Chippewa Nature Center Inc.

“The organization has members of various levels, depending on contribution. All members have rights to vote on board members.”

“Board members are elected at the annual meeting by votes from cnc members. Nominations are named by november of the preceding year by the board nominating committee. The election is held at the annual meeting. If no nominations are made other than the slate announced by the nominating committee, then those nominated are elected with one ballot from the board secretary - also at the annual meeting.”

“The form 990 was reviewed by senior management of cnc prior to its approval for filing.”

“Conflict of interest policy covers members of the chippewa nature center (cnc) board of directors, any of its committees, and staff members. Covered persons shall readily disclose to cnc any personal interest which he or she may have in any matter pending before cnc and shall refrain from participation in any decision on such matter. Any member of the cnc board or staff, who is an officer, board member, or employee of an agency or other entity doing business with cnc, shall identify his or her affiliation with such agency or entity. Covered persons in connection with any policy committee or board action specifically directed to that agency or entity, shall not participate in the decision affecting that agency or entity, and the decision must be made and/or ratified by the full board without the vote of the affected member.”

“The executive committee develops a budget containing the executive director's salary which is approved by the board of directors. Competitive salary levels are compared at local, state, and national levels for compensation for similarly qualified persons in functionally comparable positions at similarly situated organizations. The approval is documented in the executive committee meeting minutes.”

“Any requests for this information are directed to the executive director, who provides the documents as requested if legally mandated or constructively appropriate.”

“The chippewa nature center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate the enjoyment and understanding of our natural, historical and archaeological resources as relevant to the saginaw valley, to promote environmental awareness and to foster responsible stewardship.”

“Department of programs: connecting people to nature is central to all cnc does and while that often means people are interacting with staff to learn and be inspired, in 2018, we focused on creating meaningful experiences for self-guided visitors as well. Over the summer, the woods nature play area opened to the public. Through the generosity of dow corning donor advised fund through the midland area community foundation and the midland rotary foundation, a 1/3 acre area just off arbury trail was designed as a nature play area. Features include a stage, cabin, water pump (during warm weather) and mud kitchen. Perhaps most importantly, it also includes a vernal pool, logs for walking, sticks for building, rocks for jumping, and dirt for digging. This space invites children to stretch their imaginations, challenge their physical abilities, and to embrace the natural world on their terms through play. A number of major events are offered each year including celebrations of the solstices, groundhogs day, earth day and more. Our long-standing, major festivals have become traditions for many of our guests and 2018 was no different. Another record-breaking year brought 25,894 people through the doors of the visitor center during regular business hours. This is an increase of more than 3,500 people from 2017. While many visitors simply enjoy the exhibits and explore the trails, 6,914 participated in one of 373 free day-time drop-in program such as story hour, discover the homestead farm, bird banding or a variety of families in nature programs. Another 1,191 people attended one of 40 free evening programs including full moon strolls, moth nights, and evening snowshoe programs. These programs are a great initial experience for those first seeking a connection to nature as well as those for whom nature is already a part of their lives. Nature day camp had another successful summer this year, camp filled 1057 individual spots, the most ever, over the course of 8 weeks. A record setting 73 campers received scholarships to attend. For the second time, camp provided a before & after care program at the homestead farm serving 87 children and their families, up 12% from last year. For the third consecutive summer, we offered two sessions of leaders-in-training, which continues to support and encourage our campers to transition into our highquality teen volunteers and future staff members. As we look toward 2019 and beyond, we will continue to seek opportunities to meet the needs and interests of our community while working to build deep and meaningful connections with the natural world. Through continued partnerships with regional schools, business, and land conservancies, the impact we can make continues to grow.”

“Land and facilities: in 2018, chippewa nature center's land & facilities department continuted to support and provide opportunities for engagement with the natural world. The team worked to improve access to the nature center's rich natural areas and restore ecosystems through a variety of land management practices, while also maintaining state of the art facilities for the benefit of guests from around the region. After clean-up of the february flood, a total of 107 shrubs and trees were planted in the arboretum this year. All but 15 of those were planted as specimen species. Some trees and shrubs planted were new species, while others were planted so that there would be more than one tree represented for each specimen species. Among the new species planted were: blackhaw viburnum, creeping juniper, fragrant sumac, hop tree, maple leaf viburnum, sand cherry, shadbush serviceberry and sweetgum.”

“Volunteers and outreach: in 2018, the department of volunteers and outreach participated in 34 events throughout the great lakes bay region. Many events are annual events including the mt. Pleasant discovery museum's day of play, migratory bird day at the ziibiwing center, riverdays, saginaw county park's family fun day, kid's day at the mall and great lakes bay stem festival, while others, such as a booth at the midland center for the arts "stem" activity during their block party in june, were new events. Events also included school family fun (or stem) events, health fairs, and earth day activities. All of these outreach activities provided opportunities to promote the nature center while providing simple hands-on experiences to those visiting our booth. Chippewa nature center would like to express our sincere gratitude to the 834 volunteers that shared their time (a total of 12,375.5 hours), talents and expertise at cnc during 2018. The activities and projects volunteers help with are quite diverse from face painting to cooking sausages to crafts and admission gate during our many special events and festivals throughout the year. High school students share their time during summer vacation as nature day camp cits while adults (and teens) can be seen helping with a variety of land stewardship projects including maintaining the trails and property for users to enjoy. Other volunteers share their expertise by assisting with a wide range of projects from record keeping to sewing to serving on the board of directors and its committees.”

“Loss on sale of fixed assets 4,563 loss on sale of fixed assets -4,563”