Chagrin River Watershed Partners Inc

What it reported doing in 2025

Crwp is a collaboration of 35 cities, villages, townships, counties, and park districts working on innovative solutions to flooding, erosion, and water quality problems to minimize the impacts of development and limit local infrastructure costs. Crwp's founding principles are: - natural systems provide flood control, erosion control, and water quality - it is more cost effective for local governments to take planning and development steps to maintain these services than to pay for costly, and generally, less effective, remedial solutions. Crwp responds directly to the needs of member communities, elected officials, engineers, planners, law directors, and other professional advisors by helping them update comprehensive plans, zoning regulations, and other programs guiding land use. Crwp has assisted communities by introducing innovative practices that maintain natural resource functions and prevent or minimize flooding, erosion, and water quality problems. These practices include crwp's recommended watershed management tools for planning, riparian and wetland setbacks, conservation development, improved erosion and sediment control, and comprehensive storm water management. In 2025, chagrin river watershed partners worked with its members and partners to leverage funding to implement projects for healthy streams, wetlands, natural areas and lake erie. Our 2025 accomplishments include: protected and/or restored 1,750 linear feet of streams and 22 acres of stream corridor and wetlands. Planted 4,010 native trees and shrubs. Prevented 10.9 million gallons of polluted runoff from reaching streams. Engaged over 126,000 people to achieve healthy watersheds. Partnered with our member communities and central lake erie basin collaborative organizations to design and build projects in the chagrin river and other Ohio watersheds which will restore over 8,432 linear feet of stream, 28 acres of riparian corridor, and 57 acres of wetland. Implemented a master rain gardener program and taught 117 residents and landscape professionals how to design and build functional rain gardens. The 20 rain gardens installed through this program in 2025 prevented 260,623 gallons of stormwater runoff annually. Partnered with the northeast Ohio regional sewer district, hyfi and others to maintain a network of sensor-driven water level monitoring devices along streams, lakes, ponds and stormwater basins. The data collected by the sensor will help stormwater managers and emergency responders to stay up to date on the latest stream flow and level conditions.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 88.6%; rating input score 89
• Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
• Fundraising efficiency: $151.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -10%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings