Riverbend Environmental Education Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237455526
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Gladwyne, PA, USA
- Phone
- 6105275234
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,095,521
- Expenses
- $1,641,227
- Assets
- $4,586,346
- Liabilities
- $390,774
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- ERIN REILLY (EXECUTIVE DI): $121,843 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Riverbend's purpose is to foster an awareness, appreciation, and understanding of our total environment through educational programming. By growing both the love of nature and environmental literacy, we aim to inspire action that contributes to a healthier planet for all. At riverbend, we work to develop environmental literacy using tested education tools grounded in science. We believe that this is essential to live in and care for our natural world. Riverbend's nature-based stem education programs advance environmental literacy, appreciation of the natural world and our place in it. Through inquiry based learning students have direct experiences with nature and the relevant learning that advances curiosity, critical thinking, creative approaches, and problem-solving skills.
What it reported doing in 2025
We delivered nature education lessons to 11,882 students, with 70% of our program hours going to title 1 schools. Nature-based stem programs for schools - we delivered high-quality, customized school programs (pre-k through middle school) in schools across the region that took place during the school day. This program supports and cultivates hands-on, minds-on investigations and creates a greater connection to nature along with the skills and resources needed to make good environmental decisions. The curriculum aligns with the pa science curriculum framework and next generation science standards (ngss). A majority of students who participated reported an increase in connection to nature, and an indication of increased environmental literacy. 6,564 students in norristown, philadelphia, and upper darby learned about Pennsylvania's ecosystem and the schuylkill river watershed. Of those students, 100% attended title 1 schools, lacking resources and access to nature. 19 teachers received professional development via riverbend programs. Community of practice - we ran a program that we co-designed with teachers and administrators in three school districts. This program provides teachers with the knowledge and literacy to teach environmental science. The community of practice program consists of a three day summer workshop for teachers, a teacher professional development program that gives yearlong support for teachers through monthly meetings, classroom visits from riverbend educators three times a year, and a cumulative action project, such as a stewardship activity. Tree planting - 540 volunteers provided labor planting 221 trees and 68 native shrubs. Habitat interns program- riverbend hosts up to four habitat interns each summer. This opportunity allows interns to gain meaningful hands-on experience, contributing valuable improvements and maintenance of riverbend's preserve, as well as infuse new skills and knowledge into the intern's professional and personal development. The preserve remained open 365 days of the year. The 30 acre preserve serves as an outdoor classroom for experiential learning for school-based groups and summer programming. It is open to the public year-round and encompasses the snider barn, an aquaponics greenhouse, numerous hiking trails, outdoor learning classrooms, a bird observation area, and acres of open space. In 2025, there were 17 public events at the preserve, with 1,137 people in attendance. Total number of people served in 2025 was 13,667.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 67% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 46
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 36.3%; rating input score 36
- Program expense ratio: 66%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 47%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.79; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 36.3% of revenue deployed · 66% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $122K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 36/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.