New Jersey · Nonprofit
THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC
THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC (New Jersey) receives grants from 67 organizations whose IRS filings report $11,627,955 to it, the largest being THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION ($1,881,347). 45 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $5.7M
- Funders on record
- 67
- Grants received
- $12M
- Net assets
- $34M
What The Watershed Institute Inc does
Mission
Keeping water clean, safe and healthy is the heart of our mission. We work to protect and restore our water and natural environment in central new jersey through conservation, advocacy, science and education. It addresses key issues affecting water quality and land use, educates area residents about the ecology of the natural environment and preserves open space by maintaining a 950-acre nature reserve and organic farm.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
A) science - science is at the heart of the watershed institute's environmental leadership. Across the region, we collect key data on the health of our streams and on other environmental factors. We distribute the information to citizens and officials in central new jersey, and work with them to address pollution of our water supplies and waterways. Our geographic information system combines scientific data with mapping systems to help local governments and citizens understand the environmental issues facing our communities and help plan for a better future. B) advocacy - for seven decades, the watershed institute has led the fight to preserve our region's water and land. We engage local and state officials, urging them to strengthen environmental protections, improve planning and zoning, and make better informed decisions about our future. We work cooperatively with local towns through our project for municipal excellence, and speak out against development proposals that would harm the local environment and our quality of life.
$1,902,458 spentof which $607,973 as grants44% of program spendingEducation - the watershed institute serves more than 10,000 children and adults through nearly 400 education programs and events each year. Our programs inspire an appreciation of the wonders of nature and explain what we can do to protect our environment. Our teacher workshops train educators to incorporate the environment into their curriculums, while adult education programs teach strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of your home and business. At our nature center, you will discover an assortment of exhibits and a collection of small creatures. Surround yourself with butterflies (in season) at the kate gorrie memorial butterfly house.
$1,199,768 spent28% of program spendingConservation - from our 950-acre watershed reserve in hopewell to locations across the region, volunteers and staff are engaged in projects that protect and restore natural habitats. We have also helped foster other important regional organizations over the years. In the 1980's, we helped launch the d&r greenway land trust and the northeast organic farming association of new jersey. Our watershed reserve hosts fairgrown organic farm. Through our watershed institute, we help build other watershed groups across the state.
$1,243,861 spent29% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,346,087.
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 $19M to $30M (+58%).
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 2% · 2019 12% · 2020 5% · 2021 2% · 2022 11% · 2023 5% · 2024 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
62% of THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as 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 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.
Chief executive
James Waltman
Executive director
Board chair
Barbie Griffin Cole
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 31 funders, grant income rose $945k → $1.4M.
10 of 67 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 32% 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 WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 67 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 WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 16% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
42% 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 THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 26% · 2018 37% · 2019 41% · 2020 26% · 2021 24% · 2022 33% · 2023 27% — broadly stable.
“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
46% of THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% 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
64% of THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC's grant income comes from New Jersey funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.8M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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 WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 2,186 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,186 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $2.0M on record — $239k federal, $1.7M state.
- Department of the Interior$239k
- GRANT IN AID$486k
- FEDERAL$449k
- CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION$366k
- BOND FUND$343k
- DIRECT STATE SERVICES - NON-SALARY$92k
- DEDICATED$760
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 WATERSHED INSTITUTE 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 New Jersey
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
69%
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 THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE 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 THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC?
- THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC (New Jersey) receives grants from 67 organizations whose IRS filings report $11,627,955 to it, the largest being THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION ($1,881,347). 45 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC have?
- IRS filings report 67 organizations giving $11,627,955 in grants to THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC, 45 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC?
- THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,881,347 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE WATERSHED INSTITUTE INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New Jersey. 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 FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), and the filings of 67 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