Cincinnati Parks Foundation

What it reported doing in 2025

Cincinnati parks foundation is the primary philanthropic partner to cincinnati parks. We raise private support to keep our parks clean, green, beautiful and welcoming to everyone. In 2025, we continued investing in our city's 200-year-old park system, planting new acorns for a healthier, more connected future. For 30 years, cincinnati parks foundation has invested more than $110 million in clean, green, beautiful and welcoming parks across our city. 12.81 tons of litter removed at oblitterators cleanups. Advanced capital projects at owl's nest park and glenway park. Over 1,500 trees planted through our conservation funds.1,749 volunteers contributed 13,744 hours. Efforts were made in 2025 in 4 key areas: create we made meaningful progress on priority park improvements, including: completing fundraising for the $4.1 million owl's nest park renovation to restore the historic pavilion and improve accessibility, lighting, landscaping and park entrances. Supporting programming at the sawyer point riverfront rink and preparing for a 2026 campaign to reimagine the rink and rebuild the playground lost to fire. Continuing work on the next phase of the smale riverfront park expansion in partnership with cincinnati parks. Celebrating the grand opening of the mt. Airy forest bike skills course, created in partnership with cincinnati parks and the cincinnati off road alliance (cora). Conserve we focused on protecting and strengthening cincinnati's natural spaces by: planting 1554 trees through let's grow local and cincinnati fall releaf. Funding invasive species removal throughout cincinnati parks. Celebrating our 413 oblitterators volunteers who donated 835 hours to remove over 25,000 pounds of trash in cincinnati parks. Connect we helped make cincinnati parks places that bring people together. In 2025, we supported: over 200 community-led events through cincinnati parks advisory councils (cpacs). Hundreds of families at smale riverfront park family fun days, featuring music, games, activities, book giveaways with queen city book bank and ellen's heart & soul book club, and free bicycle helmets provided with support from the cincinnati fire department and fire foundation. More than 9000 roller skaters at the riverfront rink in partnership with skate downtown cincinnati. Wellness we launched the award-winning cincinnati parks + rec for wellness, delivering free, accessible wellness programming, in partnership with cincinnati parks, cincinnati recreation commission, the osher center for integrative health at the university of cincinnati and community partners. Together, we provided: 300 free classes and docent led hikes 12,000+ participants in programs across 22 parks a 19% repeat participation rate 100+ park prescription referrals from uc health providers. 15 physicians actively prescribing wellness in cincinnati parks.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 90.7%; rating input score 91
• Fundraising efficiency: $11.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -40.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.6; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -12.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -8.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings