West Creek Preservation Committee

“The form 990 is presented to finance staff, executive director and finance committee to review and is then revised as needed, following which a recommendation of approval is made to the board. The board then has final review of the 990 and approves it for filing.”

“Each year, all board and staff members are required to review and pledge compliance to the organization's conflict of interest policy. Among other things, the policy makes it clear that all decisions of the board members and employees are made solely on the basis of a desire to promote the best interest of the organization and the public good. The conflict of interest statement requires board members and staff to identify to the best of their knowledge affiliations with organizations that may be potentially related to the financial or other substantive operations of the organization. They are also asked to identify circumstances involving either themselves, or a member of their extended family, that may be construed as a conflict of interest. The organization's employees also ensure that there are no conflicts of interest when considering the engagement of a vendor. If a potential or actual conflict is identified, appropriate steps are taken to both assess the nature of the conflict and, subsequently, to ensure that the issue is mitigated. The board and organization takes the appropriate steps to manage the mitigation of the conflict of interest and upholds the letter and spirit of the policy.”

“The executive committee of the board annually evaluates the performance of the executive director. Compensation is based on performance and comparison to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. This compensation is a component of the budget, which is reviewed and approved by the board as a whole.”

“The organization's current governing documents, form 990, conflicts of interest policy, and financial statements are made available to the public upon request. The public inspection version of the form 990 can also be found on several publically accessible websites.”

“Our mission is to enrich the lives of all people in northeast ohio by conserving natural habitats, restoring the ecological value of our region's lands and waters, and expanding opportunities to connect people from all cultures to experience nature and discover our great outdoors.”

“Volunteer hours donated for landscaping, property upkeep, and other services totalled 1,052 in 2021.”

“West creek conservancy (fka west creek preservation committee) protects and restores natural areas, open spaces, stream and water resources throughout northeast ohio. In a strategic watershed restoration approach, we're actively reclaiming unsustainably developed lands in order to restore their functionality and ecological integrity. Much of our work includes reforesting degraded areas, creating or enhancing wetlands, and restoring streams and waterways. Additionally, we make significant efforts to retrofit the 'built' environment with the installation of appropriate green infrastructure and other stormwater control measures, all in an effort to improve and protect water quality - and inherently our region's drinking water resources. Conservation and restoration on such a watershed-based approach subsequently creates linear green corridors that often provide the groundwork for trail and greenway networks, as well as natural wildlife corridors. Puzzling together otherwise fragmented greenspace and natural corridors is an implicit way to directly connect people to these amazing places and spaces (while also providing alternatives for local transportation). At west creek conservancy, we believe that clean streams and rivers, abundant natural areas, neighborhood greenspaces, and equitably accessible walking and biking trails are an important part of a healthy, thriving, and sustainable region. Parks, trails, and greenways are a critical facet of our community's infrastructure, similar to that of water and sewer; and as such, we should make every effort to protect and restore such assets. We are dedicated to our mission of conservation because northeast ohio is our home, and the places we protect and restore directly impact our drinking water and the health of lake erie. We invite you to help west creek conservancy make northeast ohio a greener-greater place to live, work, and visit. We are proud of the fact that we collaborate with a vast array of individuals, landowners, non- profits, community groups, municipalities, park districts, and businesses on many different types of conservation, restoration, land re-use, and recreational trail projects. We offer many opportunities to engage volunteers, as well as opportunities to get outside, learn about, and enjoy our local great outdoors. Throughout the year, we host clean-ups, plantings, tours, seasonally guided hikes, as well as various trainings. Whether you attend a meeting, outing, or event; make a donation; protect your land; or volunteer your time and energy, your participation and support makes a vital and lasting difference. Equitably accessible parks, trails, and outdoor public spaces are more important than ever, not only for physical health and recreation, but because they offer a place of respite, a place to disconnect from the everyday and, at the same time, reconnect with our amazing natural world. These greenspaces and waterways are literally the fabric of our infrastructure. We are proud to be a part of this effort and we recognized that throughout 2020-2021, it became ever more pointedly important.”