March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 47 F

Chesapeake bay Trust earns coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 14th year

The Chesapeake Bay Trust, a nonprofit grant-making institution dedicated to improving the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, earned a 4-star rating once again from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.  This is the fourteenth year that Chesapeake Bay Trust has earned this top distinction for its commitment to sound fiscal management, accountability, and transparency while in pursuit of its mission to support environmental education, on-the-ground restoration, conservation, and community engagement in the Chesapeake region and Maryland portions of the Youghiogheny and Coastal Bays.

Since 2002, using objective analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology.  These accountability and transparency metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders.  On June 1, 2016, Charity Navigator upgraded their methodology for rating each charity’s’ financial health. These enhancements further substantiate the financial health of Charity Navigator’s four star charities.

“Chesapeake Bay Trust’s exceptional 4-star rating sets it apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public,” said Michael Thatcher, President & CEO of Charity Navigator. “Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our 4-star rating. This adds the Chesapeake Bay Trust to a preeminent group of charities working to overcome our world’s most pressing challenges. Based on its 4-star rating, people can trust that their donations are going to a financially responsible and ethical charity when they decide to support the Chesapeake Bay Trust.”

The Chesapeake Bay Trust provides approximately 400 grants annually to schools, civic associations, faith-based organizations, youth organizations, watershed associations, and other types of entities for activities that increase resident awareness of and engagement in the restoration and protection of natural resources.  Last year, the Trust awarded $9.5 million in projects that engaged more than 80,000 students, 4,000 teachers, and 27,000 volunteers to plant over 200,000 native trees and plants, create 3,800 linear feet of living shorelines, install 388 rain barrels, create 7 acres of rain gardens, restore 155 acres of stream buffers and wetland habitat, and remove 211 tons of trash from communities.  The Trust may best be known for the “Treasure the Chesapeake” license plate, of which there are close to 300,000 on Maryland’s roads.

“The Trust takes stewardship very seriously, both environmental and financial,” said Dr. Jana Davis, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “Every dollar that comes to us from a Bay Plate owner, a donor, a partner, or a Chesapeake and Endangered Species Tax Checkoff contributor means a great deal to us.  We work hard to make sure as much of that dollar as possible – 92 cents – goes to a student’s outdoor field experience, a tree planted by a community volunteer, or other similar work.”

The Chesapeake Bay Trust’s rating and other information about charitable giving are available onwww.charitynavigator.org.

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