PROVIDENCE – Save The Bay Inc. had total revenue of $3.7 million in fiscal 2018, including $2.3 million in contributions, gifts and grants, the nonprofit said in its 2018 annual report.
Save The Bay also reported $538,732 in program revenue for the 12-month period ended June 30 and $379,231 in government contracts, as well as $430,312 in “other income.”
The organization reported that it has raised $1.6 million in the quiet phase of its 50th anniversary campaign and that it had $102,349 in investment gains for the year.
Save The Bay reported that it spent $1.5 million on education in fiscal 2018, $905,479 on advocacy and $743,676 on fundraising, its top three expenses. It also reported communications costs of $263,657, and general and administrative expenses of $251,704 for the year.
The nonprofit increased net assets $1.7 million year over year to $9.3 million. Total assets for the year totaled $11 million.
Save The Bay said that it restored 575 feet of river habitat over the year, conducted 2,898 water quality tests and removed 25,970 pounds of trash from shorelines.
In 2018, contributed volunteer time for the nonprofit had an in-kind value of $692,490.
The organization also heralded the passage of the $47.3 million 2018 Green Economy and Clean Water Bond passed in November as a major win.
The organization highlighted several habitat restoration efforts undertaken in 2018, including:
- The removal of the Shady Lea Dam on the Mattatuxet River
- The nonprofit’s partnership with the Bristol County Mosquito Control Program and the Dighton Conservation Committee on marsh adaptation project on the Taunton River in Dighton
- The conversion of a low-lying field at Sapowet Marsh in Tiverton to native grassland in partnership with the R.I. Department of Environmental Management
- The organization’s efforts to dig shallow creeks to drain trapped water at Potters Pond, Winnapaug Pond, Ninigret Pond and Sapowet Marsh
- Its partnership with the DEM and the Conn. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to install several fixed-location probes in the Pawcatuck River estuary and the Little Narragansett Bay to test water conditions
The organization also highlighted some of its advocacy for the year including:
- Filing a complaint related to appointments to the Coastal Resources Management Council to ensure compliance with the separation of power amendment of 2008. The organization said the move will “ensure that coastal communities are represented by the council”
- The nonprofit championed the 2018 Green Economy and Clean Water Bond
- The organization partnered with WPRI-TV CBS 12 and the Conimicut Village Association to fight littering
- The nonprofit joined with the Rhode Island Saltwater Angler’s Association and Audubon Society of Rhode Island to pressure the New England Fisheries Management Council to impose catch limits on Atlantic herring, as well as to establish an inshore buffer zone. Save The Bay said that the moves are “an important first step toward protecting” the species
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. You may reach him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
