Great River Passage Conservancy

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization continued its mission to strengthen connections between Saint Paul and the Mississippi River through projects, programs, and partnerships. In addition, the GRPC board embarked on a strategic planning process that resulted in the decision to merge with another non-profit, Saint Paul Parks Conservancy, effective January 1, 2026. The GRPC portfolio of work, staff, and assets was transferred into the organization at the end of 2025. RIVER LEARNING CENTER (Class 205 RLC): GRPC staff worked in partnership with the City of Saint Paul, the Architecture firm VJAA, landscape architects TEN x TEN, and Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design to advance the design process for the Mississippi River Learning Center. GPRC staff supported the city and design team's efforts around community engagement, communications, and piloting events to activate the site and explore future programming opportunities. Part of the process is helping partners learn to work together on-site. We planned events and convened partners around activities to test and learn, such as Winter Play Day. This brought together partners including the National Park Service, Mississippi Park Connection, Wakan Tipi, Urban Bird Collective, USDA Forest Service, Wilderness Inquiry, Native Fish for Tomorrow, and more. More than 400 people attended. The group determined it was a worthwhile event and worth repeating in winter 2026. A major accomplishment of the merger is the decision that SPPC will be the partner responsible for fundraising for this project. This was a major outstanding question that was resolved. RIVER BALCONY (Class 210 RB): We are leading the effort to unite downtown partners around the Saint Paul Riverfront vision, aligning projects such as the River Balcony and RiversEdge to guide development, funding, and programming. Working in partnership with the City of Saint Paul, Ramsey County, and downtown stakeholders like the Science Museum of Minnesota, MN Wild, and Downtown Alliance, we are advancing a cohesive vision for the downtown riverfront. One of the first steps is to launch the Downtown Riverwalk, a pedestrian loop connecting downtown Saint Paul to the Mississippi Riverfront. The two-mile loop will feature interpretive locations focusing on a range of subjects, including cultural history, geology, river commerce, and ecology. With support from Knight Foundation, we were able to: 1) Develop Downtown Riverwalk branding. 2) Convene partners to collaborate and build support, including the Science Museum of Minnesota, Wakan Tipi, District Energy, the City of Saint Paul, Ramsey County, the Downtown Alliance, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad, Public Art Saint Paul, Seitu Jones Studio, Minnesota Museum of American Art (The M), and others. 3) Hire a historian and interpretive planner to research and propose stories for trail signage, and a graphic designer to design the panels. (Trail signage will be installed in Spring 2026.) 4) Produce original audio plays in partnership with Wonderlust Productions. Each trail sign will feature a unique QR code linking listeners to creative stories inspired by the history of that location. 5) Design and install vibrant wayfinding signage on more than 70 lampposts. 6) Convene artists and arts organizations to explore ways to bring vibrancy to dark and uninviting spaces along the loop. A central feature of the Riverwalk will be a reimagining of the railroad underpasses at Sibley and Jackson streets. Today, these passageways are dark, uninviting, and often perceived as unsafe, deterring pedestrians and cyclists from accessing the riverfront. To turn the underpasses into vibrant, welcoming gateways to the Mississippi River, we are transforming these spaces through public art installations. Partnerships were formed, and design concepts began in collaboration with Public Arts Saint Paul, Wakpa Triennial Art Festival, Seitu Jones Studio, and The Museum of American Art. Installation will begin fall of 2026. As these lar

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 97.3%; rating input score 97
• Program expense ratio: 76%; rating input score 76
• Fundraising efficiency: $23.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
  • 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: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -28%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 39.1%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -14.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings