Form 990 for tax year 2024

Totals

Total revenue

$502,166

Total expenses

$577,335

Contributions and grants received

$412,930

Grants paid

$0

Program service revenue

$85,644

Investment income

$3,592

Other revenue

$0

Total assets, end of year

$479,971

Total liabilities, end of year

$34,485

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$445,486

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$471,263

Management and general expenses

$101,934

Fundraising expenses

$4,138

Program service expenses (Part III)

$471,263

Program services were 81.6% 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.

Mission and programs · 2024

• IN THE SPIRIT OF RIGHT AND RESPECTFUL RELATIONS THIS BOOK, IN THE SPIRIT OF RIGHT AND RESPECTFUL RELATIONS, WAS WRITTEN TO PROMOTE DIALOGUE WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, INCREASE UNDERSTANDING, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND MOMENTUM, AND INSPIRE ACTION TO SUPPORT, PROTECT, AND RESTORE OUR REGION'S IMPERILED LANDS, WATERS, AND LIFEWAYS. THE BOOK WAS INSPIRED BY AN INDIGENOUS GATHERING, WHERE THOSE PRESENT SPOKE FROM THE HEART AND THE MIND ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN RIGHT AND RESPECTFUL RELATIONS. THE VISION OF IN THE SPIRIT OF RIGHT AND RESPECTFUL RELATIONS IS TO DRAW ON ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE TO FURTHER EMPOWER AND INSPIRE INDIGENOUS-LED ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNS WITH NON-INDIGENOUS ALLIES AND PARTNERS FOR THE BENEFIT OF MOTHER EARTH AND ALL HER RELATIONS DOWN TO THE SEVENTH GENERATION. PUBLISHED BY SE'SI'LE, WITH BRAIDED RIVER. SE'SI'LE IS AN INDIGENOUS-LED, BELLINGHAM-BASED NONPROFIT THAT WORKS TO PROTECT INDIGENOUS AREAS, RESOURCES, AND SACRED SITES. THE LAUNCH OF THIS BOOK INCLUDED A PANEL EVENT WITH LUMMI CHAIRMAN JAY JULIUS, SE'SI'LE, AND BRAIDED RIVER THAT DREW OVER 250 ATTENDEES, AND MORE THAN 600 BOOKS WERE GIVEN AWAY AT COMMUNITY EVENTS UPLIFTING INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY.

  Expenses $32,802

• GUARDIANS OF LIFE - GUARDIANS OF LIFE BRAIDED RIVER IS PROJECTED TO RELEASE AND PUBLISH GUARDIANS OF LIFE IN FEBRUARY 2026. THE BOOK IS A VISUAL JOURNEY THAT REVEALS INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AS EARTH'S MOST POWERFUL PROTECTORS. THE ODYSSEY SPANS THE GLOBE, FROM PALAU'S CORAL REEFS AND MONGOLIA'S STEPPES TO GREENLAND'S SEA ICE. GUARDIANS OF LIFE IS POWERED BY THE COLLECTIVE WISDOM OF MORE THAN TWO DOZEN INDIGENOUS VOICES, INCLUDING ACTIVIST QUANNAH CHASINGHORSE AND PALAUAN STATESMAN TOMMY REMENGESAU JR. THEIR EXPERTISE IS BROUGHT FORWARD THROUGH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOJOURNALIST KILIII YYAN'S STRIKING IMAGERY, THE POWERFUL WRITING OF BESTSELLING AUTHOR (1491) CHARLES MANN, AND WRITER GLEB RAYGORODETSKY'S INSIGHTS. TOGETHER, THIS COLLECTION OF POWERFUL IMAGES AND STORIES PROVES HOW TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND MODERN INNOVATION UNITE TO SAFEGUARD THE PLANET. THE TEAM FACILITATED EVENT PREPARATION AND A MEDIA CAMPAIGN IN 2025 TO PREPARE FOR THE 2026 LAUNCH.

  Expenses $64,719

• LIVING RIVER - THIS BOOK AND VISUAL CAMPAIGN RELEASED IN APRIL 2023 HAS BEEN EDUCATING ABOUT THE IMPERILLED COLORADO RIVER WATERSHED. IN 2024, THE AUTHOR DAVE SHOWALTER HAS PRESENTED AT 15 IN-PERSON AND DIGITAL EVENTS AS PART OF THE LIVING RIVER EVENTS SERIES, REACHING A TOTAL OF 4,435 PEOPLE IN PERSON IN COLORADO, ARIZONA, NEVADA, UTAH, WYOMING, NEW MEXICO, AND CALIFORNIA. THE LARGEST IN-PERSON SPEAKING EVENT WAS A 60-PERSON GROUP AT THE UTAH DIN BIKEYAH SUMMER GATHERING AT THE KIGALIA GUARD STATION CAMPGROUND IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UTAH DIN BIKYAH. THE MEDIA CAMPAIGN HAS ACHIEVED OVER TEN MILLION IMPRESSIONS, REACHING ACROSS THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKETS IN PRINT AND RADIO INTERVIEWS. THE BOOK HAD NATIONAL AUDIENCE REACH IN THE NATURAL HISTORY AND LITERARY SPACE, WITH PROMINENT FEATURES ON NBC AND AFFILIATE STATIONS, ORION, AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE. LIVING RIVER WAS AWARDED THE INDEPENDENT BOOK AWARD FOR U.S. WEST-MOUNTAIN BEST REGIONAL NON-FICTION, AND ALSO AWARDED THE NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD AND WAS A HIGH PLAINS BOOK AWARDS FINALIST. IN 2025, THE LIVING RIVER TRAVELING MUSEUM EXHIBIT WAS PRINTED AND PLACED AT THE HEADWATERS MUSEUM IN WINTER PARK, COLORADO, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO. WITH 2-3 PUBLIC EVENTS IN EACH LOCATION, THE REACH OF LIVING RIVER HAS EXPANDED.

  Expenses $193,441

• AMERICA'S ARCTIC - BRAIDED RIVER IS A MEDIA PARTNER ALONGSIDE A COALITION OF NATIONAL CONSERVATION AND INDIGENOUS NONPROFITS SUPPORTING SCIENCE AND CULTURAL EDUCATION AROUND THE ALASKAN ARCTIC. IN PARTICULAR, THE WESTERN ARCTIC AND THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE HAVE BEEN A SPECIAL FOCUS. THROUGH MEDIA CAMPAIGNS, LEGISLATIVE ACTION, AND SUPPORT FOR GROUP TRIPS TO AMERICA'S ARCTIC, BRAIDED RIVER HAS PROVIDED EDUCATION THROUGH MEDIA ABOUT PROTECTING THE ARCTIC FROM UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. BRAIDED RIVER ALSO WORKED CLOSELY WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER FLORIAN SCHULZ ON FIELDWORK SURROUNDING PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM OF SOME OF THE MOST REMOTE PLACES OF THE ARCTIC. WE ARE CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THE IMPACT CAMPAIGN FOR AN EDUCATIONAL GIANT SCREEN FILM CALLED "THE ARCTIC: OUR LAST GREAT WILDERNESS." THE FILM HAS BEEN SHOWN TO DATE AT MORE THAN 20 THEATERS AT MAJOR SCIENCE CENTERS, FOR MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE, INCLUDING SEVERAL THOUSAND SCHOOL GROUPS AND EDUCATORS. WE HAVE ALSO SUPPORTED FILM AND STORYTELLING EFFORTS DIGITALLY, ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND A WEB PLATFORM PROTECTTHEARCTIC.ORGC, WHICH HAS MORE THAN 58,000 FOLLOWERS. COLUMBIA RIVER - THIS BOOK AND VISUAL STORYTELLING CAMPAIGN RELEASED ON MAY 22ND OF 2024 HAS BEEN EDUCATING ABOUT THE BEAUTIFUL AND COMPLICATED COLUMBIA RIVER SYSTEM AND ITS EXPANSIVE WATERSHED FROM SEA TO SOURCE. TO DATE, THE PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID MOSKOWITZ AND THE AUTHOR EILEEN DELEHANTY PEARKES HAVE PRESENTED AT 11 IN-PERSON EVENTS AS PART OF THE BIG RIVER EVENT SERIES, REACHING A TOTAL OF 450 PEOPLE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THE LARGEST IN-PERSON SPEAKING EVENT WAS A 115-PERSON AUDIENCE AT THE OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY (OMSI) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 350 PDX, COLUMBIA RIVERKEEPER, AND SAVE OUR WILD SALMON. THE TRANSNATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS, REACHING ACROSS NORTH AMERICA AND WESTERN CANADA MARKETS IN PRINT AND SOCIAL MEDIA. BIG RIVER IS A FOREWARDS INDIES FINALIST FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR. IN 2025, THE BIG RIVER TRAVELING MUSEUM EXHIBIT WAS CREATED, IS SLOTTED TO TRAVEL TO EASTERN WASHINGTON IN 2026 AND 2027. OTHER PROGRAMS - (1) IN 2024, BRAIDED RIVER SUPPORTED THE WE ARE PUGET SOUND TRAVELING MUSEUM TRAVELING EVENTS, WHICH WERE VIEWED BY MORE THAN 40,000 PEOPLE COLLECTIVELY. (2) BOOK DEVELOPMENT OF WOODPECKER: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF NORTH AMERICAN WOODPECKERS - A PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK AND CAMPAIGN ON ALL 41 SPECIES OF WOODPECKERS IN NORTH AMERICA. THE BOOK'S FIELDWORK, EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND LAYOUT WERE COMPLETED IN 2024, WITH A PUBLICATION DATE OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2025.

  Expenses $180,301 · Revenue $85,644

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

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.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2024

Filed

13 August 2026

IRS schema version

2024v5.5

Source object

202622279349300002

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

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