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INSTITUTE FOR RELEASING INITIATIVE
BROOKLYN, NY · EIN 411866168 · Form 990EZ · FY2024 · NTEE A51 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Micro (<$100K) · keepersofthewaters.org
revenue
$9K
expenses
$27K
net assets
$-778
employees
—
mission · from form 990

TO INSPIRE AND PROMOTE PROJECTS THAT COMBINE ART, SCIENCE, AN COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT TO RESTORE, PRESERVE AND REMEDIATE WATER SOURCES.

profile · synthesized from sources

Arts and ecology nonprofit founded by artist Betsy Damon that uses art, performance, and community engagement to restore and preserve water systems globally. The organization promotes projects at the intersection of art, science, and activism to raise awareness about water health and ecological balance. It emphasizes feminist and Indigenous perspectives in environmental stewardship.

named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

A Memory of Clean Water
Public art installation and performance series highlighting water pollution and the cultural memory of clean water, exhibited internationally.
Keepers of the Waters Workshops
Community-based workshops that bring together artists, scientists, and activists to co-create projects addressing local water issues through art and ecology.
Living Water Garden
Educational ecological park in Chengdu, China that combines art, architecture, and natural water purification systems to demonstrate sustainable urban water management.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Clean Water Infrastructure and Access 3 activities
    • Interactive educational programs for children on water hygiene
      Runs “The Toilet World Cup,” an educational program using games to teach children about water-related hygiene practices and latrine maintenance.
    • Research on indigenous and empirical water knowledge and conflict mediation
      Functions as a research center focused on endogenous and empirical knowledge systems related to water, including traditional conflict mediation practices around water access and use.
    • Workshops and cross-cultural knowledge exchange on water issues
      Provides workshops and serves as a cross-cultural resource on water-related challenges, promoting understanding across sociological, anthropological, and political dimensions.
  • Community Environmental Monitoring and Research 1 activity
    • Community-led water assessment and cleanup initiatives with Indigenous communities
      Conducts collaborative assessment, planning, and remediation activities with Native American communities in the Dakotas to address uranium mining pollution in the Cheyenne River.
  • Local History Museum Operations 1 activity
    • Operation of a museum dedicated to water heritage and culture
      Operates a museum that exhibits tangible and intangible water heritage—including historical tools (e.g., water scoops, calabashes), traditional wells, and cultural expressions like songs and myths—and features interactive exhibits such as “The Park of Pumps and Valves” with 47 models of historical water pumps and a supply chain simulation from extraction to storage.
  • Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
    • Specialized exhibitions on gender and water
      Hosts the exhibit “Water and Women,” which explores the historical and contemporary links between women and water, particularly focusing on gendered labor related to water collection and management.
  • Uncategorized 2 activities
    • Design and implementation of ecological art projects for water remediation
      Creates public art installations that integrate ecological function and community engagement to restore and filter water systems, such as the Living Water Garden in Chengdu, China—the first inner-city ecological park with water as its central theme—and the Sounds of Water installation at Turtle Bay Arboretum in Redding, CA.
    • Development of sculptural technologies for water purification
      Conducts research and development of sculptural inventions that clean water by integrating art and science, supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship awarded in 2023.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$9K
Contributions & grants$9K100%
Program service revenue——
Investment income——
Other revenue—
expenses
Total expenses$27K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits—
Grants paid out—
balance sheet
Total assets$222
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$-778
3 years on record · 2022–2024 · YoY revenue -46.6%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 1
  • BETSY DAMON — Director
relationships · 8

Who they work with

  • Institute for Releasing Initiative Network — Keepers of the Waters is a subordinate organization of the Institute for Releasing Initiative.
  • Keepers of the Waters Network — Founded and continues to lead community-based water stewardship initiatives through Keepers of the Waters.
  • Le Musée de l'Eau Partner — Collaborated with Le Musée de l'Eau in Burkina Faso to support cultural and political engagement with water resources.
  • Le Musée de l’Eau Partner — Collaborates with Le Musée de l’Eau in Burkina Faso on water heritage and education initiatives.
  • Native American communities in the Dakotas Partner — Collaborates with Native American communities on assessment, planning, and cleanup of the Cheyenne River.
  • Native American communities in the Dakotas Partner — Works with Native American communities in the Dakotas on the assessment and cleanup of the Cheyenne River.
  • The Soil Factory Partner — Hosted a talk by Betsy Damon on feminist art and water activism.
  • Turtle Bay Arboretum Partner — Partnered with Turtle Bay Arboretum in Redding, CA to install the Sounds of Water feature.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Art-Science-Community Integration
    methodology: art-science-community_integration
    By combining artistic expression, scientific research, and community participation, we make water remediation visible and culturally meaningful, because interdisciplinary engagement fosters broader public understanding and sustained stewardship.
  • Community-Led Environmental Restoration with Indigenous Knowledge
    methodology: community-led_restoration
    By centering Native American communities as leaders in environmental assessment and cleanup, we produce more culturally resonant and ecologically effective restoration outcomes, because local stewardship and traditional knowledge are essential to long-term river health.
  • Experiential and Popular Education for Water Engagement
    methodology: experiential-education
    By using symbolic, theatrical, and participatory methods such as art, music, and hands-on learning, we transform public relationships with water, because experiential engagement fosters deeper understanding and motivates active stewardship more effectively than informational outreach alone.
  • Interdisciplinary Water Education with Cultural Significance
    methodology: interdisciplinary_water_education
    By integrating earth sciences with cultural and spiritual understandings of sacred water sites, we create holistic educational frameworks that elevate both ecological and cultural value, because this synthesis strengthens public motivation for conservation.
  • Rights-of-Nature Legal Advocacy
    methodology: rights-of-nature
    By advocating for legal personhood status for rivers and streams, we enable enforceable protections for water systems, because granting nature legal rights creates a structural counterweight to exploitation, similar to corporate personhood.