ShoreRivers Inc
Envision healthy waterways across Maryland's Eastern Shore
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Advocacy
ShoreRivers advocates for your waterways in a number of ways—developing and influencing state and local policy, lobbying for beneficial state legislation and regulatory change, testifying at bill hearings in Annapolis, working with our county commissioners to effect positive change, and reaching out to our members to call and write to their elected officials. We work on the local, state, and federal level to ensure that laws and regulations reflect what is best for the health of Eastern Shore waterways. https://www.shorerivers.org/advocacyenforcement
Riverkeepers
Our RIVERKEEPERs lead our advocacy and enforcement program, and are equally at home patrolling our rivers for illegal pollution and testifying on legislation in Annapolis.
ShoreRivers employs four RIVERKEEPERs® (Chester, Choptank, Miles/Wye, and Sassafras) who regularly patrol their rivers and tributaries, are ready to combat illegal pollution, and serve as guardians for these living resources. ShoreRivers also employs other scientists, educators, outreach coordinators, and policy and legal advocates, all of whom work at every level to improve and protect our rivers.
Licensed by WATERKEEPER® ALLIANCE, ShoreRivers is part of a growing network of nearly 300 river, bay, and lake “keeper” and affiliate programs in 34 countries whose active presence on waterways is becoming a force for change.
ShoreRivers is also a member of WATERKEEPERS Chesapeake, a group of eighteen Chesapeake Bay advocacy programs which are coordinating efforts and building leverage to impact environmental legislation and policy across the watershed.
https://www.shorerivers.org/riverkeepers
Agriculture
ShoreRivers is recognized as a leader in working collaboratively with farmers to solve problems of nutrient and sediment loss to waterways from agriculture. We are an incubator for new ideas and technologies for best farming practices that benefit farmers and our Eastern Shore waterways.
https://www.shorerivers.org/agriculture
Restoration
ShoreRivers is a leader in designing, funding, and managing major restoration projects on agricultural lands, on public county-owned properties, in urban areas, at schools, colleges, and churches, and with private landowners to reduce the sediment and nutrients that pollute our waterways.
We have in-house technical expertise and work with engineers, contractors, local governments, and landowners to implement strategic restoration projects throughout our watershed.
ShoreRivers is certified by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as a Technical Service Provider.
https://www.shorerivers.org/restoration
Education & Outreach
ShoreRivers is dedicated to investing in future generations of river stewards through education and teaching the value, importance, and fun found on our local rivers. We work in numerous counties in public and private schools with elementary, middle, and high school students teaching the importance of our waterways and how to care for them.
We provide students with Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences as outlined in the “Stewardship and Community Engagement” Commitment of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement. And we assist teachers in completing the Environmental Literacy Standards set by the Maryland State Department of Education, encouraging hands-on and inquiry-based environmental education for students and teachers.
https://www.shorerivers.org/education
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of conservation actions at site(s)
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
from project poster
Number of conservation areas with evidence that illegal activities causing key threats have declined or stabilized
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
EPA relisting of river segments CBF WOTUS Connowingo Dam Four Seasons Pintail Point Trappe East WWTP Valley Proteins
Number of stakeholders/stakeholder groups with whom communication has been achieved and expectations shared
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education. Our vision is healthy waterways across Maryland's Eastern Shore.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
ShoreRivers mission is to protect and restore Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration, and education. Our ultimate vision is healthy waterways – and healthy communities – across the Eastern Shore and beyond. Specific departmental goals, strategies, and indicators align and connect to push this work forward, as outlined in our 2021-2023 Strategic Roadmap. Some Sustainable Development goals fall clearly within our scope of work: Life Below Water, Life on Land, Climate Action, Clean Water & Sanitation, and Quality Education.
In 2020, ShoreRivers added some statements of belief to underscore our commitment to a holistic view of healthy waterways and the overall Good Health and Well-being of our communities:
ShoreRivers believes that diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in our staff, board, supporters, and programs are critical to achieving our mission of clean water. We believe that access to waterways fuels environmental stewardship; inclusion of diverse communities is essential to long term success; and diverse representation in our membership, staff, and board makes us stronger.
To this end, some strategies we’re employing to Reduce Inequalities, promote Gender Equality, and create Sustainable Cities and Communities include:
-providing diversity training for staff
-ensuring our boards and staff reflect the communities we serve (at least 20% BIPOC, 50% female, and increased age diversity)
-creating opportunities for youth voices and employment
-institutionalizing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice principles in our organization culture
-enhancing the Swimmable ShoreRivers campaign to reach BIPOC community members
-establishing River-Friendly Yards program with low barriers to entry
-collaborating with local partner organizations serving under-resourced families
To quote Wendell Berry, environmental activist, farmer, and essayist: “[T]he movement to preserve the environment [is] not a digression from the civil rights and peace movements, but the logical culmination of those movements. For I believe that the separation of these three problems is artificial. They have the same cause, and that is the mentality of greed and exploitation. The mentality that exploits and destroys the natural environment is the same that abuses racial and economic minorities… The mentality that destroys a watershed and then panics at the threat of flood is the same mentality that gives institutionalized insult to black people and then panics at the prospect of race riots.”
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
ShoreRivers Inc
Board of directorsas of 03/20/2024
Dan Hayes
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/21/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.