Watershed Solutions Network
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The mission of the Watershed Solutions Network is to enhance human adaptive capacity by rebuilding leadership and collaborative abilities to bridge differences in order to equitably and sustainably steward watersheds to serve as a critical support for climate adaptation.
- Income
- $572,411
- Spending
- $871,655
- Spent on programs
- 66%
- Reserves
- 9.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 67%
- Employees
- 4
- Volunteers
- 28
- Highest pay
- $116,326, ceo
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
Fair: 63 out of 100. Higher than 26% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 52% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 43% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1566% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 12 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: 91 out of 100. Higher than 71% of charities in its peer group (environment, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 255 of 5 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports 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 (1)
- $572,229 spent. WSN cultivates bold leaders, strengthens trust across divides, and demonstrates how collaboration at the watershed scale drives climate resilience. In July 2025, Watershed Solutions Network (WSN) completed its first year as an independent 501(c)(3). WSN is more than 150 Network Members strong and has hundreds of partners, all committed to equitable and sustainable land and water stewardship. Our members include leaders from Tribes, agriculture, NGOs, local, federal, and state governments across the land and the water sectors. In the past fiscal year, WSN built collaborative capacity by developing a Natural Resource Training that demonstrates how to center equity, deepens cross-sector understanding, and builds trust. We offered the training twice this fiscal year. We started with a small training to test the curriculum in August 2024. Then we offered a full-scale training, the Kowana Valley Training (May 2025), where 40 participants gathered to learn from Tribal leaders and the private landowner whose property we gathered on. To promote understanding of the power of watershed-wide coordinated action, WSN also organized a Klamath River Watershed Trip (September 2024) following the historic removal of four dams. Participants traced the salmons journey from ocean to headwaters by canoe, kayak, and field visits guided by Tribal, agricultural, and NGO leaders. The experience illustrated how the seemingly impossible can be achieved through innovative and collaborative action. During the trip, relationships among participants were enhanced and they developed an understanding of the complex political and ecological landscape across the Klamath watershed. Additional Network events included a systems thinking workshop, a Sandhill Crane migration observation, a Southern California beach cleanup, and monthly virtual conveningsoffering members opportunities to learn and engage. WSN started as a program of another organization. During that phase of our evolution, with the help of land and water experts around California, WSN developed a Watershed Framework that suggests how to connect people across a watershed and spur coordinated action. This fiscal year, WSN deployed the Watershed Framework to build relationships across the Feather River Watershed, which is engineered to connect all the way to Southern California. In June 2025, WSN partnered with the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, Blue Forest, and local Upper Feather River leaders to bring leaders from both sub-regions together. The visit introduced Southern California leaders to Upper Feather River leaders, built trust, and identified common interests across the watershed. Participants visited and learned about Upper Feather River efforts to manage forests, water, and ecosystems. The gathering led Southern California leadership to invite Upper Feather partners to Southern California in 2026 to continue relationship building and learning. These early steps advanced common understanding of watershed interdependencies and opened pathways for coordinated, cross-regional collaboration. Forest Gatherings offer immersive experiences where Tribal, state, federal, and local leaders spend several days together meeting each other as humans and getting to know the place where we are camped together. WSN demonstrates how we believe you center equity by starting with the Tribe whose place we are gathering in and asking if they are willing to host the group. The Gathering opens with the host Tribe welcoming the group and sharing what they wish the group to know about the Tribe and the place. There are no VIPs at Forest Gatherings. Everyone shares meals, clean-up, sleeps in a tent, and the group shares a restoration project that helps them connect to the place and develop a deeper understanding of how place matters. Gatherings equalize influence, highlight the impact of local collaborations, and demonstrate the power of centering Tribal leadership. In April 2025, the Kumeyaay Nation hosted Ahaa'Kwii'Aa'Mak Mataayum ("Behind the Rain Clouds Gathering"), where 70 participants met on Kumeyaay ancestral land currently held by California State Parks. Many of the Kumeyaay had never visited the place in their lifetimes. The Kumeyaay reconnected with the place and welcomed participants to a cultural celebration. During the Gathering, Tribal and local leaders, along with leaders from the US Forest Service, State Parks, Cal Fire, and other state and federal agencies, engaged in a plant walk, an acorn processing demonstration, and broadcasted seeds and planted saplings in reciprocation to the Nation and the place. The Gathering concluded with a reflection on the policy implications of the experience the group shared. This past fiscal year, WSN produced and premiered two films documenting Forest Gatherings that occurred in prior years. The virtual screening of the Southern California Oak Woodlands and Bull Creek Forest Gatherings drew 118 participants. The films are publicly available on WSNs YouTube Channel, expanding awareness of this innovative model. By sharing these stories, WSN amplified the reach of Forest Gatherings. The films illustrate the impact of reconnecting Tribes to their ancestral lands and building trust and relationships as humans, as opposed to titles and organizations. The films highlight the transformative power of meeting in a place and living there together to build trust and understanding.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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.