FRIENDS OF THE ST. CLAIR RIVER

Name

FRIENDS OF THE ST. CLAIR RIVER

Legal name

Friends of the St. Clair River Watershed

Website

https://scriver.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Watershed Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Watershed conservation
• Environmental education
• Habitat restoration
• Citizen science monitoring
• Community stewardship

Headquarters

HQ city

Port Huron

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Memberships: Individual, corporate, and business donations provide core funding. The organization accepts one-time gifts, recurring donations, and membership contributions. A new endowment fund at the Community Foundation provides sustainable long-term support.
2. Grants and Sponsorships: Supported by private, state, and federal grants including Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), NOAA B-WET, and Michigan Sea Grant. Corporate sponsors provide funding for specific programs and events.
3. Adopt-A-Legend Program: Symbolic adoption program for local species (Lake Sturgeon, Monarch Butterfly, Peregrine Falcon, Yellow-Banded Bumblebee) with adoption levels from $60-$250. Includes plush animals, certificates, and species-specific updates.
4. Event Fundraising: Major annual fundraiser River Bash and Sturgeon Festival generate significant revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, auction items, and vendor fees.
5. Merchandise Sales: Online store selling merchandise including apparel and items supporting environmental programs.
6. Native Plant and Rain Barrel Sales: Annual fall sale of native plants and rain barrels generates revenue while supporting watershed protection education.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Friends of the St. Clair River is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that protects and restores the St. Clair River and its watershed through citizen-science water quality monitoring, hands-on K-12 environmental education, habitat restoration and stewardship projects, and community events. Its programs combine volunteer-led monitoring, school-based learning, native plant and rain barrel sales, and signature festivals that fund and amplify conservation work across Michigan's Blue Water Area.

Product overview

Friends of the St. Clair River operates as an environmental nonprofit organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of conservation and education programs. The core offerings center on community education, environmental monitoring, and hands-on stewardship activities. Key programs include Stream Team water quality monitoring, Sturgeon Science School, Mission: WET discovery kits, and Watershed Pen Pals educational initiatives. The organization manages the Bridge to Bay Trail coordination across 54 miles and coordinates habitat restoration projects including the Blue Water River Walk. Supplementary programs include the Adopt A Legend species adoption, annual Native Plant & Rain Barrel Sale, Storm Drain Art Project, Sturgeon Festival, River Bash events, and the Earth Fair Emerging Environmentalist Scholarship. The portfolio functions as interconnected conservation initiatives that engage community members in watershed protection through education, citizen science, volunteer stewardship, and advocacy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stream Team Water Quality Monitoring Citizen-science water quality monitoring program in which trained community volunteers collect water chemistry and benthic macroinvertebrate data at sites along the St. Clair River and its tributaries, contributing to long-term watershed datasets used for Area of Concern remediation.
• Sturgeon Science School Hands-on K-12 environmental education program that teaches students about lake sturgeon and watershed ecology through classroom and field-based learning, delivered in partnership with area schools.
• Mission: WET Discovery Kits Classroom-based water education kits that provide K-12 teachers with hands-on activities and materials for teaching watershed and water concepts to students.
• Watershed Pen Pals: From Creeks to Coast Place-based curriculum program connecting K-12 classrooms across the Great Lakes watershed through pen-pal exchanges and shared watershed lessons, coordinated by the organization's education team.
• Native Plant & Rain Barrel Sale Annual retail sale offering native shoreline plants and rain barrels to community members to support residential and shoreline habitat restoration in the St. Clair River watershed.
• Restoration & Stewardship Projects Volunteer-led habitat restoration projects along the St. Clair River and its tributaries, including shoreline plantings, stream cleanups, and related stewardship work coordinated by the Restoration Coordinator.
• Sturgeon Festival Annual public festival celebrating lake sturgeon and the St. Clair River, featuring educational activities, vendor booths, and family programming; serves as a major community engagement and fundraising event.
• River Bash Annual fundraising and community celebration event hosted by the organization in support of its watershed conservation work.
• Adopt A Legend Symbolic adoption program through which supporters fund conservation of lake sturgeon in the St. Clair River, receiving adoption materials in return for their contribution.
• Area of Concern Program Coordination of the organization's contribution to remediation of the St. Clair River Area of Concern, including data collection, partner coordination, and project implementation led by the Area of Concern Liaison.
• Earth Fair Emerging Environmentalist Scholarship Annual scholarship program funded by sponsors that recognizes an emerging student environmentalist in the Blue Water Area, awarded in conjunction with the organization's Earth Fair activities.
• Storm Drain Art Project Community art project in which local artists paint storm drains to educate the public about the connection between storm drains and the St. Clair River watershed.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced impaired Beneficial Uses from 10 to 6 through collaborative remediation efforts
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Hosts volunteer water quality monitoring network across Michigan. Provided three grants to Friends of the St. Clair River for Stream Team monitoring in 2026 and prior years (2008, 2021 with St. Clair County Health Department).
• St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Long-term partnership with Middle School Innovation Academy for place-based education including Protecting Cuttle Creek, Outdoor Classroom restoration, and stewardship projects.
• Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Primary government funding partner providing grants for Area of Concern remediation, stream monitoring programs, and watershed initiatives. EGLE funds St. Clair River AOC work through the Public Advisory Council Support Grant.
• Michigan Sea GrantcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Administers MI Paddle Stewards program and undergraduate internship funding. Partners on fish habitat restoration projects and educational programming including Huron Lady cruise partnerships.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on Lake Sturgeon research and recovery programs. Partners on Sturgeon Festival activities including touch tank and cruise experiences.
• Michigan Department of Natural ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for fish and wildlife habitat projects, sturgeon research, and Area of Concern remediation efforts.
• St. Clair County Health DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric partner on Stormwater Program and water quality monitoring. Collaborated on MiCorps grant application for stream monitoring. Supports beach testing and E. coli monitoring.
• Lake St. Clair Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for managing and eradicating invasive species across the Lake St. Clair region through education and community engagement.
• Friends of St. Clair River (Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization on Canadian side of river working on parallel restoration and protection efforts. Partners on Binational Public Advisory Council (BPAC) for Area of Concern remediation.
• St. Clair County Community CollegemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts Lab Identification Day for Stream Team volunteers. Provides lab space for water quality monitoring specimen analysis and educational programming.
• Michigan State University - Albert J. Cook Arthropod Research CollectionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with adjunct curator Darrin O'Brien to bolster Odonata species collections in St. Clair County. Has contributed county records including River jewelwing and Turquoise bluet damselfly species.
• Great Lakes Stewardship InitiativemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Watershed Pen Pals program supporting place-based education and Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences.
• St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning CommissionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on Blueways Trails development and St. Clair County trails planning initiatives.
• St. Clair County Parks and Recreation CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partner on Blue Water River Walk, Blue Water River Walk County Park development, and trail maintenance projects.
• St. Clair Region Conservation AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian partner organization sponsoring Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement work on St. Clair River Area of Concern.
• Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of One Water initiative to tell water story and showcase collaboration for water quality across the region. Produces Blue Water Sturgeon Festival.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy (Michigan): Major international conservation nonprofit with Michigan operations focused on land and water protection. Shares habitat restoration and watershed goals with Friends of the St. Clair River but operates at vastly larger scale with national donor base.
• Alliance for the Great Lakes: Larger Great Lakes-focused nonprofit working on water quality, habitat protection, and policy advocacy across all five lakes. Overlaps with Friends of the St. Clair River's mission but operates at significantly broader geographic and organizational scale.
• Great Lakes Commission: Binational US-Canadian organization coordinating Great Lakes policy and programs with overlapping role to BPAC on St. Clair River and broader AOC work. Comparable binational coordination function but at much larger policy/advocacy scale.

Direct peers

• Clinton River Watershed Council: Michigan-based regional watershed nonprofit serving southeast Michigan watersheds with education, monitoring, and stewardship programs. Highly comparable in mission, scale, and hybrid grant/donation revenue model to Friends of the St. Clair River.
• Huron River Watershed Council: Michigan-based regional watershed nonprofit with similar scope of water quality monitoring, environmental education, and stewardship programs operating through grants and donations. Comparable scale, mission, and hybrid revenue model to Friends of the St. Clair River.
• Grand Traverse Conservation District: Michigan-based conservation district delivering environmental education, water quality monitoring, and habitat restoration in northwest Lower Peninsula, similar to Friends of the St. Clair River's program mix and government partnership structure.
• Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network: Michigan-based Great Lakes watershed nonprofit focused on water quality and habitat restoration, operating through community grants, partnerships, and volunteer engagement in a manner similar to Friends of the St. Clair River's regional watershed model.

Others

• Izaak Walton League of America: National conservation organization with chapters focused on water quality monitoring and outdoor recreation. Mission overlaps with Friends of the St. Clair River on watershed protection but operates as a national federation rather than a regional program-delivery nonprofit.
• Ducks Unlimited Great Lakes/Atlantic Region: Major habitat conservation nonprofit with regional operations delivering wetland restoration and habitat work adjacent to Friends of the St. Clair River's shoreline stewardship, but operating at much larger scale and focused specifically on waterfowl habitat.

Regional players

• Riverkeeper: Established waterway protection nonprofit in the Hudson River watershed with community organizing, water quality monitoring, and advocacy model nearly identical to Friends of the St. Clair River, but serving a different geography and at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scriverstewards
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCH93DdO8f808EpU3z4aO3Kw
• Facebookfacebook.com/stclairriver
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends-of-the-st-clair-river-watershed
• Instagraminstagram.com/friendsofthescriver
• TikToktiktok.com/@friendsofscriver

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

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 THE ST. CLAIR RIVER