Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc.
Save the Bay
Learn how to support this organization
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Serving as a watchdog, we fight for effective, science-based solutions to the pollution degrading the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Our motto, "Save the Bay," is a regional rallying cry for pollution reduction throughout the Chesapeake's six-state, 64,000-square-mile watershed, which is home to more than 18 million people and 3,000 species of plants and animals. CBF leads the way in restoring the Bay and its rivers and streams. For more than 50 years, we have created broad understanding of the Bay's poor health, engaged public leaders in making commitments to restore the Chesapeake, and fought successfully to create a new approach to cleanup that features real accountability- the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. But the Bay is still a system dangerously out of balance. We continue to engage in education, advocacy, litigation, and restoration to turn the tide and leave a legacy of clean water for future generations.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Restoration
CBF performs hands-on restoration work with community partners across the watershed to reduce pollution at its source and rebuild the Bay’s natural filters—oyster reefs, forests, and wetlands. These efforts not only improve water quality in the Bay and its rivers and streams, they also protect shorelines, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, cool cities, and increase our resilience to climate change.
Working with Farmers - Our staff work one-on-one with farmers to implement conservation practices that keep valuable nutrients and soil on the land—rather than in the water.
Restoring Oysters - CBF restoration teams raise juvenile oysters and work from the bottom up to rebuild reef habitat in targeted restoration areas.
Planting Trees - CBF works directly with landowners and community groups to plant forested buffers along rivers, streams, and shorelines, where they improve water quality, provide habitat for wildlife, help reduce dangerous heat, and combat climate change.
Environmental Education
CBF believes an informed, passionate constituency is the key to restoring and maintaining the Bay’s health for generations to come. Knowing that the best place to learn about the Bay is on it, we educate tens of thousands of students, teachers, and school administrators each year through immersive field experiences and professional development courses that foster a lifelong connection to the watershed and its stewardship. We reach rural, urban, and suburban communities across the watershed, and 25 percent of the schools we work with are under-resourced. CBF’s award-winning program has been at the vanguard of environmental education for 50 years. Integrating state learning standards with explorations of local waterways, our field experiences enable students and teachers to apply their learning to real-world challenges in the watershed.
Advocacy
Together with our members, CBF is the strongest and most effective voice for protecting and restoring the Bay. We work at the local, state, and federal level for science-driven laws and regulations that reduce pollution; restore vital natural systems like oyster reefs, forests, and wetlands; and encourage smart growth in our communities.
CBF is internationally recognized as the expert on environmental issues that impact the Bay and its rivers and stream. Our staff of scientists and policy experts offer guidance to lawmakers and government agencies on issues such as agricultural conservation practices and fishery management to ensure the laws, policies, and programs necessary for Bay restoration are in place.
Litigation
CBF defends the laws and regulations that protect our waterways and serves as a watchdog to hold governments and polluters accountable to their Bay restoration commitments through carefully chosen legal action. With a record of precedent-setting cases, we work to bring about lasting change within our legal system that ensures the equitable and long-term health of the Bay and its communities.
The Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint—the landmark federal-state plan to clean up the Bay—was formally established as part of the settlement of a 2009 lawsuit CBF led against the Environmental Protection Agency. CBF’s litigation team successfully defended the Blueprint to the Supreme Court, representing a national coalition of environmental groups. For the first time, the Blueprint provides a legal framework to hold states and the federal government accountable for pollution reductions they’ve committed to make in order to restore the Bay’s water quality.
Where we work
Accreditations
The Avarna Group completed an evaluation of CBF recruiting/hiring practices and DEIJ website review. 2019
The Avarna Group completed an evaluation of CBF staff and board. 2020
J.Sickler Consulting, LLC conducted a student field programs evaluation. 2018
J.Sickler Consulting is currently evaluating the effectiveness of CBF's Professional Learning work. 2021
Green 2.0 Transparency Card 2023
CBF received citations from MD and VA legislatures celebrating 50 years of environmental education. 2023
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of trees planted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Restoration
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership grew from 221 to 264 members, which have planted over 5.9 million trees in Pennsylvania.
Number of advocacy contacts with government leaders
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Advocacy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Inspired CBF members to take actions, including those that helped prevent a salmon farm that posed risks to endangered Atlantic sturgeon on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Number of children who have access to education
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Environmental Education
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Celebrated 50 years of award-winning environmental education that has reached more than 1.5 million learners and inspired countless actions-and careers-dedicated to saving the Bay.
We define a Saved Bay as having a score of 70 (out of 100) on CBF's State of the Bay health index.
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
At 70, the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers will be highly productive and in good health. The results will be clear water and healthy oxygen levels, supporting living resources. cbf.org/stateofthebay
Number of oysters added
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Restoration
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance expanded to 101 partners, which have added over 4.5 billion oysters to Bay waters.
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?
The Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint will be fully implemented.
The causes of climate change and its impact on the Chesapeake
Bay watershed will be reduced through restoration, policy, and
strategic litigation.
The next generation of environmental problem-solvers will be
equipped and empowered to understand, connect with, and act to
protect the Bay and its watershed.
A stronger organization and movement will be created through the
advancement of diversity, promotion of equity, inclusion of all
voices, investment in communities, and empowerment of staff.
Environmental Justice will be achieved for Bay communities.
Staff will be positioned for success in the above goals.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
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 share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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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
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 03/04/2024
Otis Jones
ServiceNow
Term: 2023 - 2026
Ann Pelham
R. Bruce Bradley
Retired President, Landmark Publishing
Harry S. Gruner
Founder, Managing Partner, & Executive Chair, JMI Equity
Hilary Harp Falk
President & CEO, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Robert A. Kinsley II
CEO, Kinsley Enterprises, Inc.
J. Sedwick Sollers III
Managing Partner, King and Spalding LLP
Stephen M. Wolf
Managing Partner, Alpilles, LLC
Ann D. Horner
Retired Business Executive, Bourne Leisure
Preston M. White
CEO, Century Concrete, Inc.
Marnie Abramson
Principal and Founder of Lightility
Brian Cobb
Chief Technology Officer, partner, and member of the Executive Team at Brown Advisory
Alexandra Grayson
Graduate Student, University of California, Berkeley
Nathaniel J. Rose
Executive vice president and chief investment officer, HASI
Robert N. Whitescarver
President and owner of a private consulting business, Whitescarver Natural Resources Management, LLC
Dara C. Bachman
President, Fulton Private Bank
Joan P. Brock
Community Leader & Philanthropist
Margaret M. Freeman
Founder & Owner, Heywood Financial, LLC
Jennifer E. Green
Co-Founder & Former CEO, Urban Teachers
Jonathan D. Manekin
Director, Greenspring Realty Partners, Inc.
Anne Mehringer
Retired Manager of Litigation Support Jones Day Bethesda, MD
Mamie A. Parker, Ph.D.
Fish & Wildlife Biologist, Principal Consultant M.A. Parker & Assoc., Ecologix Group
Crystal Patterson
President, Washington Media Group
Samara Pyfrom
Student, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Christa Riepe
Founder & Farmer, Brumby Fields
Kathryn Gilchrist Simpson
Corporate VP & General Council, Northrop Grumman
Tola Sanni
CFO, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
William A. Agee
Vice President, Administration, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
George B. Clarke IV
Founder & Principal Owner, MEB
Nick Pomponi
Senior Managing Director, Evercore
J. Alex Ward
Partner & Co-Chair Government Contracts and Public Procurement, Morrison & Foerster
Denice Heller Wardrop
Executive Director, Chesapeake Research Consortium & Research Professor of Geography and Ecology, Penn State
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? No
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
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/01/2023GuideStar 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 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.