The Freshwater Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930843521
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032229091
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fisheries Resources

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,385,865
Expenses
$10,812,358
Assets
$8,854,764
Liabilities
$6,909,196

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOE WHITWORTH (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID PRIMOZICH (VICE PRESIDENT OF WATER)
  • KIMBERLEE OBILANA (VICE PRESIDENT OF PEOPLE & OPERATIONS)
  • ERIK RINGELBERG (REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT CALIFORNIA)
  • TIMOTHY WIGINGTON (VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE & POLICY)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOE WHITWORTH (PRESIDENT): $305,795 total reported compensation
  • RENAI BELL (DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT & ANALYTICS): $203,777 total reported compensation
  • DAVID PRIMOZICH (VICE PRESIDENT OF WATER): $198,789 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To preserve and restore freshwater ecosystems.

What it reported doing in 2024

Water quality trading & watershed analytics - the freshwater trust uses data to identify and illustrate the specific action or actions necessary to change the trajectory of a watershed's current condition; uses that insight to drive the policy changes, funders, and social buy-in necessary to understand and implement that optimal pathway; and then develops the operational/supply chain capacity and innovative conservation financing approaches necessary to deploy those solutions. Water quality trading is one important approach for converting this insight into high quality on-the-ground results. The freshwater trust's water quality trading program allows for regulated entities to achieve regulatory compliance by funding quantified restoration actions. By calculating and quantifying how much thermal energy is avoided on a river by planting streamside trees, the organization generates credits that are then purchased by wastewater facilities and power plants to offset their impacts to impaired rivers and streams. The work is done in partnership with regulated agencies, irrigators, regulators and farmers. This program can include restoration actions that generate not only temperature credits, but also credits generated from reductions of other pollutants, such as nutrients.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.4%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 68.2%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.4% of revenue deployed · 68.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $7.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $306K · 33 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.