Totals
- Total revenue
- $3,143,592
- Total expenses
- $3,075,096
- Contributions and grants received
- $2,821,175
- Grants paid
- $10,000
- Program service revenue
- $246,079
- Investment income
- $66,199
- Other revenue
- $10,139
- Total assets, end of year
- $4,242,050
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $238,411
- Net assets or fund balances, end of year
- $4,003,639
- Program services expenses (Part IX)
- $2,782,257
- Management and general expenses
- $277,565
- Fundraising expenses
- $15,274
- Program service expenses (Part III)
- $2,782,257
Program services were 90.5% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.
Line items
Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.
Revenue
Part VIII, the statement of revenue.
-
1e · Government grants (contributions)
$1,370,170
-
1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants
$1,451,005
-
1g · Noncash contributions included above
$370,827
-
2a · Program service revenue: CONTRACTS
total $246,079 · related or exempt $246,079
-
3 · Investment income
total $66,199 · excluded $66,199
-
4 · Income from investment of tax-exempt bond proceeds
total $0
-
5 · Royalties
total $0
-
6d · Net rental income or loss
total $0
-
7d · Net gain or loss
total $0
-
8c · Net income from fundraising events
total $0
-
9c · Net income from gaming
total $0
-
10c · Net income from sales of inventory
total $0
-
11a · Other revenue: OTHER INCOME
total $4,740 · related or exempt $4,740
-
11b · Other revenue: REIMBURSEMENTS
total $5,399 · related or exempt $5,399
-
11e · Other revenue, total
$10,139
Functional expenses
Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.
-
1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments
total $10,000 · program services $10,000
-
2 · Grants to domestic individuals
total $0
-
3 · Grants to foreign organizations and individuals
total $0
-
4 · Benefits paid to or for members
total $0
-
5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
total $334,129 · program services $270,845 · management and general $53,191 · fundraising $10,093
-
6 · Compensation of disqualified persons
total $0
-
7 · Other salaries and wages
total $1,312,192 · program services $1,224,321 · management and general $87,766 · fundraising $105
-
8 · Pension plan contributions
total $0
-
9 · Other employee benefits
total $149,554 · program services $138,362 · management and general $10,794 · fundraising $398
-
10 · Payroll taxes
total $125,496 · program services $114,151 · management and general $10,604 · fundraising $741
-
11a · Fees: management
total $0
-
11b · Fees: legal
total $1,975 · management and general $1,975
-
11c · Fees: accounting
total $48,619 · management and general $48,619
-
11d · Fees: lobbying
total $0
-
11e · Fees: professional fundraising services
total $0
-
11f · Fees: investment management
total $0
-
11g · Fees: other
total $145,694 · program services $145,694
-
12 · Advertising and promotion
total $0
-
13 · Office expenses
total $25,130 · program services $22,858 · management and general $2,123 · fundraising $149
-
14 · Information technology
total $436,227 · program services $396,278 · management and general $37,378 · fundraising $2,571
-
15 · Royalties
total $0
-
16 · Occupancy
total $44,818 · program services $40,766 · management and general $3,787 · fundraising $265
-
17 · Travel
total $45,383 · program services $41,280 · management and general $3,835 · fundraising $268
-
18 · Travel or entertainment for public officials
total $0
-
19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings
total $0
-
20 · Interest
total $0
-
21 · Payments to affiliates
total $0
-
22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization
total $27,320 · program services $24,850 · management and general $2,309 · fundraising $161
-
23 · Insurance
total $9,092 · program services $8,270 · management and general $768 · fundraising $54
-
24a · Other expenses: COMMUNITY DATA
total $272,265 · program services $272,265
-
24b · Other expenses: MEETINGS
total $53,389 · program services $48,563 · management and general $4,511 · fundraising $315
-
24c · Other expenses: MEETING HOSTING
total $26,115 · program services $23,754 · management and general $2,207 · fundraising $154
-
24d · Other expenses: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
total $7,698 · management and general $7,698
-
24e · All other expenses
total $0
Balance sheet
Part X, book values.
-
1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing
beginning of year $1,930,464 · end of year $2,569,656
-
2 · Savings and temporary cash investments
end of year $0
-
3 · Pledges and grants receivable
beginning of year $1,089,058 · end of year $624,880
-
4 · Accounts receivable
end of year $0
-
5 · Loans and receivables from officers and key people
end of year $0
-
6 · Loans and receivables from disqualified persons
end of year $0
-
7 · Other notes and loans receivable
end of year $0
-
8 · Inventories for sale or use
end of year $0
-
9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
beginning of year $21,480 · end of year $29,988
-
10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis
$1,184,957
-
10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation
$167,431
-
10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net
beginning of year $1,039,625 · end of year $1,017,526
-
11 · Investments: publicly traded securities
end of year $0
-
12 · Investments: other securities
end of year $0
-
13 · Investments: program-related
end of year $0
-
14 · Intangible assets
end of year $0
-
15 · Other assets
end of year $0
-
17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses
beginning of year $79,416 · end of year $166,343
-
25 · Other liabilities
beginning of year $66,068 · end of year $72,068
-
27 · Net assets without donor restrictions
beginning of year $2,730,004 · end of year $2,793,358
-
28 · Net assets with donor restrictions
beginning of year $1,205,139 · end of year $1,210,281
Mission and programs · 2025
Mission
HEADWATERS ECONOMICS, INC. IS AN INDEPENDENT, NONPROFIT RESEARCH GROUP. OUR MISSION IS TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND LAND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS.
-
Headwaters Economics conducts independent research, develops practical tools, and works directly with communities to advance data-driven solutions for economic resilience and risk reduction. In 2025, our team delivered more than 65 briefings and presentations to elected officials, agencies, and community leaders, directly reaching more than 6,000 people. Our research was featured in more than 2,100 media stories and disseminated through dozens of original reports, peer-reviewed publications, interactive data tools, podcasts, and newsletters. See more at www.headwaterseconomics.org. Providing Economic Insights for Stronger CommunitiesClear, accessible economic data helps local leaders make better decisions. In 2025, we:Updated and maintained the Economic Profile System (EPS), a free tool delivering customized economic and demographic reports for communities, counties, Tribal areas, states, and regions used by planners, agencies, and local governments nationwide.Enhanced the Rural Capacity Map, an interactive tool identifying where staffing and expertise gaps limit communities' ability to pursue infrastructure and risk-reduction projects, and published peer-reviewed research on its utility for improving access to grants.Published a report identifying concrete strategies for rural communities to secure local benefits from large-scale development projects.Published a synthesis documenting how Montana Community Foundation used data to expand outreach to rural and Tribal communities.Strengthening the Outdoor Recreation Economy & Public LandsOutdoor recreation and public lands are significant economic drivers in communities across the West and beyond. In 2025, we:Delivered localized economic analyses and recommendations for economic development and outdoor recreation projects in Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Vermont.Published a report examining how wildfire risk and development constraints will limit housing options on public lands.Updated two widely used data visualizations illustrating visitation trends and economic contributions of national parks and outdoor recreation at the state level.Maintained three web-based data tools used by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service to support land management, planning, and community engagement.Reducing Risk and Increasing Community StabilityAs disasters grow more frequently and costly, communities need rigorous, independent analysis to make informed decisions. In 2025, we:Provided technical assistance to 40 communities in 14 states to support wildfire and flood risk-reduction.Published a report finding that more than 1,100 communities across the U.S. face wildfire risk comparable to recent urban disasters, equipping planners and policymakers with data to prioritize action.Published a peer-reviewed journal article and companion report documenting how wildfire insurance market disruptions cascade into local and state budget pressures research informing legislative and regulatory discussions.Published analyses showing that building wildfire-resistant structures after disasters could save billions of dollars, and that next-generation wildfire risk models must account for the built environment.Released a report demonstrating that reclaiming abandoned mines can reduce harmful and costly flood disasters, providing a concrete strategy for community protection.Published findings that states must modernize stream crossing standards to protect communities from flooding, and a separate report on wildfire strategies for historic buildings.Co-hosted a Tribal Emergency Manager Summit convening leaders from a five-state region to strengthen cross-jurisdictional coordination.Conducted an independent evaluation of the USDA Forest Service's Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG), assessing its effectiveness in reaching high-need communities.Maintained and expanded widely used public data tools, including Wildfire Risk to Communities (in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service), Neighborhoods at Risk, grant funding dashboards for CWDG and Slip-On Tanker programs, and data visualizations tracking wildfire structure losses and ignition causes.
Expenses $2,782,257 · Grants $10,000 · Revenue $246,079
As filed on the 2025 return.
Listed in Part VII
-
Patricia HernandezPATRICIA HERNANDEZ
Executive Dir.
- Total calculated
- $182,830
- From this org
- $176,603
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $6,227
- Hours/week
- 40
Schedule J breakdown matched by us
- Base
- $176,603
- Bonus
- not reported
- Other
- not reported
- Deferred
- $5,298
- Nontaxable benefits
- $929
- Filer's total
- $182,830
-
Kelly PohlKELLY POHL
ASSOC. DIRECTOR
- Total calculated
- $154,053
- From this org
- $133,642
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $20,411
- Hours/week
- 40
Schedule J breakdown matched by us
- Base
- $133,642
- Bonus
- not reported
- Other
- not reported
- Deferred
- $4,009
- Nontaxable benefits
- $16,402
- Filer's total
- $154,053
-
Nathan KommersNATHAN KOMMERS
MEDIA RELATIONS
- Total calculated
- $141,608
- From this org
- $121,812
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $19,796
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Kimiko BarrettKIMIKO BARRETT
RESEARCHER
- Total calculated
- $135,632
- From this org
- $116,032
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $19,600
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Megan LawsonMEGAN LAWSON
RESEARCHER
- Total calculated
- $115,501
- From this org
- $101,252
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $14,249
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Douglas GreenDOUGLAS GREEN
PROGRAM MANAGER
- Total calculated
- $112,367
- From this org
- $108,819
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $3,548
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Ryan HandyRYAN HANDY
PROGRAM MANAGER
- Total calculated
- $104,333
- From this org
- $104,333
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $0
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Carmen McSpaddenCARMEN MCSPADDEN
President
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 1
-
Bob BuzzasBOB BUZZAS
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 0
-
Cathy CostakisCATHY COSTAKIS
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 0
-
Joe McCartyJOE MCCARTY
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 0
-
Bill StoddartBILL STODDART
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 0
-
Meryl HarrellMERYL HARRELL
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 0
-
Lisa StoefflerLISA STOEFFLER
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 0
Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.
Schedule J
Answered yes
- 3 · Compensation survey or study
- 3 · Approval by the board or compensation committee
Answered no
- 4a · Severance or change-of-control payment
- 4b · Supplemental nonqualified retirement plan
- 4c · Equity-based compensation arrangement
- 5a · Pay contingent on this organization's revenues
- 5b · Pay contingent on a related organization's revenues
- 6a · Pay contingent on this organization's net earnings
- 6b · Pay contingent on a related organization's net earnings
- 7 · Other non-fixed payments
- 8 · Paid under the initial-contract exception
Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.
Grants on this return
-
city of miles city
$10,000
floodplain management program grant
Provenance
- Return type
- form_990
- Tax year
- 2025
- Filed
- 28 July 2026
- IRS schema version
- 2025v4.1
- Source object
- 202622099349300337
Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.
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