Rhode Island · Nonprofit
THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY
THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY (Rhode Island) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,840,594 to it, the largest being AM Roberts Charitable Foundation ($1,339,898). 18 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $805k
- Funders on record
- 31
- Grants received
- $1.8M
- Net assets
- $2.3M
What The Watch Hill Conservancy does
Mission
The Watch Hill Conservancy was incorporated in 1999 to promote the preservation of the natural and built environments of watch hill, ri; to conserve, maintain, and enhance the scenic, open space and historical values and the character of watch hill; to educate the public concerning the same; to acquire and preserve interests in real property; and any other purposes incidental to the aforesaid purpose whether accomplished within watch hill or in other nearby areas of the town of westerly, ri or stonington, ct.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Conservation efforts - 2024 was the 19th year of the conservancy's involvement in napatree point conservation area programming, and the 12th year that the conservancy has been lead steward of napatree, assuming this role from the watch hill fire district in 2013. The conservancy conducts a variety of stewardship and environmental education programs in the conservation area. It also conducts environmental monitoring and ecological preservation on napatree. Our popular children's program, the napatree investigators had 75 youngsters participate in 2024. Our napatree conservation efforts include the stewardship of the properties currently identified in the napatree point conservation area conservation easement with the whfd, property the conservancy owns under conservation easement with ridem, and other parcels the conservancy owns on napatree point. Napatree point is the most pristine barrier beach ecosystem in the region and is highly valued by the public who visit the conservation area year- round. Conservation activities also include the maintenance of other parcels currently owned by the conservancy which are outside of the napatree point conservation area. In 2024 we increased…
$404,774 spent76% of program spendingPreserving community character - an important part of the conservancy's mission is to preserve and enhance the historic character of the community. Most of watch hill is recognized as an historic district on the national register of historic places as designated by the united states secretary of the interior and the national park service. The watch hill historic district's designation report lists more than 180 structures as significantly contributing to the historic value of the district. The historic character of watch hill is under constant pressure from development, changes to state and town building and zoning codes, severe weather, and increased flooding from rising seas. The Watch Hill Conservancy has been particularly busy working jointly with the watch hill fire district leadership to respond to these pressures. In 2024, the conservancy was highly involved in monitoring proposed development activity and state and local governmental decisions that could result in significant change to community character or have negative impacts to the historic district designation.
$49,510 spent9% of program spendingInforming the community - 2024 was the conservancy's seventh year hosting the lanphear live speaker series. The conservancy designed the series to inform the community on topics that are interesting and timely, typically covering areas such as science, history, nature and technology. Lanphear live is held in the chaplin b. Barnes reading room at the lanphear livery and is provided at no cost to those who attend. The virtual presentations we hosted in 2020 in response to the pandemic were so popular that the conservancy continues to record and share its lanphear live programs with the public on its website and youtube channel. Owning and managing the reading room as a community space is a relatively new initiative for the conservancy. The conservancy acquired the property in late 2020. Carrying and maintaining the space results in significant costs to the organization. The conservancy is working to offset these costs by seeking outside funding (community programming sponsors and grant funding) to support the community programming and by renting the space to third-parties.
$76,789 spent14% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $531,073.
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 2023 to 2024, from $2.2M to $2.3M (+6%).
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.
97% of THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 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
Dennis Algiere
Chairman pre
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $126k → $357k.
7 of 31 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 14% 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 WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 31 funders by total. 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 WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY leans on a few funders — its largest provides 73% of grant income and the top three 87%; 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 96% · 2018 85% · 2019 72% · 2020 68% · 2021 66% · 2022 70% · 2023 77% — 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
69% of THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% 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
85% of THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY's grant income comes from Rhode Island funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $259k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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 WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY has grown faster than half of the 4,266 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,266 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY
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 Rhode Island
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
72% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
65%
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 THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY: 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 WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY?
- THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY (Rhode Island) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,840,594 to it, the largest being AM Roberts Charitable Foundation ($1,339,898). 18 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY have?
- IRS filings report 31 organizations giving $1,840,594 in grants to THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY, 18 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY?
- AM Roberts Charitable Foundation is the largest funder on record, with $1,339,898 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE WATCH HILL CONSERVANCY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Rhode Island. 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 Watch Hill Conservancy →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 31 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