Lancaster County Conservancy

What it reported doing in 2025

Community impactconnecting our community & naturelancaster conservancy strives to empower everyone in our community to explore outdoors. From annual events like lancaster water week and trail fest to seasonal k-12 school programming to year-round interpretive activities, we offer engaging conservation education for learners of all ages and encourage everyone to connect with nature.k-12 conservation educationin 2025, the conservancy engaged over 1,600 students on our preserves from a dozen lancaster and york county school districts including york city, penn manor, and conestoga valley. During these programs, students learn about conservation and leave no trace, study meadows and macroinvertebrates, and explore nature. For some students, it is their first experience in this kind of natural setting.lancaster water weekthe ninth annual lancaster water week was an energizing celebration of our streams and rivers! During over 60 events hosted by dozens of partners, our community paddled on the conestoga and susquehanna rivers, went on walks and bike rides to learn about our waterways and clean water projects, connected with our streams and rivers at community celebrations, explored creeks, enjoyed music outdoors, volunteered to clean up litter around our waterways, and more.join us for the 10th anniversary of lancaster water week, june 5-13, 2026! Funders: see list of water week sponsors on page [insert #]. Lancaster water week 2025 was additionally made possible thanks to a subaward of a lancaster clean water partners grant from the chesapeake bay trust funded by the environmental protection agency, chesapeake bay funders network, and the chesapeake bay program.trail festour second annual trail fest brought hundreds of attendees to wizard ranch nature preserve where we gathered on a beautiful september day to listen to live music, learn about our wildlands with trailside talks, explore the preserve with a nature discovery walk, test our hiking knowledge in the happy hiker village, and enjoy time outdoors with our community. Save the date for this year's trail fest oct. 17, 2026, at ingrid graham historic hellam nature preserve! Funders: see list of trail fest sponsors on page [insert #].rewilding in the communityin 2025, 160 community members attended habitat advocate classes to learn how to create wildlife habitat where they live, learn, work, worship, and play. Twelve people received their habitat advocate certificates, bringing the total number of people certified through the program up to 50. Through the conservancy's community wildlife habitat initiative, 60 property owners received guidance on native gardening to protect clean water and provide food and shelter for wildlife. Additionally, five professional landscaping crews attended trainings on conservation landscaping techniques. Partners & funders: lancaster county community foundation, lancaster clean water partners training on wilderness first aidthe conservancy trained 15 people in wilderness advanced first aid, including members of our staff, volunteers, and area first responders. We also held wilderness first aid classes for middle creek search and rescue and trail users from our region. Additionally, the conservancy helped to set up and run a backcountry rescue drill on clark nature preserve for local fire companies. These trainings help better prepare staff, volunteers, and first responders to address medical challenges in wilderness settings.community sciencethrough community science initiatives, anyone can play a role in conservation research! The conservancy's phenology community science project includes over a dozen observers who record information across a range of habitats at four conservancy nature preserves. The information they collect contributes to understanding how invasive and native species interact and how the natural world responds to change over time. We also partner with the lancaster county conservation district's water quality volunteer coalition

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 47.5%; rating input score 48
• Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
• Fundraising efficiency: $20.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: 78%; rating input score 78; 27th 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: 46.4%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 22.28; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 17.8%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings