Friends of Deckers Creek

What Friends of Deckers Creek does

Friends of Deckers Creek (FODC) is a Morgantown, West Virginia-based 501(c)-style non-profit environmental organization founded in 1995 that works to restore and monitor the 64-square-mile Deckers Creek watershed across Monongalia and Preston Counties. Its mission addresses decades of environmental degradation caused primarily by acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines, along with trash, erosion, and bacteriological contamination, through a combination of AMD remediation projects, streambank stabilization, bacteriological monitoring, and community trash cleanups including an annual Paint Exchange program for free latex paint reuse.

Operationally, FODC runs several interconnected programs. CreekDog is a proprietary web-based watershed watchdog reporting tool that routes community-submitted environmental concerns (illegal dumps, untreated sewage, suspicious drilling, dredge and fill) directly to government agencies. The Citizen Scientist Program, launched in 2010, trains volunteers to collect water quality data at 13 quarterly sampling locations and has tripled its monitoring footprint while building a 14-year longitudinal dataset. The Outdoor Learning Park, situated along the Deckers Creek Rail Trail, anchors environmental education through gardens, pavilions, and creek access. Annual fundraisers (Spring Meltdown auction, Drafts on Deckers craft beer tasting, Deckers Dash 5k, Appalachian Voices cultural event) and educational workshops (Rain Barrel Workshops co-hosted with Morgantown Utility Board) round out the program surface.

FODC's revenue model is a hybrid non-profit mix rather than a commercial product model. Funding is drawn from tiered individual memberships ($5 to $500+), tiered business partnerships ($100 to $1,000+) with brand-recognition benefits, one-time event revenue, general donations, and grants from institutional funders including the EPA, Dominion Foundation, Stantec, Appalachian Stewardship Foundation, Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia, and the Monongalia County Commission. The organization is community-led and volunteer-driven, with a small staff of 1-10 employees, a Board of Directors with rotating community seats, and a regional go-to-market focused entirely on the Deckers Creek watershed. No AI/ML capabilities, patents, funding rounds, or corporate structural moves are associated with the entity.

Name

Friends of Deckers Creek

Legal name

Friends of Deckers Creek

Website

https://deckerscreek.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Friends of Deckers Creek is a Morgantown, West Virginia non-profit founded in 1995 that restores and monitors the 64-square-mile Deckers Creek watershed through AMD remediation, volunteer citizen-science water sampling, the CreekDog reporting tool, and community education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Watershed Restoration and Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE)

Keywords

• Watershed restoration services
• Citizen science monitoring
• Acid mine drainage remediation
• Environmental education programs
• Community conservation nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Morgantown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual memberships with personal tiers (Crayfish $5-49, Beaver $50-199, Darter $200-499, Belted Kingfisher $500+) and business tiers (Business Donor $100-499, Business Partner $500-999, Major Business Partner $1,000+). Memberships remain active for one year and can be auto-renewed.
2. Event Fundraising: Various fundraising events including annual Spring Meltdown (auction), Drafts on Deckers (craft beer tasting), Appalachian Voices (cultural event), Deckers Dash 5k (race), Paint N Sip, and other community events.
3. Donations: General donations to support AMD remediation, trash cleanups, community outreach, and environmental education programs.
4. Business Partnerships: Business memberships and sponsorship opportunities at various tiers with recognition benefits including website listing, newsletter features, and event sponsorship.
5. Grants and Foundation Support: Funding from foundations for specific programs such as the Citizen Scientist program (Dominion Foundation, Stantec, EPA) and CreekDog development (Appalachian Stewardship Foundation).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Friends of Deckers Creek is a nonprofit environmental organization that restores and monitors the 64 square-mile Deckers Creek watershed in West Virginia through AMD remediation, trash cleanups, streambank stabilization, bacteriological monitoring, and environmental education. Its productized offerings include the CreekDog online reporting tool, the Citizen Scientist monitoring program, the Outdoor Learning Park, Paint Exchange recycling, and Rain Barrel Workshops. Members and partners fund the organization through tiered memberships, donations, and annual fundraising events such as Spring Meltdown and Drafts on Deckers.

Product overview

Friends of Deckers Creek is a non-profit environmental organization focused on cleaning up and restoring the Deckers Creek watershed in West Virginia. The organization operates several interconnected programs: CreekDog is a web-based watershed watchdog tool for reporting environmental issues; the Citizen Scientist Program trains volunteers to monitor water quality at 13 locations; the Outdoor Learning Park provides environmental education; and various remediation, cleanup, and recycling programs address pollution. The organization also runs annual fundraisers (Spring Meltdown, Drafts on Deckers) and cultural events (Appalachian Voices) to support its mission. Membership tiers provide ongoing support with benefits including State of the Creek reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CreekDog: An online watershed watchdog reporting tool for reporting issues such as illegal dumps, untreated sewage, suspicious drilling, stream or wetland dredge and fill, and other environmental concerns.
• Citizen Scientist Program
• Outdoor Learning Park (OLP)

Products and services

• CreekDog Watershed Reporting Tool An easy-to-use online tool for watershed watchdogs to report environmental concerns such as illegal dumps, untreated sewage, suspicious drilling, and stream or wetland dredge and fill. Reports are automatically routed to appropriate government agencies.
• Citizen Scientist Program A volunteer water quality monitoring program that trains members of the public to collect and enter stream data at sampling points throughout Deckers Creek. Data is submitted via citsci.org.
• Membership Program A tiered annual membership program with four personal tiers (Crayfish $5-49, Beaver $50-199, Darter $200-499, Belted Kingfisher $500+) and three business tiers (Business Donor $100-499, Business Partner $500-999, Major Business Partner $1,000+). Benefits include the State of the Creek report, donor recognition, and event invitations.
• Spring Meltdown Annual Auction An annual live and silent auction fundraiser held at Morgantown Brewing Company featuring local bands, food, and beer; the organization's largest annual fundraiser.
• Drafts on Deckers Craft Beer Tasting An annual craft beer tasting fundraiser featuring West Virginia breweries, live music, and trivia. All proceeds support FODC's watershed restoration work.
• Trash Cleanup Events Community cleanup events including the annual Make It Shine statewide spring cleanup and fall cleanup events. Volunteers remove litter and illegal dumps along Deckers Creek and its tributaries.
• AMD Remediation Projects Acid Mine Drainage remediation projects addressing environmental degradation from West Virginia's abandoned coal mines. Projects treat AMD and restore natural habitats in the 64 square-mile Deckers Creek watershed.
• Paint Exchange Program An annual latex paint recycling program where community members can drop off or pick up paint for free. The program diverts usable paint from landfills, in partnership with Morgantown Utility Board and Monongalia County Commission.
• Rain Barrel Workshops Educational workshops in partnership with Morgantown Utility Board that teach participants to assemble and install 55-gallon rain barrels for stormwater management. Participants receive a rain barrel and conversion kit.
• Outdoor Learning Park An educational outdoor space featuring gardens, pavilions, and creek access along the Deckers Creek Rail Trail. Hosts various educational programs including gardening, wildlife tours, and workshops.
• Appalachian Voices Cultural Celebration An annual cultural celebration event exploring Appalachian heritage, culture, and connection to the natural world through live poetry, prose, music, and storytelling from local artists.
• Deckers Dash 5k Race An annual 5k fundraising race with tiered registration pricing (Early bird $25, mid $30, at-event $35, Youth $15, Group $20/person) featuring platinum sponsors including Mylan and BlissBlissBliss.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tripled monitoring sites through Citizen Scientist program while maintaining long-term water quality data trends
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Morgantown Utility BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Ongoing partnership for Rain Barrel Workshops where MUB co-hosts educational workshops providing 55-gallon rain barrels and installation kits to community members. Also partner for annual Paint Exchange events held at MUB's office location. The partnership provides environmental education and stormwater management resources to the community.
• Morgantown Brewing CompanycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrimary venue and partner for Spring Meltdown annual auction fundraiser and Drafts on Deckers craft beer tasting event. Hosts events with all proceeds benefiting Friends of Deckers Creek watershed restoration work.
• Arthurdale Heritage, Inc.coreGTM or Marketing PartnerHost venue for Appalachian Voices cultural celebration events that explore Appalachian heritage and connection to the natural world through poetry, music, and storytelling.
• Exotic Jungle Pet SuperstoreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor for Save The Frogs Day event, supporting amphibian conservation awareness activities at the Outdoor Learning Park.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• River Network: National nonprofit that supports and convenes local watershed organizations across the U.S. Functions as a capacity-building umbrella for groups like FODC and a likely partner/peer in funding and training ecosystems.
• Trout Unlimited: National coldwater conservation nonprofit with active West Virginia chapters. Comparable mission overlap on stream health and water quality, but oriented around trout habitat rather than AMD remediation.
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Large regional nonprofit dedicated to restoring the Chesapeake Bay watershed through advocacy, education, and on-the-ground restoration. Operates an analogous citizen-science and education portfolio but at a much larger scale.
• Izaak Walton League of America: National conservation organization with a long history of watershed monitoring (Save Our Streams program) and volunteer-driven water quality work. Provides a comparable historical model for FODC's citizen scientist program.

Regional players

• Potomac Conservancy: Regional watershed nonprofit focused on the Potomac River basin, running water quality monitoring, citizen science, and advocacy. Same general operating model as FODC but at multi-state watershed scale with a larger staff and budget.
• Appalachian Voices: Regional nonprofit focused on protecting the Appalachian region's environment, including mountaintop removal and AMD issues. Operates as an advocacy and on-the-ground partner in the same coal-impacted geographies where FODC works.
• West Virginia Rivers Coalition: Statewide advocacy organization protecting West Virginia's rivers and streams through policy work and on-the-ground restoration. Comparable mission but operates at state-policy scale rather than single-watershed scale.

Direct peers

• Cacapon Institute: West Virginia watershed nonprofit focused on the Cacapon River and surrounding watersheds. Operates citizen science water quality monitoring, stream restoration, and education programs that closely mirror FODC's model in a different WV geography.
• Friends of the Cheat: West Virginia-based nonprofit watershed organization focused on the Cheat River watershed, running nearly identical programs (AMD remediation, citizen science water monitoring, trash cleanups, community education) and serving the same northern WV geography. The closest comparable peer to FODC.
• Appalachian Headwaters: West Virginia-based environmental nonprofit combining forest restoration, native plant nurseries, and watershed/AMD remediation. Directly comparable mission footprint and a similar mix of restoration, education, and community engagement work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fodc_wv
• Facebookfacebook.com/DeckersCreek
• Instagraminstagram.com/fodc_wv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Friends of Deckers Creek