Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341917257
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Peninsula, OH, USA
Phone
3306572909
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,264,820
Expenses
$7,243,428
Assets
$10,325,513
Liabilities
$967,346

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEBORAH YANDALA (CEO & PRESIDENT (9/1/24 - 7/15/25))
  • GREG PECKHAM (PRESIDENT & CEO (7/15/25 - 8/31/25))

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBORAH YANDALA (CEO & PRESIDENT (9/1/24 - 7/15/25)): $202,164 total reported compensation
  • JANICE MATTEUCCI (SVP STRATEGIC INITIATIVES): $145,406 total reported compensation
  • SHERYL HOFFMAN (LEADERSHIP GIVING DIRECTOR): $141,746 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The conservancy engages community involvement through 1) programs and services to enhance the park visitor experience; 2) co-management of the park's award-winning "volunteer in parks" (vip) program; 3) education programs for school age children at the cuyahoga valley environmental education center, throughout the park and surrounding communities; 4) marketing and awareness campaigns to reach out to existing and new visitors; 5) planning and implementation of capital projects in cuyahoga valley national park including the purchase of brandywine golf course on behalf of teh conservancy and cuyahoga valley national park.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community engagement - park visitation to cuyahoga valley national park remains high. The conservancy engages the community within the national park in a variety of ways. The retail stores operated by the conservancy were open for visitors to enhance their park experience as well as provide visitor information about activities in and around the park. This past year, more volunteers were able to provide support to the park through the park's volunteer program, which is co-managed by the conservancy. The conservancy offers reservations to host events and meetings in our unique park buildings with operational support including event planning, catering as well as facility rentals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.5%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 72%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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; 72nd 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.43; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.5% of revenue deployed · 72% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $202K · 35 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.