Virginia · Nonprofit
James River Writers
James River Writers (Virginia) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $51,000 to it, the largest being WHITE TRIVAS FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($25,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $203k
- Funders on record
- 6
- Grants received
- $51k
- Net assets
- $74k
What James River Writers does
Mission
The organization's mission to promote the art of writing and the love of literature in Virginia by providing or assisting in the presentation of a variety of literary events in the Greater Richmond area,
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
James River Writers Conference attracted 219 attendees in 2024. It provides educational content about the craft and business of writing to all genres and levels of writer through panels and keynote addresses.
$133,292 spent$116,301 earned by the program75% of program spendingThe writing show is a monthly panel on education writing topics that takes place January to September. The writing show programs attracted 553 attendees in 2024.
$25,665 spent$21,509 earned by the program14% of program spendingThe organization sponsors master classses, which offerhands-on small class size instruction on a variety of writing topics. The master classes attracted 248 students to attend stand-alone classes in 2024.
$7,406 spent$15,738 earned by the program4% of program spendingA writing contest is offered each year In 2024, the unpublished novel contest had 87 entries.
$7,329 spent$7,050 earned by the program4% of program spendingThe mission of the writers retreat is to give writers a weekend to deep dive into a particular writing topic, such as editing, with personal instruction and feedback. There were 20 attendees for the first annual retreat in 2024.
$4,785 spent$8,115 earned by the program3% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $178,477.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 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 2019 to 2020, from $65k to $102k (+57%).
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: 2018 3% · 2019 3% · 2020 13% · 2021 6% · 2022 2% · 2023 2% · 2024 4%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
53% of James River Writers’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (64% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 of the last 7 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.
Board chair
DaNika Robinson
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 3 funders, grant income rose $500 → $15k.
From the IRS filings of James River Writers’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
James River Writers leans on a few funders — its largest provides 49% of grant income and the top three 83%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 50% · 2019 67% · 2020 59% · 2021 68% · 2022 71% · 2023 92% — 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
James River Writers draws 63% of its grant income from funders outside Virginia, across 4 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. 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
James River Writers's funding base is broadening — from 1 funders to 3 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 17,953 arts & culture nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like James River Writers
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 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 James River Writers: 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 James River Writers?
- James River Writers (Virginia) receives grants from 6 organizations whose IRS filings report $51,000 to it, the largest being WHITE TRIVAS FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($25,000). 5 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does James River Writers have?
- IRS filings report 6 organizations giving $51,000 in grants to James River Writers, 5 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of James River Writers?
- WHITE TRIVAS FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $25,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like James River Writers find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. 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 James River Writers →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing