American Whitewater

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American Whitewater (AW) is the primary advocate for the preservation & protection of whitewater rivers throughout the U.S.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
81¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 250 volunteers and 15 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $120K a year · 6% of revenue · last 5 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
81%
of spending
Looks good: 81% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$114K
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
5 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 4.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $29K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$287K
12% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 12% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
12
of 12 voting members
Looks good: 12 of 12 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.4M
-1.0% vs prior year
Spent
$2.5M
To programs
81%
Net assets
$2.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$2.4M
FY2024▼ -1.0%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.8M
FY2021$2.1M
FY2022$2.0M
FY2023$2.4M
FY2024$2.4M
Expenses
$2.5M
FY2024▲ +21%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.7M
FY2021$1.8M
FY2022$2.0M
FY2023$2.1M
FY2024$2.5M
Net assets
$2.1M
FY2024▼ -5%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$1.6M
FY2021$1.9M
FY2022$1.9M
FY2023$2.2M
FY2024$2.1M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Sep 1972.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

81 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 81% · $2.0M Management & general 18% · $446K Fundraising 1% · $36K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Something off? Claim to add context

Who runs it and what they're paid

13 people listed on the 990; $114K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$113,813Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
At-Large
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Clinton Begley’s $114K as Executive Director is at the 39th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Mark Singleton——$80,151$117,597$118,864
Clinton Begley$113,813$100,000$41,420——

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See American Whitewater executive salaries →

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Advocates for preserving and protecting whitewater rivers across the U.S.

Questions for American Whitewater

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Your first name shows with your question. American Whitewater answers here, for everyone.

3 programs · $2.0M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Conservation and Access

American Whitewaters core mission is the conservation, restoration, and responsible management of whitewater rivers-and 2024 was a year of meaningful impact. We permanently protected 4.25 miles of river frontage along West Virginias Big Sandy Creek and celebrated the historic removal of four dams on Oregons Klamath River, where we…

$2.0Mprogram expense
02

We also successfully fought efforts to limit public access to rivers in North Carolina, Montana, and Georgia, preserving the freedom to paddle and explore some of the countrys most treasured waterways. Public Education: Educating and empowering the paddling community is central to our work.

Pt IX · col B
03

In 2024, we released a fully redesigned and richly illustrated edition of our Safety Code, alongside new educational tools like hang tags and printed books. We also made a major investment in public safety by replacing our online stream gauge system with a much higher performance service.

Pt IX · col B

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$29K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 1 grant · $20K · 2021–2021
Unitemized GrantFY2021$20,000

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.4M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.1M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$215K
Other incomeLn 4–11$85K
Money outPt IX
$2.5M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.0M
Managementcol C$446K
Fundraisingcol D$36K
Owns and owesPt X
$2.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$968K
Total assetsLn 16$2.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$287K
PeoplePt VI, VII
13
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a12
IndependentVI 1b12
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.1M
Government grantsLn 1e$318K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$53K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$20K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$215K
Investment incomeLn 3$32K
Other incomeLn 4–11$85K
Gains on assetsLn 7$3K
Total revenueLn 12$2.4M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$968K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$968K
Pledges and grants receivableLn 3$209K
Inventories for sale or useLn 8$52K
Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesLn 9$6K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$417K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$781K
Total assetsLn 16$2.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$287K
Net assetsLn 32$2.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 515
VolunteersI 6250
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3More from this return
Abroad and in kindSch F, M
Noncash gifts receivedSch M Pt I$53K
4Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.4M$968K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$580K$781K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$133K$417K
Total assetsLn 16$2.5M$2.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$271K$287K
Net assetsLn 32$2.2M$2.1M
5Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$137K$109K$25K$3K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$961K$771K$172K$17K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$142K$114K$26K$3K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$52K$42K$9K$941
Payroll taxesLn 10$88K$71K$16K$2K
Accounting feesLn 11c$17K$14K$3K$308
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$521K$426K$95K$0
Advertising and promotionLn 12$34K$27K$6K$613
Office expensesLn 13$184K$148K$33K$3K
Information technologyLn 14$83K$65K$17K$2K
OccupancyLn 16$43K$35K$8K$783
TravelLn 17$111K$89K$20K$2K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$30K$24K$5K$540
InsuranceLn 23$9K$7K$2K$156
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$91K$83K$8K$802
All other expensesLn 24e$7K$5K$1K$82
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.5M$2.0M$446K$36K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Oct 23, 2025 $2.4M$2.5M−$115K$2.1M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 8, 2024 $2.4M$2.1M$350K$2.2M 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Oct 6, 2023 $2.0M$2.0M$36K$1.9M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Jun 30, 2022 $2.1M$1.8M$257K$1.9M 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Jul 23, 2021 $1.8M$1.7M$71K$1.6M 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash O · Explanations
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $2,395,397 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $2,283,660$2,062,661
I-9 Program service revenue$215,303
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $30,286$31,954
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $105,355$85,479
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $2,419,301$2,395,397
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,209,077$1,380,806
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $860,325$1,129,334
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,069,402$2,510,140
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $349,899−$114,743
Part VI · Governance 12 of 12 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body12
VI-1b Independent voting members12
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,395,397 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $33,875 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$466,167
VIII-1c Fundraising events$20,377
VIII-1e Government grants$318,091
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$1,258,026
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$52,560
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$2,062,661
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Unrelated business $38,473 · Excluded from tax $0$215,303
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $28,947$28,947
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $3,007$3,007
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $51,604$51,604
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $210,705 · Unrelated business $38,473 · Excluded from tax $83,558$2,395,397
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,510,140 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $109,413 · Management $24,618 · Fundraising $2,735$136,766
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $771,320 · Management $172,454 · Fundraising $17,287$961,061
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $114,241 · Management $25,541 · Fundraising $2,559$142,341
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $41,909 · Management $9,370 · Fundraising $941$52,220
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $70,938 · Management $15,871 · Fundraising $1,609$88,418
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $13,575 · Management $3,037 · Fundraising $308$16,920
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $425,997 · Management $94,943 · Fundraising $0$520,940
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $27,028 · Management $6,047 · Fundraising $613$33,688
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $147,589 · Management $33,020 · Fundraising $3,348$183,957
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $64,684 · Management $16,971 · Fundraising $1,720$83,375
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $34,523 · Management $7,724 · Fundraising $783$43,030
IX-17 TravelPrograms $88,862 · Management $20,025 · Fundraising $2,196$111,083
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $23,791 · Management $5,323 · Fundraising $540$29,654
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $6,868 · Management $1,537 · Fundraising $156$8,561
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $82,793 · Management $7,904 · Fundraising $802$91,499
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $5,373 · Management $1,172 · Fundraising $82$6,627
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $2,028,904 · Management $445,557 · Fundraising $35,679$2,510,140
Part X · Balance sheet $2,433,783 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,398,283$968,405
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $120,401$209,061
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $30,083$52,296
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $17,722$5,950
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $133,498$416,741
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $579,691$781,330
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $2,519,344$2,433,783
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $99,377$172,735
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $171,380$114,673
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $270,757$287,408
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,491,016$1,627,372
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $757,571$519,003
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $2,248,587$2,146,375
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $2,519,344$2,433,783
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,146,375 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,395,397
XI-2 Total expenses$2,510,140
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$114,743
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$2,248,587
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$12,531
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,146,375

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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