Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Preservation and restoration: the mission of dumbarton oaks park conservancy (dopc) is to restore, promote and maintain dumbarton oaks park now and for future generations. A 35 acre pastoral oasis in the middle of georgetown, dumbarton oaks park is the woodland and meadow portion of mildred and robert wood bliss original 53-acre dumbarton oaks estate.(continued on schedule o)(continued from page 2, preservation and restoration)one of the finest garden designs in american landscape history, it is the master work of beatrix farrand, america's first woman landscape architect. Farrand's 1921 landscape design created a progression from formal garden rooms near the main house to less formal areas down the hillside, before flowing into a naturalistic woodland garden in the stream valley. This "wild" portion of the estate is a highly designed composition of meadows, woods, and stream, with waterfalls, bridges, and a reflecting pond defining the landscape. In 1940, the blisses donated the naturalistic portion of the garden to the american people as a public park, overseen today by the national park service (nps) as dumbarton oaks park. The park is emerging from environmental crisis after fourteen years of dumbarton oaks park conservancy's dedication to its restoration and conservation. This work includes the removal of invasive plants that overrun the woods and meadows, repairing and protecting crumbling stonework, and addressing stormwater runoff into the valley that erodes the hillsides, undermines the historically significant trees, silts up the stream and ponds and undercuts the decorative waterfalls. Dopc, in partnership with nps, is tackling these significant and costly challenges.dopc performs this work through a public-private partnership with nps entered into pursuant to a memorandum of understanding signed in 2011, and followed by a 2016 master cooperative agreement and a 2016 friends group agreement, along with mutually agreed upon annual work plans. The friends group agreement is currently being updated to a new philanthropic partnership agreement. The annual work plans are guided by a 1997 landscape preservation maintenance plan and a cultural landscape report part i and part ii, all written expressly for the restoration of dumbarton oaks park.the restoration and maintenance of dumbarton oaks park is entirely funded by dopc's work to engage donors, seek grants, facilitate volunteer engagement, and the donation of in-kind services. The tools used by dopc and the nps are community engagement, the development of a robust volunteer corps, and the implementation of a successful environmental education program.in 2024, the breadth of the preservation and restoration projects initiated, funded, and completed are the following:- stream valley project, phase iii complete with thousands of native plants, in various formats (seed, plug, container, root ball) successfully installed. The svp is now under an ongoing maintenance detail. This project is funded by the national park foundation and individual donors who are change makers showcasing the power of public-private partnership to save a landscape that hasn't received priority treatment or funding and yet is one of the greatest landscape designs of the 20th century. - wayside and wayfinding signage master plan for dumbarton oaks park entrances are in the planning phase. One new sign has been installed thus far and is located at the top of lovers lane r st entrance. It was funded by a grant from the daughters of the american revolution.- forest management of the mature trees in farrand's design, including the american beech grove.- meadow maintenance of farrand's five meadow rooms restored to warm season native grasses.- park-wide mitigation of stormwater damage through triage and concept design for a stormwater conveyance system to protect park resources.- dopc green jobs & green tech skills training for at-risk youth engaged in park restoration, stewardship, and advocacy.- skillin

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 21.5%; rating input score 22
• Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
• Fundraising efficiency: $357.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 5th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 75.3%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.54; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings