Whitewater
Legal name: Us National Whitewater Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 562247955
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Aug 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Charlotte, NC, USA
- Phone
- 704.391.3903
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Parks and Playgrounds
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $31,030,375
- Expenses
- $26,532,340
- Assets
- $78,059,405
- Liabilities
- $4,632,085
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JEFFREY WISE (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JEFFREY WISE (PRESIDENT): $435,247 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER VELIE (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $271,749 total reported compensation
- JEFFREY SHELTON (CFO): $243,948 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Whitewater is an outdoor lifestyle brand centered on the promotion, protection, and management of resources supporting access to recreational experiences. Whitewater's mission is to facilitate access to this lifestyle by lowering barriers and inspiring people to engage. This mission is rooted in the belief that all human beings share a genetic code that compels us to play outside. Whitewater provides accessibility to a variety of the best recreational activities within the southeastern united states, including whitewater and flatwater paddling, climbing, running, cycling, hiking, fishing, and more.
What it reported doing in 2024
See schedule othe usnwc hosted approximately 1,400,000 individuals during fiscal year 2024-2025 to engage in an active healthy lifestyle. These individuals participated in over 20 activities offered on the 1,300 acres of woodlands protected along the catawba river. The campus offered over 50 miles of trails and hosted 8 festivals, 65 music events, and 260 yoga sessions at no cost to the public. In addition 38 race events were held. Uswnc guests included groups (e.g. Clubs, scouts, churches, military, schools) and individuals (e.g. Families, friends) that engaged in numerous recreational activities and team-building excercises. The outdoor activities offered included whitewater rafting, kayaking, paddleboarding, climbing, ziplines, adventure courses, mountain biking, ice skating, whitewater kayaking, team-building, canopy tours and youth camps. Additionally, the center provided swiftwater rescue training for numerous first responder agencies from across the united states.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 89
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.6%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 94.7%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 14.5%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.94; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 81.6% of revenue deployed · 94.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $25.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $435K · 16 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $4.6M reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 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: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.