastructure for generations. The project provides solar-powered water pumps storage tanks and filtration systems ensuring sustainable and long-term solutions. In addition to direct installations the program integrates workforce development by training and employing high school students to build and install water systems in their own communities. This approach not only expands access to clean water but also empowers youth with technical skills job training and a sense of ownership in solving local challenges. Since its launch the Oasis Project has installed over 170 off-grid water systems.
$259,951 spent60% of program spendingThe Cortez Makerspace is an initiative designed to provide technical training workforce development and business support for entrepreneurs students and community members. While the full makerspace is awaiting funding and a permanent location Fundamental Needs has actively worked to develop partnerships programming and workforce development opportunities in preparation for its future launch. In 2024 Fundamental Needs hosted the Start. Scale. Pitch! three-part entrepreneurship workshop series? which introduced core business and financial skills critical to future makerspace programming. The series included: Unique Value Proposition April 2 2024: Helping participants identify community needs and develop business ideas with a sustainable advantage. Finance and Profitability April 9 2024: Covering financial literacy smart investments and negotiation strategies. Creating a Pitch Deck April 16 2024: Teaching participants how to build a compelling pitch deck and polish their presentation skills. Beyond these workshops Fundamental Needs has been developing workforce training programs for the makerspace which will include: Technical training in 3D printing CNC machining and laser cutting.…
$99,773 spent23% of program spendingFundamental Needs Entrepreneurship Program provides hands-on business education to high school students equipping them with problem-solving skills financial literacy and real-world experience in launching a business. The program is currently offered at Southwest Open School SWOS and served an average of 12 students per class in 2024. Students engage in market research branding business planning and public speaking culminating in a final pitch competition where they present their business ideas to local entrepreneurs community leaders and investors. The program has also led to partnerships with Fort Lewis College CU Boulder and local businesses expanding mentorship and networking opportunities for students interested in entrepreneurship and workforce development.
$71,282 spent17% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $431,006.
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 2022 to 2023, from $109k to $262k (+140%).
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: 2023 0% · 2024 0% · 2025 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
103% of Fundamental Needs Inc’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (94% 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.
Chief executive
Justice Ramos
Executive Director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2021 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 17 funders, grant income rose $35k → $296k.
4 of 30 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 Fundamental Needs 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
Fundamental Needs Inc has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 18% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
26% 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 Fundamental Needs Inc.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2021 71% · 2022 47% · 2023 17% — 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.
Where its funders are
Fundamental Needs Inc draws 85% of its grant income from funders outside Colorado, across 13 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $67k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 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
Fundamental Needs Inc has grown faster than three-quarters of the 1,936 food & nutrition nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,936 food & nutrition nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like Fundamental Needs 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 Colorado
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
85%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 3 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Fundamental Needs 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 Fundamental Needs Inc?
- Fundamental Needs Inc (Colorado) receives grants from 30 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,158,797 to it, the largest being DEL E WEBB FOUNDATION ($205,000). 13 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Fundamental Needs Inc have?
- IRS filings report 30 organizations giving $1,158,797 in grants to Fundamental Needs Inc, 13 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Fundamental Needs Inc?
- DEL E WEBB FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $205,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Fundamental Needs Inc find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Colorado. 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 Fundamental Needs →
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 30 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