Water for People

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841166148
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Greenwood Village, CO, USA
Phone
7204884590
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$30,788,558
Expenses
$33,833,956
Assets
$20,216,038
Liabilities
$7,421,005

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARK DUEY (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK DUEY (CEO): $289,492 total reported compensation
  • JODY K DEBS (CHIEF FINANCE AND ADMIN. OFFICER): $220,738 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE JANIS - VERLAAN (CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER): $208,231 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Water for people exists to develop high quality water and sanitation, accessible to all, and sustained by strong communities, businesses, and governments, working in ten countries; guatemala, honduras, tanzania, peru, bolivia, uganda, malawi, rwanda, india, united states.

What it reported doing in 2024

United states: we work at a national scale, regionally in the southwest, and locally in Arizona to close the wash access gap through advocacy, partnerships, capacity building, knowledge exchanges, and collaboration. Through strengthening national wash coalitions and partnerships, we co-chair regional working groups, participate in advocacy discussions, and support sector building initiatives. As steering committee members and co-founders of the vessel collective, a coalition of national wash organizations dedicated to addressing the water and sanitation crisis in the united states, we supported the creation of a national roadmap to close the access gap. We participated in the planning of a national convening, bringing the sector together, and we collectively advocated for federal programs and funding mechanisms. We also strengthened and supported a statewide wash network with partner organizations and academic institutions in Arizona. Locally we co-lead the implementation of the southern Arizona water leadership institute- bringing local community members into water decision-making spaces, connecting them to local leaders. We are working to scale these place-based programs to support more communities throughout the region.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -9.9%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 78.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $26.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $289K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, 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: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.