Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jun 2015.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
95 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
14 people listed on the 990; $1.4M paid to officers and key staff.
Sarah Smith’s $296K as Project Program Director is at the 22nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 18 $100M+ 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Smith | $296,200 | — | — | — | — |
| James Walker | $280,165 | — | — | — | — |
| Cammie Croft | — | $265,000 | $231,903 | — | — |
| John Marshall | — | — | — | $260,000 | — |
| Sarah Lake | $258,938 | — | — | — | — |
| Erin Rogers | $257,026 | $250,262 | $240,863 | $233,349 | $217,400 |
| Thomas Mercer III | — | $254,063 | — | — | — |
| Melanie Allen | $253,826 | — | — | — | — |
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 Windward Fund 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
Funds and hosts public awareness campaigns, grant-making projects, and donor collaborations to support environmental conservation, sustainable food systems, and disaster preparedness.
Questions for Windward Fund
Your first name shows with your question. Windward Fund answers here, for everyone.
Environmental Programs
Windward fund's environmental programs focus on a range of conservation, climate, and energy issues in the U.S. And abroad. These issues include water solutions in the american west, climate resilience, alternative energy sources, reduction of deforestation, and conservation planning.
Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness and Relief
Windward's public safety, disaster preparedness and relief programs focus on a range of issues including assisting public agencies on disaster response, improving risk mitigation measures, and developing advanced safety solutions.
Capacity Building
Windward's capacity building projects support the capacity development of grantees who work across environmental, climate, energy, and other charitable issues.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2023 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY23 | End FY23 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $224.5M | $262.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $3.6M | $3.2M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $337.3M | $355.5M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $65.0M | $92.9M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $272.3M | $262.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $110.3M | $110.3M | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $42.1M | $42.1M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $183K | $9K | $174K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $15.2M | $14.7M | $74K | $400K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $744K | $722K | $3K | $20K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $1.8M | $1.7M | $30K | $47K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $1.1M | $1.0M | $14K | $27K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $7.9M | $7.9M | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $1.1M | $961K | $105K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $51K | $51K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $261K | $261K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $423K | $423K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $23.0M | $22.9M | $159K | $535 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.9M | $1.9M | $5K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $83K | $82K | $348 | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $1.7M | $1.6M | $69K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $49K | $49K | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $1.7M | $1.6M | $32K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1.5M | $1.5M | $7K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $422K | $422K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $71K | $569 | $71K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $316K | $286K | $31K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $11K | $10K | $1K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $211.8M | $202.2M | $8.7M | $917K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 11, 2025 | $308.2M | $251.3M | $56.9M | $320.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 11, 2024 | $212.4M | $211.8M | $525K | $262.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 10, 2023 | $198.1M | $203.0M | −$4.9M | $272.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 9, 2022 | $274.3M | $107.8M | $166.6M | $292.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2021 | $158.6M | $70.3M | $88.4M | $126.1M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $212,371,954 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $212,371,954 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $211,847,409 across 23 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $355,450,224 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $262,587,804 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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