The Freshwater Trust
The Freshwater Trust is a Portland-based nonprofit founded in 1983 that protects and restores freshwater ecosystems across the Western United States by combining patented watershed analytics (StreamBank Toolkit), machine learning on satellite imagery, and capital aggregation to deliver conservation programs for farmers, municipalities, federal agencies, and corporate water users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1983
- HeadquartersPortland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Freshwater Trust does
The Freshwater Trust (TFT) is a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit founded in 1983 that protects and restores freshwater ecosystems across the Western United States. The organization serves agricultural producers, municipal water utilities, federal and state agencies, corporate water users, and private landowners through watershed-scale conservation programs delivered across Oregon, California, Idaho, and Colorado. Its core technology is the patented StreamBank Toolkit, an integrated platform consisting of BasinScout (landscape diagnostics), StreamBank Monitoring (field data collection), and an Administrative Toolkit (program management); the platform applies machine learning to satellite imagery to classify irrigation types, delineate agricultural fields, and forecast sediment and nutrient runoff. TFT monetizes its capabilities through five streams: government and foundation grants (EPA, USDA, Bureau of Reclamation, OWEB), corporate commitments (most notably a $100 million commitment from Idaho Power Company), a $5 million line of credit from Columbia Bank to support program delivery, fees from regulator-approved water quality trading programs (Medford, Ashland, MWMC), and philanthropic donations raised through events such as Immerse and the Fight for Fish golf tournament.
Business model mechanics center on aggregating public and private capital into "streamlined incentive packages" delivered to agricultural producers for irrigation upgrades and riparian restoration, then monetizing verified ecological outcomes through the proprietary Watershed Outcomes Bank. The Watershed Outcomes Bank produces tradeable water quality credits that regulated entities (cities, utilities, the Sacramento Area Sewer District) purchase to meet Clean Water Act compliance at a fraction of the cost of engineered solutions — the Medford program saved over $8 million versus an engineered cooling alternative. TFT's 40 years of on-the-ground restoration work, combined with its data infrastructure and regulatory first-mover position, position the organization to scale its quantified-conservation model nationally under a stated goal of enabling $1 billion in verified freshwater conservation investments annually by 2030.
The company operates with 11–50 employees across Portland (headquarters), Ashland, and California, with regional vice presidents and senior directors leading Water, Finance & Policy, People & Operations, Strategic Partnerships, Product & Analytics, Habitat Restoration, and Science functions. Awards include the U.S. Water Prize (2013) and 100 Best Nonprofits to Work For in Oregon (2021), and TFT is a member of One Percent for the Planet.
The Freshwater Trust firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Freshwater Trust
- Legal name
- The Freshwater Trust
- Website
- https://thefreshwatertrust.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1983
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Freshwater Trust is a Portland-based nonprofit founded in 1983 that protects and restores freshwater ecosystems across the Western United States by combining patented watershed analytics (StreamBank Toolkit), machine learning on satellite imagery, and capital aggregation to deliver conservation programs for farmers, municipalities, federal agencies, and corporate water users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Freshwater Trust industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Watershed Conservation Services
- NAICS
- Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK), Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE)
Keywords
Where The Freshwater Trust is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Portland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
The Freshwater Trust business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: TFT receives grants from government agencies including EPA, USDA, Bureau of Reclamation, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and foundation grants to fund conservation programs.
- Corporate Partnerships & Commitments: Idaho Power Company committed $100 million for irrigation efficiency programs. Lines of credit from Columbia Bank ($5 million) support program delivery.
- Water Quality Trading Program Fees: Cities and utilities purchase credits from TFT's verified conservation projects to meet Clean Water Act compliance requirements, generating revenue from Medford ($6.5 million program), Ashland, and other municipal partners.
- Donations & Fundraising: Individual donors, business supporters, and events like the Immerse event and Fight for Fish golf tournament generate philanthropic support. The 2023 Immerse event raised $160,000 and the golf tournament raised over $250,000.
- Program Service Fees: Fees for services including compliance solutions, agricultural producer support for irrigation upgrades, and landowner incentive packages for implementing conservation practices.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
The Freshwater Trust product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Freshwater Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization that delivers applied solutions for freshwater restoration through science, technology, and incentive-based programs. Its core offerings include water quality trading and Clean Water Act compliance programs for cities and utilities, high-efficiency irrigation upgrades for agricultural producers, and on-the-ground riparian and habitat restoration services across Western U.S. watersheds, all delivered through the proprietary StreamBank® Toolkit and Watershed Outcomes Bank model.
Product overview
The Freshwater Trust offers a suite of conservation technology products centered around its proprietary StreamBank® Toolkit platform. The core platform includes three integrated components: BasinScout® for watershed diagnostics and site prioritization, StreamBank Monitoring for field data collection and long-term analysis, and the Administrative Toolkit for program implementation tracking. These tools support the organization's Quantified Conservation approach, which uses data and technology to ensure restoration actions translate to measurable positive outcomes. The Watershed Outcomes Bank model complements the technology suite by enabling verified conservation investments and compliance credits.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- BasinScout: A diagnostics tool that surveys large landscapes and watersheds to estimate environmental uplift and prioritize restoration sites.
- StreamBank
- Watershed Outcomes Bank
Products and services
- StreamBank® Toolkit Patented toolkit used by The Freshwater Trust to assess watersheds, prioritize restoration actions, and monitor progress over time. Consists of three integrated components: BasinScout diagnostics for landscape surveys, StreamBank Monitoring for field data collection, and the StreamBank Administrative Toolkit for program management. Supports the Quantified Conservation methodology that translates every restoration action into a measurable ecological outcome.
- BasinScout® Diagnostics tool that surveys large landscapes and watersheds to estimate environmental uplift and prioritize restoration sites. Uses machine learning to delineate agricultural fields and identify irrigation types (flood, sprinkler, drip) from satellite data, saving approximately 2,000 hours of manual work per analysis.
- Watershed Outcomes Bank A conservation finance and outcomes model that directs dollars toward measurable ecological outcomes, enabling verified, data-driven freshwater conservation investments and generating tradeable water quality and temperature credits for compliance programs (e.g., for cities and utilities needing Clean Water Act compliance).
- Water Quality Trading & Compliance Solutions Nature-based Clean Water Act compliance programs for cities, utilities, and wastewater commissions. Generates tradeable shade, temperature, and water quality credits through streamside tree planting and other restoration actions, providing a cost-effective alternative to engineered infrastructure (e.g., Medford program saving over $8M vs. an engineered cooling solution).
- Agriculture & Irrigation Efficiency Solutions High-efficiency irrigation upgrade and agricultural conservation services for farmers and ranchers, including conversion from flood to precision irrigation, water rights leasing, flow deals, and participation in water quality trading. Backed by aggregated funding (e.g., $100M Idaho Power commitment, EPA seed funding) that delivers streamlined incentive packages to producers.
- Riparian & Habitat Restoration Services On-the-ground riparian and habitat restoration services delivered through landowner lease agreements (typically 20 years), including native tree and plant installation, livestock exclusion fencing, large wood structure placement for coho salmon habitat, and long-term ecological monitoring.
Quantifiable outcome
- 16,000%+ increase in fish counts at restored sites
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use The Freshwater Trust
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Freshwater Trust technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
The Freshwater Trust partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Sacramento Area Sewer DistrictcorePartnership for Harvest Water regional water reuse initiative targeting 50,000 acre-feet of recycled water annually for irrigation, part of $600 million program to offset groundwater pumping in California.
- Bureau of Reclamationcore10-year partnership implementing 15 habitat projects with nearly 350 large wood structures to restore coho salmon habitat in Rogue River basin as part of Biological Opinion compliance.
- City of MedfordcoreFirst-of-its-kind water quality trading program using tree planting to offset warm water discharge from wastewater treatment plant; $6.5 million, 20-year agreement saving over $8M vs engineered solution.
- City of AshlandcoreWater quality trading program along Bear Creek watershed generating 67 million kilocalories per day of shade credits for compliance; restored 40+ acres of riverside forests.
- Pacific Power Blue Sky Habitat Fundsupporting$121,500 awarded to four restoration projects across Oregon benefiting tributaries of Willamette, Sandy, Rogue and Applegate rivers; coordinated by TFT for over 13 years.
- Oregon Watershed Enhancement Boardsupporting$24,500 grant to identify restoration sites in Rogue basin using REST (Riparian Extent and Status Tool) to survey banks and prioritize planting locations.
- Lomakatsi Restoration ProjectcoreLong-term restoration partnership including Tribal Ecosystem Restoration Partnership Program; collaborated on 20+ projects in Rogue basin with co-founder Marko Bey.
- McKenzie Watershed CouncilsupportingPartnership for riparian reforestation projects in Upper Willamette basin, including post-Holiday Farm wildfire restoration along the McKenzie River.
- GooglesupportingGoogle scholarship to investigate irrigation classification using AI and satellite data; partnership to refine how AI identifies irrigation types from satellite imagery.
- Upstream TechsupportingJoint release of machine learning technology to advance freshwater conservation and restoration through data analytics and watershed analysis tools.
- Metropolitan Wastewater Management CommissioncoreWater quality trading program in Upper Willamette basin using streamside planting to help MWMC comply with Clean Water Act regulations.
- MicrosoftsupportingPartnership to help Microsoft meet water sustainability goals in California through watershed conservation and groundwater replenishment programs.
- USDA Secretary's OfficecoreWorking with USDA to expand TFT's agricultural water resilience model to other Western watersheds as a national framework.
- PNDLMsupportingSoftware developers partner for TFT's data and analytics technology platform development and maintenance.
- Geos InstitutesupportingDrinking Water Providers Partnership awarding $20,000 grant for erosion reduction assessment in Little Butte Creek watershed with matching contributions.
- Drinking Water Providers PartnershipsupportingCollective of nonprofits and federal/state agencies supporting TFT's watershed assessment work with grant funding and matching contributions.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Freshwater Trust competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- American Rivers: National river and clean water advocacy nonprofit working on river protection, restoration, and water policy. Highly comparable mission and policy/advocacy approach, with overlapping federal and corporate partnerships.
- Bonneville Environmental Foundation: Portland-based nonprofit focused on water restoration and renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest, including stream restoration and water quality credit programs. Highly comparable geography, mission, and water quality trading model.
- River Network: National nonprofit supporting a network of grassroots river and watershed groups. Comparable mission in freshwater protection and overlap in capacity-building for watershed councils TFT partners with.
- Sustainable Conservation: California-based nonprofit advancing practical solutions at the intersection of agriculture, environment, and water. Comparable focus on agricultural water efficiency, irrigation upgrades, and partnership-based delivery in the Western U.S.
- Trout Unlimited: National nonprofit focused on coldwater fisheries conservation and stream/river habitat restoration across the U.S. Most direct peer given shared freshwater restoration mission, landowner engagement, and federal agency partnerships.
Broad incumbents
- Conservation International: Global conservation NGO with corporate and government partnership programs in water security. Comparable in deploying corporate water stewardship partnerships (e.g., Microsoft-type relationships) though broader in geographic and thematic scope.
- The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest global conservation NGOs with active freshwater programs in the Western U.S. While much broader in scope, TNC operates comparable watershed, water rights, and corporate partnership programs and is a likely collaborator/competitor for major federal and philanthropic funding.
- Ducks Unlimited: Large nonprofit focused on wetland and waterfowl habitat conservation with significant Western U.S. watershed programs. Comparable landowner engagement and habitat restoration delivery model, though species focus differs.
Emerging players
- Upstream Tech: Technology company applying remote sensing and ML to freshwater and land management. Direct technology partner of TFT and a potential peer/competitor in data-driven watershed analytics.
- Ecosystem Investment Partners: For-profit environmental investment firm aggregating capital for wetland and stream mitigation banking. Comparable in applying financial / market-based mechanisms to conservation outcomes, but operates on a for-profit mitigation credit model rather than donor-funded programs.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Freshwater Trust social profiles
Digital presenceThe Freshwater Trust financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Freshwater Trust leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
The Freshwater Trust funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Freshwater Trust M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Freshwater Trust
What does The Freshwater Trust do?
The Freshwater Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization that delivers applied solutions for freshwater restoration through science, technology, and incentive-based programs. Its core offerings include water quality trading and Clean Water Act compliance programs for cities and utilities, high-efficiency irrigation upgrades for agricultural producers, and on-the-ground riparian and habitat restoration services across Western U.S. watersheds, all delivered through the proprietary StreamBank® Toolkit and Watershed Outcomes Bank model.
Is The Freshwater Trust a public or private company?
The Freshwater Trust is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Freshwater Trust founded?
The Freshwater Trust was founded in 1983. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Freshwater Trust based?
The Freshwater Trust is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Freshwater Trust make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are corporate Partnerships & Commitments, water Quality Trading Program Fees, donations & Fundraising and program Service Fees.
Who are The Freshwater Trust's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are American Rivers, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, River Network, Sustainable Conservation and Trout Unlimited. Broad incumbents are Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited. Emerging players are Upstream Tech and Ecosystem Investment Partners.
Does The Freshwater Trust have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Freshwater Trust.
What industry is The Freshwater Trust in?
The Freshwater Trust's product category is Watershed Conservation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAE, Marine & Freshwater Conservation, with a secondary code of BPAGAGAK, Water Resources & Watershed Protection. Its NAICS code is 9241.