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Water 4 Inc

EIN 26-3260581 · Oklahoma City, OK

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong90 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

WATER4, INC. IS A FAITH-BASED NONPROFIT CORPORATION ORGANIZED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA AND ACCREDITED BY THE EVANGELICAL COUNCIL FOR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY (ECFA). (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)

Income
$10.1 million
Spending
$4.0 million
Spent on programs
77%
Reserves
39 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 99%
Employees
0
Volunteers
7

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (human services, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 39.0 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 2% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 60% of income.

  • Income trend

    5 of 15

    Income fell 15% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    77% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 6 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 35% of charities in its peer group (human services, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    7 of 7 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (4)
  1. $2.2 million spent. WATER4 OPERATES NUMA WATER UTILITIES IN GHANA THROUGH ITS WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY, 4WARD DEVELOPMENT WEST AFRICA. OPERATIONS ARE CONCENTRATED ACROSS THE WESTERN, CENTRAL, UPPER WEST, AND SAVANNAH REGIONS, WHERE WATER4 DEVELOPS AND OPERATES TREATED, PIPED WATER SYSTEMS SERVING RURAL COMMUNITIES. AS OF THE REPORTING PERIOD, NUMA GHANA OPERATES 178 WATER SYSTEMS, 186 ELEVATED TOWERS, AND APPROXIMATELY 746 KILOMETERS OF PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE, DELIVERING TREATED WATER THROUGH 394 RETAIL POINTS AND 9,948 HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS. DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD, OPERATIONS IN GHANA SERVED APPROXIMATELY 354,000 PEOPLE WITH RELIABLE ACCESS TO TREATED, PIPED WATER. THE GHANA BUSINESS REPRESENTS ONE OF WATER4'S MOST MATURE OPERATING MARKETS, WITH ESTABLISHED INFRASTRUCTURE, HIGH HOUSEHOLD ADOPTION, AND CONSISTENT SERVICE DELIVERY. PROGRAM EXPENSES PRIMARILY SUPPORTED THE CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING SYSTEMS, TOWERS, PIPELINES, AND HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS.THESE SYSTEMS OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE REPORTING PERIOD AND WILL CONTINUE SERVING THESE HOUSEHOLDS IN SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL DONOR FUNDING FOR ONGOING OPERATIONS, AS CUSTOMER WATER-SALES REVENUE COVERS OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.CUMULATIVE PEOPLE SERVED ACROSS WATER4'S NUMA PORTFOLIO REACHED APPROXIMATELY 909,000 AS OF THE REPORTING PERIOD (354,000 IN GHANA, 240,000 IN SIERRA LEONE, 189,000 IN ZAMBIA, AND 126,000 IN UGANDA), THE SUBSTANTIAL MAJORITY OF WHOM WERE CONNECTED IN PRIOR FISCAL YEARS AND CONTINUE RECEIVING SERVICE FUNDED BY LOCAL OPERATIONS RATHER THAN CURRENT-YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS. ACROSS ALL FOUR OPERATING COUNTRIES, WATER4'S NUMA PORTFOLIO COMPRISES 363 WATER SYSTEMS, 336 ELEVATED TOWERS, APPROXIMATELY 1,321 KILOMETERS OF PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE, 734 RETAIL WATER POINTS, AND 15,506 HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS AS OF JUNE, 2025.
  2. $535,287 spent. WATER4 OPERATES NUMA WATER UTILITIES IN UGANDA THROUGH ITS WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY, 4WARD DEVELOPMENT EAST AFRICA. OPERATIONS ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE MAYUGE, KABAROLE, AND KYENJOJO DISTRICTS, WHERE WATER4 DEVELOPS AND OPERATES TREATED, PIPED WATER SYSTEMS SERVING RURAL COMMUNITIES. AS OF THE REPORTING PERIOD, NUMA UGANDA OPERATES 42 WATER SYSTEMS, 53 ELEVATED TOWERS, AND APPROXIMATELY 228 KILOMETERS OF PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE, DELIVERING TREATED WATER THROUGH 53 RETAIL POINTS AND 3,044 HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS. WATER4'S UGANDA OPERATIONS SERVE APPROXIMATELY 126,000 PEOPLE WITH RELIABLE ACCESS TO TREATED, PIPED WATER. THE UGANDA BUSINESS CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN SERVICE DELIVERY AND EXPAND HOUSEHOLD ADOPTION ACROSS ITS OPERATING AREAS, CONTRIBUTING TO OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ACROSS WATER4'S PORTFOLIO. PROGRAM EXPENSES PRIMARILY SUPPORTED THE OPERATION AND EXPANSION OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING SYSTEMS, TOWERS, PIPELINES, AND HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS.THESE SYSTEMS OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE REPORTING PERIOD AND WILL CONTINUE SERVING THESE HOUSEHOLDS IN SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL DONOR FUNDING FOR ONGOING OPERATIONS, AS CUSTOMER WATER-SALES REVENUE COVERS OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.
  3. $221,515 spent. WATER4 OPERATES NUMA WATER UTILITIES IN SIERRA LEONE THROUGH ITS WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY, 4WARD DEVELOPMENT SIERRA LEONE. OPERATIONS ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE WESTERN AREA RURAL, WESTERN AREA URBAN, AND PORT LOKO DISTRICTS, WHERE WATER4 DEVELOPS AND OPERATES TREATED, PIPED WATER SYSTEMS SERVING RURAL AND PERI-URBAN COMMUNITIES. AS OF THE REPORTING PERIOD, NUMA SIERRA LEONE OPERATES 80 WATER SYSTEMS, 47 ELEVATED TOWERS, AND APPROXIMATELY 189 KILOMETERS OF PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE, DELIVERING TREATED WATER THROUGH 287 RETAIL POINTS AND 2,514 HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS. WATER4'S SIERRA LEONE OPERATIONS SERVE APPROXIMATELY 240,000 PEOPLE WITH RELIABLE ACCESS TO TREATED, PIPED WATER. THE SIERRA LEONE BUSINESS CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN SERVICE DELIVERY AND EXPAND HOUSEHOLD ADOPTION ACROSS ITS OPERATING AREAS, CONTRIBUTING TO OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ACROSS WATER4'S PORTFOLIO.PROGRAM EXPENSES PRIMARILY SUPPORTED THE OPERATION AND EXPANSION OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING SYSTEMS, TOWERS, PIPELINES, AND HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS.THESE SYSTEMS OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE REPORTING PERIOD AND WILL CONTINUE SERVING THESE HOUSEHOLDS IN SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL DONOR FUNDING FOR ONGOING OPERATIONS, AS CUSTOMER WATER-SALES REVENUE COVERS OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.
  4. $158,605 spent. WATER4 OPERATES NUMA WATER UTILITIES IN ZAMBIA THROUGH ITS WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY, 4WARD DEVELOPMENT ZAMBIA. OPERATIONS ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE SAMFYA AND CHIFUNABULI DISTRICTS, WHERE WATER4 DEVELOPS AND OPERATES TREATED, PIPED WATER SYSTEMS SERVING RURAL COMMUNITIES. AS OF THE REPORTING PERIOD, NUMA ZAMBIA OPERATES 63 WATER SYSTEMS, 50 ELEVATED TOWERS, AND APPROXIMATELY 158 KILOMETERS OF PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE, DELIVERING TREATED WATER THROUGH HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITY ACCESS POINTS. WATER4'S ZAMBIA OPERATIONS SERVE APPROXIMATELY 189,000 PEOPLE WITH RELIABLE ACCESS TO TREATED, PIPED WATER. THE ZAMBIA BUSINESS CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN SERVICE DELIVERY AND EXPAND HOUSEHOLD ADOPTION ACROSS ITS OPERATING AREAS, CONTRIBUTING TO OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ACROSS WATER4'S PORTFOLIO. PROGRAM EXPENSES PRIMARILY SUPPORTED THE OPERATION AND EXPANSION OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING SYSTEMS, TOWERS, PIPELINES, AND HOUSEHOLD CONNECTIONS.THESE SYSTEMS OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE REPORTING PERIOD AND WILL CONTINUE SERVING THESE HOUSEHOLDS IN SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL DONOR FUNDING FOR ONGOING OPERATIONS, AS CUSTOMER WATER-SALES REVENUE COVERS OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since February 2009.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.