Illinois · Nonprofit
THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE
THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE (Illinois) receives grants from 88 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,552,531 to it, the largest being NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION ($4,460,366). 63 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.5M
- Funders on record
- 88
- Grants received
- $13M
- Net assets
- $12M
What The Wetlands Initiative does
Mission
To restore the wetland resources of the midwest to improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and reduce flood damage. The Wetlands Initiative seeks to conduct and support high-quality restoration projects though direct, on-the-ground work and by forming larger partnerships to demonstrate innovative ways to finance large-scale wetland restoration, such as water quality trading markets with a focus on science-based, economically sustainable projects and collaborative work with public agencies, the organization's goal is to develop restoration methods and models that others may copy.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On-the-ground restoration - 2024 was a growth year for The Wetlands Initiative, during which the organization expanded its on-the-ground ecological restoration projects across illinois and northwest indiana. In particular, twi's collaborative work in the bi-state calumet region saw significant expansion with fresh project phases and new major funding at important remnant wetland sites in both southeast chicago and northwest indiana. These efforts are returning important habitat for wildlife and rare marsh birds, boosting climate resilience, and improving nature access and quality of life for this urban region's underserved residents. Project highlights include: - twi continued phase iii habitat restoration at indian ridge marsh north in partnership with the chicago park district, building on highly successful shoreline modification in 2023 that created valuable transitional habitat.- at square marsh, owned by the illinois international port district and part of historic lake calumet, twi and the nature conservancy of illinois took the first steps in a multi-year restoration plan with treatment of invasive phragmites and buckthorn. - in nw indiana, along the west branch of the…
$1,838,449 spentof which $35,612 as grants84% of program spendingThrough the "smart wetlands" project, twi is working to spread the use of small tile-treatment wetlands on private farmland as a natural solution to the critical issue of nutrient runoff into local waterways and ultimately, the gulf of mexico. The organization pursues this goal through collaborative partnerships with agencies and peers in the agricultural sector, outreach to raise awareness with landowners and their trusted advisers, and technical assistance to farmers to build wetlands in new counties and watersheds. In 2024, twi executed the first steps in a new business plan to expand the project's reach, including filling a new engineer position to assist in designing and implementing more wetland sites. This added capacity led to five new smart wetland designs in process across five new counties by the end of the year. Meanwhile, twi formalized several existing and new partnerships to begin a three-year, statewide coordinated effort to increase the use of on-farm practices for water quality improvement in illinois, including tile-treatment wetlands. Finally, during 2024, twi began forming new partnerships to explore deploying the smart wetlands concept and practice in…
$339,765 spent16% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,178,214.
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 $11M to $13M (+21%).
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 13% · 2018 6% · 2019 8% · 2020 20% · 2021 22% · 2022 13% · 2023 23% · 2024 38%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
95% of THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE’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. 3 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
Charles T Pick
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 27 funders to 41 funders, grant income rose $644k → $2.1M.
14 of 88 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 10% 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 WETLANDS INITIATIVE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 88 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 WETLANDS INITIATIVE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 36% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
63% 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 WETLANDS INITIATIVE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 45% · 2018 31% · 2019 73% · 2020 48% · 2021 28% · 2022 32% · 2023 32% — 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
59% of THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 72% 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
THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE draws 60% of its grant income from funders outside Illinois, across 17 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 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 WETLANDS INITIATIVE runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 2,187 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,187 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $143k on record.
- Department of the Interior$143k
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 WETLANDS INITIATIVE
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 Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
80% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
82%
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 WETLANDS INITIATIVE: 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 WETLANDS INITIATIVE?
- THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE (Illinois) receives grants from 88 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,552,531 to it, the largest being NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION ($4,460,366). 63 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE have?
- IRS filings report 88 organizations giving $12,552,531 in grants to THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE, 63 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE?
- NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $4,460,366 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. 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 2017–2024), and the filings of 88 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