What a fantastic organization. My only regret is not having discovered River Network twenty years ago. Their team is exceptional, the cause good and just. I have them set on my Amazon Smile account to benefit from all of our purchases and have been a member since2016.
Victoria Yu
I attended the annual River Rally event sponsored by River Network and was very impressed with the entire event. I attended workshops and a one-on-one session that inspired me and helped guide me in endeavors for my organization. It was also just incredibly encouraging to be among so many people working toward the same goals. Thanks to River Network for organizing and sponsoring such a great event!
I run a statewide river conservation non-profit, and River Network's 'River Rally' is a once-per-year shot in the arm for me. It refreshes me, educates me, and reminds me that I'm not alone in the conservation struggle. It renews my passion. It's emotional unlike other any professional conference I've ever been to.
River Network links river and watershed groups from across the country into a movement. It provides individual groups with the tools they need to be stronger and more effective. The annual River Rally they've hosted for 20 years allows river folks to get together - to learn and to share.
I became more deeply involved with River Network (as a board member and donor) because of the life-saving support it gave to the watershed group I previously led. Our watershed organization was teetering on the brink of solvency, getting tangled up in our own organizational issues at the expense of the rivers we needed to serve. With scholarship support from River Network we were able to send our one staff person to River Rally, and she returned with the basic tools we needed to get ourselves organized and bringing in small but important support. We returned each year (and that organization still returns each year) to learn the latest, network with the leaders in water protection and restoration, and strategize about work ahead. That organization is now 15 years old, well-staffed, and is a solid, respected, and needed part of its region. Without River Network's help I'm certain it would have disappeared or remained a kitchen table organization.
River Network has served my organization for several years and I have worked directly with them for the past 2 years. They continue to provide me with networking resources, professional development tools, program ideas, and industry news and data that is invaluable to growing my programs and organization.
River Network is like the glue or duck tape that helps a local, state or regional group put it together to achieve their mission. The glue they provide is diverse. It includes but is not limited to webinars, documents, list serve, research, access to experts and networks of information and training that cover organizational development, fund raising, board development, management and recruitment, budgeting and accounting, volunteer management, leadership and technical assistance in Clean Water Act implementation, interpretation, water quality and biological monitoring, restoration planning, implementation and monitoring, green infrastructure, storm water, energy extraction, connection between energy and water and so much more! If you are a local group, regardless of composition (grass roots, agency, academia, etc.) you are LOOSING money and resources if you are not connected to River Network. They only add value to what you do and help you do it bigger, better, more efficient and more often!
River Network's River Rally has been a part of training for watershed coordinators in my state. Many watershed groups operate with very small budgets. The scholarship program to cover expences for the training conference registration allows so many more folks the unique opportunity of networking with
collegues frm around the country and to learn from exerts in their fields. The webinars throughout the year are very beneficial to continue that dialoge.
River Network lives up to its name. Those of us who work with rivers and watersheds are usually working within a local sphere. It is so helpful to have an organization that taps into the expertise throughout the country on issues that affect each of us. Whether it's insurance, organizational policy, strategies, or inspiration, River Network has been a source of great information and guidance.
I help run a small nonprofit watershed organization. Because this business is geographically-based, and many cities only have one or two organizations like ours, finding help to advance our organization is a challenge. One of the main goals of River Network is to facilitate dialogue between groups, and their annual meetings and online webinars allow me to find many other groups that are (or have been) in our exact stage of development. This engagement helps us maximize the benefits of our efforts by minimizing the frequency and depth to which we re-invent the wheel for our particular geographic region. While the networking end is the most valuable aspect to us, River Network also provides frequent and free educational opportunities. Our success would be significantly hampered without River Network.
My watershed group has been served by River Network since 1995. They are our most valuable national partner. They've trained us so that we've learned from the best practices in nonprofit management and advocacy work from across the US. They've linked us with affordable resources that take us to new levels, such as our Watergrass database made especially for river groups. They've helped us connect with mentors and peers and ally with groups from all over the country working on our same issues to multiply our access to innovation and our joint influence. They inspire and energize us every year at River Rally, the most fun and useful conference ever! They uplift us through burnout, guide us through complex technical issues, make sure we have time to play, help us raise more money for our mission, and love us. Their staff is consistently the hardest working, most service-oriented, hilarious, and talented bunch I know. Their Board members are deeply committed to this work and bring wide resources to the organization. While my link to RN for 18 years has been as my organization's Exec. Director, I am excited and humbled that RN has brought me onto their Board recently. Long live River Network! Rally Ho!
Connecting people and resources with causes is about the best role a nonprofit can fill and that is the case with River Network. Their input and support has transformed a small effort and larger dream into a reality by finding funding and people to accomplish a clean-up, gain visibility, and expand a restoration objective. Thank you, RN.
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I was greatly impressed by the River Network's very personal approach to my questions, interests, and experience working to improve my local watershed. Their willingness to being available, to listen, offer points to consider, and help me further my work was inspiring, to say the least!
River Network focuses on the core of the organization to ensure that it is operating effectively and efficiently so that when these organizations work on particular issues they have the capacity. They also connect watershed stewards so that they can mentor and learn from each other.
River Network helps to connect watershed groups so that they can share resources and experiences. In a time of limited funding and scarce resources, this is invaluable.
River Network continues to provide capacity building programs through their National River Rally, blogs,shared information from questions from a particular watershed groups representative and then shared across the listserve. Scholarships provide watershed staff and others an opportunity to attend River Rally. without these funds many would not be able to attend due to the region of the country being economically depressed. The information shared through the listserve is unbiased which is critical in addressing watershed concerns with a balanced approach.
The River Network is a must join organization for any river group. As a member you are kept up to date and in the loop with other river stewards throughout the country, learning from each other’s experiences. Together we are able to provide feedback and ask for new ways of doing things. Without the River Network's partnership with Anheuser Busch one of the New Hampshire Rivers Council's most exciting projects may not have ever gotten off the ground. Thank you River Network!
River Network is a great grassroots organization that gathers and disseminates numerous technical resources, which in turn aid its members (watershed organizations) be sustainable. This information and templates are critical for these groups to organize, plan and strategize their projects and needs. Their listserver offers a conduit for sharing a wealth of experiences amongst its constituents and unite their concerns, plus alert others of emminent threats to the health of our watersheds and that are of concern to us all.
River Network is a great resource for water protection groups working locally, state-wide, and regionally to protect our nation's waterways. They empower and unite people and communities to protect and restore rivers and other waters that sustain the health of our country.
River Network provides outstanding service and development for water protection groups throughout the nation. They are a role model in nonprofit leadership for all of us to follow.
River Network is a fantastic resource for all things river protection and improvement related. Being part of the network is a way to connect with other groups working on rivers, ask questions and get the answers I need to better manage my local watershed. They've also done a great job helping to bring grant opportunities to the watershed community.
River Network has been the single most important resource for our locally-based not-for-profit organization. They exist exclusively to help other organizations (like ours) do a better job achieving their missions. Whether it is their annual National River Rally, other workshops through the year, online publications, or through direct consultation with any other their talented staff, we have always gotten a tremendous bang for our buck! I cannot say enough good things about River Network. -Michael Byrd, Executive Director, Prescott Creeks Preservation Association.
In 2010 we needed to find a way to save our river and discovered the River Network. Without its human resources and annual conference we would not have been able to get started and make the progress we have. The people have skilled, motivated, and very responsive in helping make our grassroots organization effective. Information available at the national conferences has been invaluable to understanding issues and solutions. Five thumbs up!
As Executive Director for a small watershed organization I rely on the information and services of River Network. River Network is my "go to" source for anything from issues to how to fund raise, increase public awareness or build a better board. Since River Network is about water and rivers, it is exactly what I need.
River Network is a national partner of my organization, the Alabama Rivers Alliance. They do a great job in providing support for state level grassroots river protection groups like ours. Since our beginning, they have been a support and resource for valuable technical information on important river issues, as well as, direct one-on-one training in capacity building for our nonprofit. Their national River Rally also provides great training for our staff, as well as a valuable opportunity to network and learn from groups like ours all across the country. I don't think the Alabama Rivers Alliance would have been as strong and successful for our more than 15 year history if it weren't for the partnership and support of River Network.
River Network does an outstanding job of increasing the capacity of non profit groups that are engaged in water quality work. They efforts have allowed organizations to increase their fund raising, advocay and public awareness skills. Walter C. Ernest IV Executive Director Weeks Bay Foundation Fairhope, AL
River Network is not just good at supporting other river groups across the country--they inspire us to keep up often-difficult struggles. They inform. They entertain. They care. ...and most of all, they are here for us whenever we need them. At a recent River Rally, I needed some one-on-one help on a topic that was not covered at a workshop. One of their staff people, already worn down from an exhausting 3 days of workshop coordination, met with me at 9 PM to discuss a program problem I needed help analyzing. They truly care that we are good at what we do, and engage the leading experts in their field to help us. Another fantastic example of how they have helped us achieve more was via the "welcome to the River Network" membership packet. We had been spending over $5,000/ year on insurance (our annual budget at the time was less than $100,000), and though we had tried to find other insurance providers all had rejected our business because we were too small an organization with too big a risk to insure. In the member packet we received, one benefit was access to a network of service providers who specifically service river groups. We now pay less than half in insurance, and have been able to re-route the savings into programs serving our local creek.
I am the director of a nonprofit group member of the River Network. On many occasions the River Network has provided much needed facilitation services and technical assistance at little or no cost. (i.e. during the BP oil disaster, their SE organizer assisted us in facilitating a meeting of NGOs from across the Gulf to develop a Gulf-wide collaboration focused on an agreed "restoration" agenda. That collaboration continues to work to implement the restoration agenda developed at that meeting. River Network is very responsive to member needs and provide important technical assistance and training to nonprofit groups.
River Network has helped our river conservation group get started, establish a Board of Directors, educate our Executive Director and that BoD, set firm goals, and research appropriate granting organizations to fund us. What more can I say? RN's ongoing commitment to promoting river conservation and groups working to that end is immensely important and useful.
River Network is a great organization - they exist to help other river groups and to connect people so that those people can in turn help save rivers! Wow what a great and humble misson. But the folks at River Network are also some of the most skilled, caring and just plain FUN people I know. River Network will soon celebrate 25 years of serving the river community - I say CHEERS to River Network. They truly are a great nonprofit and deserve to noticed as the top-rated nonprofit group they already are!
River Network is our go-to source for all things river advocacy-related. Our organization is a small non-profit in Alaska, and we regularly contact River Network for advice on water quality standards and resources, information on non-profit management practices, and for help in connecting with other groups about their experiences with certain activities.
The organization I work for is a River Network partner and in our experience the benefits of this relationship have helped us network (imagine that, River Network!) with other groups like us across the country and world! By connecting multitudes of small conservation groups, we maximize our capacity and knowledge base. We also benefit from their insurance discounts and have found River Network-recommended providers to suit our needs perfectly! I have participated in several River Network webinars and attended their annual conference--River Rally. River Rally was hands-down the best conference/training experience of my career. I wish I could go every year! The staff are easy to access, knowledgeable, and they sincerely care about the work each and every partner group does. In 2010, River Network honored our late Executive Director--also my father-in-law--as a "River Hero". My mother-in-law's experience of traveling to River Rally to receive this award and meeting all of the wonderful River Network people and partners provided a unique healing experience that she will never forget. In the mind of this non-profit manager, River Network is a 5-star organization!
River Network has provided tremendous service to two different watershed protection and conservation organizations I have led over the last 12 years. I was introduced to River Network through their annual National River Rally in 2003. That event was somewhat life-changing. As a relatively new water protection advocate I was introduced to hundreds of supportive individuals and provided multiple materials produced by River Network that would end up helping me protect my local watershed in Southcentral Pennsylvania, and later in my organization's work on the east coats's largest river, the Susquehanna. The work sessions at River Rally provided every aspect of guidance, from organizational functions and fundraising, to complex pollution science, to in depth discussion of what environmental protection laws really mean and how are they used. The continued support offered through emails and newsletters has been a constant support line. River Network is one of the most helpful and useful organizations I have ever worked with.
River Network's main role is to protect our rivers. The mission is simple and they do a really great job accomplishing it. They are pro-active and use their funds wisely. Water is essential and they are protecting it! Margaret King, President, InfoRich Group, Inc. www.inforichgroup.com
River Network was very willing to help my organization with a project that we are currently working on. Within an hour, a representative engaged me in conversation regarding our project and was quick to lend a hand. I am very impressed with River Network and their efforts. I look forward to continue to work with them in the future.
River Network is the heart & soul of the river movement nationwide. It helps river & watershed groups - large & small - with technical information & support.
Having worked with many non-profits both domestic and international, it is my opinion that River Network is the most effective and dedicated NGO around. Not only that but River Network is addressing one of the most critical issues facing humanity, water and water resources.
River Network is an amazing organization doing very important work. It's an overarching group whose goal is to work to better river organizations throughout the US and the world. Every year the River Rally is a highlight for those who work in the industry as it brings together hundreds of people with the same passion to work on the same goal.