WaterStone (Christian Community Foundation)

As of 2026, the organization has reportedly guided donors through more than $3.2 billion in contributions, advises about $2 billion in assets, and distributes about $4.6 million weekly in grants to Christian and right-of-center causes. ¹

Background

WaterStone provides approaches for donors, encouraging them in a broad range of charitable and educational endeavors as well as direct Christian ministries. The group offers a variety of gift-planning approaches, including donor-advised funds, field-of-interest funds, ministry charity projects, charitable trusts, charitable gift annuities, and supporting organizations. ⁴ WaterStone, also known as the Christian Community Foundation, was founded in 1980 by Douglas Kiesewetter Sr. and his son. ¹

As of 2026, the organization has reportedly guided donors through more than $3.2 billion in contributions, advises about $2 billion in assets, and distributes about $4.6 million weekly in grants to Christian and conservative advocacy causes. ¹

WaterStone has promoted what it calls “venture philanthropy” by using charitable capital for mission-aligned enterprises rather than simply distributing grants. ¹

Salem Media Acquisition

In 2026, WaterStone acquired Salem Media, taking the once publicly traded conservative-leaning media company private. ¹ WaterStone President Rick von Gnechten has been the chairman of Salem Media’s board of directors. ¹

“For the last 10 years, the Atsinger and Epperson families have been looking for a successor that would continue to carry the torch of delivering quality Christian and conservative media into the next generation and beyond,” Salem said in a corporate statement about the WaterStone purchase. ⁵

Salem Media offers Christian and conservative content on radio, digital media, streaming, podcasting, TV, and publishing. In 2025, Salem bought a 30 percent stake in MxM News, a mobile news aggregation app owned by Donald Trump, Jr.  ⁵ Focus on the Family, a recipient of pass-through funding from WaterStone, has a longstanding syndication relationship with Salem Media.  ¹

Grantmaking

WaterStone makes contributions to charitable and educational organizations, churches, and Christian ministries as well as conservative-leaning policy and legal organizations. In 2025, WaterStone donated $11 million to Zoo Midland, gave $5 million to the Mary Hays Institute, and $4.8 million to DAFgiving360, $3.4 million to Alliance Defending Freedom; $3.1 million to the Discovery Institute; $1.4 million for Texas Scorecard; $1.2 million for First Liberty Institute; $1.1 million to America First Policy Institute; $848,716 to Focus on the Family; and $529,240 to the Family Research Council. ^{4  6}

In 2022, WaterStone’s two largest contributions were made to the Waterstone Supporting Organization Trust 1 ($12.1 million) and the Waterstone Real Estate Foundation ($11.16 Million), both related tax-exempt organizations. Other sizable contributions were made to the Hexagon Foundation ($7.5 Million), the National Foundation ($6 million), the right-of-center America First Legal Foundation ($4.78 Million), and Focus on the Family ($3.1 million). ⁷

In 2022, WaterStone also made contributions to right-leaning public policy and advocacy organizations like the Texas Public Policy Foundation ($470,000), Turning Point USA ($64,200), the Heritage Foundation ($30,930), the California Family Council ($26,200), and public interest law firms that defend religious liberty like the Alliance Defending Freedom ($1.49 million), the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty ($50,000), and the Pacific Justice Institute ($29,200). ⁷

Funding

WaterStone is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. WaterStone does not disclose its donors, but tax filings confirm donations. In 2024, major known contributors to WaterStone included the Hexagon Foundation, which contributed $57.2 million; the Grace and Mercy Foundation donated $11.9 million; and the Signatry, which gave $11 million. ⁴

In 2022, the Bradley Impact Fund gave $5.1 million, ⁸ the National Christian Charitable Foundation gave $3.7 million, ⁹ and the Servant Foundation gave $3.25 million. ¹⁰

Donor Litigation

In January 2026, Kansas resident Philip Peterson sued WaterStone, alleging the organization that administers his family’s $21 million donor-advised fund refused to communicate with him and failed to make charitable grants that he has recommended since early 2024.  The complaint in Colorado federal court claimed WaterStone cut off his access to information about the account.  ¹¹

Counsel for WaterStone countered that it has respected the wishes of Peterson’s late father, who originally created the fund in 2005 and died in 2019. ¹¹

Under the law, a donor advised fund is not legally obligated to follow a donor’s recommendations. The case was reported in several news accounts as a major case that could affect donor-advised funds. ^{11  5}

Leadership

Doug Kiesewetter was a co-founder and as of 2026 was chair of the board of WaterStone as well as the chief executive officer of Cogency Power. ¹²

As of 2026, Ken Harrison was the CEO of WaterStone, the chair of Promise Keepers, and a Colson Fellow. After he graduated Marine Corps Officer Candidate School, he worked as a Los Angeles Police Officer. He built an independent real estate valuation firm. In 2006, he sold the majority interest to Colliers International. He graduated from Western Baptist College and then played in the Portland Trailblazers’ pro-am league. ¹³ Harrison sat on the boards of FCA, Corban University, Colorado Uplift, and Urban Youth Ministries. ¹² He earned a salary of $528,071 based on the 2024 filing with the Internal Revenue Service. ^{14  4}

As of 2026, John Mulder was the president and chief generosity advisor of WaterStone. Mulder formerly worked as a regional president of U.S. Bank, CEO of Technology Concepts, and an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota.  ¹² He is paid $170,304 according to WaterStone’s 2024 tax return.  ¹³

As of 2026, Rick von Gnechten was the chief operating officer, chief gift strategist, and vice president of the board of WaterStone. Von Gnechten formerly worked as chief financial officer of Sapere Wealth Management, the Ravon Corporation, and the Hawaiian Electric Company, and as CEO of the Council on Health Costs. ¹² He earned $349,946 based on the 2024 tax return. ¹⁴

As of 2026, Chris Start was the chief financial officer and treasurer of the board of WaterStone. Start formerly worked as a finance manager at Procter and Gamble. He also held management roles at Moody Bible Institute and Northern Trust Bank in Chicago, Illinois. ¹² He earned a $275,300 based on a 2025 filing. ⁴

As of 2026, Gaston Mooney was the chief operating executive of WaterStone. He was previously the president of Blaze Media. Before the merger of TheBlaze and CRTV, he co-founded CRTV and worked as its president. He also worked as executive editor of Conservative Review. Before that, he was a policy adviser in the U.S. Senate for the Senate Steering Committee and had roles in the George W. Bush administration and the U.S. House of Representatives. ¹³

As of 2026, Alan Brown was a board member for WaterStone. At that time he was also the president and general counsel for Petroleum Strategies and a former CEO of Carbon Creek Energy. ¹²

As of 2026, Thomas Lyles was a WaterStone board member. At that time, he was also the president of MedCare Holdings. Lyles is a former president of both Mission City Management, Inc. and MedCare Investment Funds. ¹²

As of 2026, Joel Sanders was a WaterStone board member. At that time, he was directing asset management for Hamann Property Management and is a former youth pastor for All Peoples Church in Southern California. ¹²

As of 2026, Ricky Caplin was a WaterStone board member. He is the founder and as of 2026 was the chairman of Caplin Family Offices, a venture capital company based in Jacksonville, Florida. He is former CEO of the HCI Group, and was an executive at Tech Mahindra. ¹²

As of 2026, Ben Carson Jr. was a WaterStone board member. He is the co-founder and partner of the FVLCRUM Funds, a Washington, D.C.–based lower-middle market equity firm. He is the son of former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson. He was previously an executive at the Warner Companies, advising on mergers and acquisitions, capital strategy, and risk management. He previously worked on his father’s 2016 presidential campaign. ¹²

As of 2026, Demi-Leigh Tebow was a WaterStone board member. She is a South African-born model, entrepreneur, author, and advocate. She won the Miss South Africa contest in 2017 and was later crowned Miss Universe the same year. In 2020, she married former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, and together they co-founded the Tebow Group, an initiative focused on talent management and purpose-driven investing to support vulnerable communities.  ¹²