California · Nonprofit
WATER FOUNDATION
WATER FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 48 organizations whose IRS filings report $99,948,623 to it, the largest being THE WILLIAM & FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION ($25,843,250). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $22M
- Funders on record
- 48
- Grants received
- $100M
- Net assets
- $31M
What Water Foundation does
Mission
The Water Foundation and our partners advance lasting solutions to secure safe water for people, restore and sustain freshwater ecosystems, and build climate resilience.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
The states and basins program includes state, regional, and local efforts to secure clean and affordable drinking water, build urban and rural climate resilience, and/or advance solutions that restore and protect freshwater ecosystems. Grants from the Water Foundation in 2024 supported sustainable, inclusive groundwater management and safe and affordable drinking water in california; community engagement in green stormwater infrastructure projects in los angeles county; a campaign to restore the columbia-snake river basin in the pacific northwest; coalitions supporting the protection of surface water, wetlands, and floodplains in new mexico; and efforts to advance sustainable water management that benefits people and nature in texas.
$9,852,499 spentof which $4,191,852 as grants56% of program spendingNational - national programs include efforts to maximize the environmental and community benefits of federal infrastructure funding and to strengthen a national movement for water. Grants in 2024 supported the capacity of water organizations, coalitions, and leaders; effective implementation of water-related public funding; the design and development of water infrastructure, watershed restoration, and climate resilience projects; and efforts to establish a permanent federal program to support affordable drinking water.
$5,950,282 spentof which $4,805,490 as grants34% of program spendingWater table - the water table is a funder collaborative hosted by the Water Foundation that advances a sustainable and resilient water future in the u.s. Table members pool and align funding toward water solutions to achieve greater collective impact. The table's 2024 priority areas for coordinated investment and/or learning include: a national clean water effort, urban water solutions, climate smart agriculture in the west, sustainable water management in texas, tribal partnerships, and activation of federal funding for water projects. The table also works to increase field and funder coordination, build community power, and invest in field capacity to drive water solutions.
$1,520,427 spentof which $16,450 as grants9% of program spendingTransitioning strategies: in 204, Water Foundation grants supported an assessment of headwater forest management in the west that identified opportunities to ensure clean, reliable water through forest restoration and protection.
$373,689 spentof which $308,575 as grants2% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $17,696,897.
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 $32M to $39M (+23%).
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: 2023 3% · 2024 11%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
98% of WATER FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (87% 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.
Chief executive
Allison Harvey Turner
Chief executive officer
Board chair
Celeste Cantu
Chairman, president
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2018 and FY2019 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 20 funders, grant income rose $6.5M → $19M.
9 of 48 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 7% 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 WATER FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 48 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
WATER FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 26% 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
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 46% · 2018 49% · 2019 57% · 2020 42% · 2021 26% · 2022 27% · 2023 41% — 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 WATER FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 52% 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
66% of WATER FOUNDATION's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $7.3M 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
WATER FOUNDATION holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 329 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 329 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like WATER FOUNDATION
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
97% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
34%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 12 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for WATER FOUNDATION: 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 WATER FOUNDATION?
- WATER FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 48 organizations whose IRS filings report $99,948,623 to it, the largest being THE WILLIAM & FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION ($25,843,250). 25 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does WATER FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 48 organizations giving $99,948,623 in grants to WATER FOUNDATION, 25 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of WATER FOUNDATION?
- THE WILLIAM & FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $25,843,250 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like WATER FOUNDATION 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 48 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