The Holden Arboretum

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule othe holden arboretum is a 3,500-acre outdoor living museum that contributes to the sustainability and health of communities in the great lakes region by demonstrating and sharing the beauty and value of trees and plants. In addition, the arboretum holds approximately 1,600 acres in conservation easements and includes the 29-acre leach research station in madison, oh. The holden arboretum is integrated with the cleveland botanical garden as holden forests & gardens ("hf&g"). The cleveland botanical garden is an urban botanical garden located 25 miles from holden arboretum in the city of cleveland. Together, the institutions are accredited by the american alliance of museums and represent one of the largest public gardens in the country. The mission of the two organizations is to connect people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants, to inspire action for healthy communities. The holden arboretum fulfils this mission through core programming that focuses on scientific research, conservation, horticulture and curation, education, exhibitions and events, and community outreach. In fiscal year 2025 ending september 30, 2025 (fy25), hf&g began to operationalize its 2025-2029 strategic plan, which is based on the strategic pillars of landscapes, inspiration, knowledge, community, and excellence. Additionally, hf&g began to advance planning and implementation for the organization's transformational site plan, comprising key projects that will ensure that both campuses are welcoming, year-round destinations for all guests that model and catalyze environmental stewardship. Hf&g also continued its core mission-focused programs.scientific research: the research staff published 17 peer-reviewed papers in industry journals and gave 10 presentations to professional audiences and 18 to public audiences. Ongoing research projects include studies on beech leaf disease; beech bark disease; hemlock wooly adelgid; plant physiology; plant phenology; soil ecology; forest ecology; and genetics; and 13 interns and 1 graduate student supported this work in fy25. Collectively, the research team was awarded five new grants totaling over $1.5 million. Hf&g also continued to grow its regional seedbank for climate mitigation and forest restoration work; working to collect, store, and redistribute native seeds to support reforestation and restoration projects throughout northeast Ohio and beyond. This year, the seedbank processed 852,000 seeds from 65 different native species and donated thousands of seed in support of native seed libraries throughout the region.conservation and community forestry: the conservation team manages over 3,000 acres of natural areas at the arboretum. In fy25, they planted over 1,300 trees and shrubs to enhance 45 acres of young successional habitat in the arboretum's natural areas. They also conducted rare plant surveys on 11 species and performed management on three rare plant populations. The conservation team managed hemlock wooly adelgid and hemlock elongate scale infestations on over 500 trees located at the little mountain natural area, within the arboretum's core collection, and at cleveland botanical garden. In addition, conservation staff engaged 41 volunteers in the bluebird nestbox program, fledging over 725 native birds. Hf&g's working woods initiative, which is a unique forest management demonstration site for landowners of small woodlots, continued operations funded largely by a $1.9m grant from the us forest service. Working woods provides forest management support for private landowners through onsite demonstrations and educational workshops, as well as off site consulting forestry provided to landowners by two consulting foresters on holden's staff. Through the great lakes basin forest health collaborative, a partnership with the us forest service based at holden, holden cared for 160 planted beech trees, 600 planted ash trees, and 70 planted eastern hemlock. Aside from this formal p

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 64.9%; rating input score 65
• Program expense ratio: 53.3%; rating input score 53
• Fundraising efficiency: $12.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • 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: -17%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.37; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings