California · Nonprofit
THE WATERSHED PROJECT
THE WATERSHED PROJECT (California) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,419,842 to it, the largest being THE SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION ($324,999). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.7M
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $1.4M
- Net assets
- $558k
What The Watershed Project does
Mission
The Watershed Project educates and inspires communities to protect their local watersheds.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Healthy watersheds:twp's healthy watersheds & community science program connects people to local creeks and shorelines in west contra costa county and beyond through trash cleanups, hands-on monitoring, and public science events. By centering data collection from water quality to trash and pollutants we help participants understand the challenges our bay area watersheds face.
$247,707 spentof which $47,175 as grants$315,822 earned by the program16% of program spendingEpa wildcat:our project aims to empower underserved communities to participate in the planning, design, and implementation of the wildcat creek watershed action plan 2040 (wccap 2040). Contra costa county's wildcat creek watershed faces significant environmental and social challenges, necessitating a comprehensive update to the existing wildcat creek restoration action plan (wrap) initiated in 2010. Specifically, our focus lies on historically under-resourced communities in the lower parts of the watershed, which have been disproportionately overlooked and are most affected by environmental and societal issues related to the creek. Through our efforts, we will enhance their involvement in the wccap 2040 process, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are addressed.
$462,449 spentof which $512,141 as grants30% of program spendingGreening urban watersheds:restoring natural function to the urban landscape by building green infrastructure with volunteers and community members of all ages. We help communities plan and implement strategies such as bioswales, rain gardens, and low-impact design projects that protect local watersheds from the pollution generated by modern life. These collaborative efforts help ensure the free flow of local creeks, reduce urban runoff, promote the spread of native plants, and improve the natural beauty and biodiversity of our urban watersheds.
$366,579 spentof which $16,500 as grants$307,542 earned by the program24% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$463,738 spentof which $268,990 as grants$194,939 earned by the program30% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,540,473.
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 2021 to 2022, from $939k to $1.5M (+64%).
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: 2017 19% · 2018 20% · 2019 13% · 2020 37% · 2021 44% · 2022 19% · 2023 26% · 2024 36% · 2025 40%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
55% of THE WATERSHED PROJECT’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 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
Juliana Gonzalez
Executive director
Board chair
Heidi Nutters
Board chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base narrowed from 9 funders to 8 funders, grant income rose $117k → $193k.
10 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 48% 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 PROJECT’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 WATERSHED PROJECT has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 23% 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
77% 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 PROJECT.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 43% · 2018 27% · 2019 95% · 2020 21% · 2021 35% · 2022 28% · 2023 36% — 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
38% of THE WATERSHED PROJECT's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
68% of THE WATERSHED PROJECT's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $675k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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 PROJECT's funding has concentrated — grant income rose while the number of funders held roughly flat.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,074 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding THE WATERSHED PROJECT receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.2M on record.
- Environmental Protection Agency$1.0M
- Department of Commerce$206k
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 PROJECT
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
88% 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 THE WATERSHED PROJECT: 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 PROJECT?
- THE WATERSHED PROJECT (California) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,419,842 to it, the largest being THE SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION ($324,999). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE WATERSHED PROJECT have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $1,419,842 in grants to THE WATERSHED PROJECT, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE WATERSHED PROJECT?
- THE SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $324,999 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE WATERSHED PROJECT 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.
Play a game about who funds Watershed Project →
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 24 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