California · Nonprofit
THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE
THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,532,657 to it, the largest being CONRAD N HILTON FOUNDATION ($9,540,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.6M
- Funders on record
- 10
- Grants received
- $14M
- Net assets
- $7.1M
What The Aquaya Institute does
Mission
Aquaya is a nonprofit research and consulting organization dedicated to advancing global health through universal access to safe water and sanitation. We deliver critical insights, data, and tools to support informed policy, program, and financing decisions. This knowledge helps to secure safe water and sanitation for undeserved populations, improving human health and well-being.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2025 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
Aquaya discontinued the real water program in february 2025 due to the shutdown of usaid.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
Africa water quality testing fellowship - this program partners with universities in ethiopia, ghana, and uganda to establish a student fellowship program and build students' practical skills in water quality testing. This program also collects water quality data from households, schools, and healthcare facilities to inform strategies for water quality improvement interventions.
$1,172,541 spentof which $57,327 as grants31% of program spendingAssurance fund - this program partners with urban laboratories, rural water systems, and local governments in ghana, kenya, and tanzania to facilitate regular water quality testing of rural water systems and promote the use of water quality data for better water safety management. The program also provides capacity strengthening, technical guidance, and community sensitization. Rigorous research evaluations are being conducted in kenya and ghana to evaluate the impact of the program.
$839,139 spent22% of program spendingReal water - rural evidence and learning for water (real water) is a five-year (2021-2026) cooperative agreement between the u.s. Agency for international development (usaid) and The Aquaya Institute (aquaya) to develop and evaluate strategies for expanding access to safe, equitable, and sustainable rural water services. Real-water will support policymakers, development partners, and service providers to make strategic decisions and implement best practices for water management through applied research.
$310,328 spentof which $173,862 as grants8% of program spendingOther programs
$1,517,183 spentof which $211,109 as grants$123,360 earned by the program40% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,839,191.
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 $5.0M to $9.1M (+84%).
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: 2021 9% · 2022 37% · 2023 35% · 2024 72% · 2025 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
95% of THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (67% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
Rachel Peletz
Executive director
Board chair
Ian Warburg
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 5 funders, grant income rose $50k → $4.5M.
3 of 10 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 1% 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 THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE’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
THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE leans on a few funders — its largest provides 70% of grant income and the top three 94%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 92% · 2019 95% · 2020 92% · 2021 91% · 2022 89% · 2023 56% — 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
43% of THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 80% 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
72% of THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $193k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 210 science & tech nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 210 science & tech nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $11.9M on record.
- Agency for International Development$11.9M
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 THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
59%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 7 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE: 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 THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE?
- THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 10 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,532,657 to it, the largest being CONRAD N HILTON FOUNDATION ($9,540,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 10 organizations giving $13,532,657 in grants to THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE, 8 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE?
- CONRAD N HILTON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $9,540,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE AQUAYA INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 10 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