Rate My SWCD

A Community Accountability Tool for
Soil & Water Conservation Districts.Currently piloting in New Mexico with a 14-state network coming Winter 2026.

Soil and Water Conservation is on the Ballot this year--
do you know your local candidates?

    The Question We Keep Hearing

    "How do I access financial assistance for erosion control and soil health?"We tell them: "Contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District."They say: "What's that?"This is the problem.Most landowners, farmers, and ranchers have never heard of SWCDs. They don't know:What a district doesThat they may be eligible for cost-share programsThat districts can help them access NRCS and NMDA fundingThat they have a locally elected board that oversees these programsThat they can vote for those board membersRateMySWCD is how we start to fix that.

    What RateMySWCD Is

    A community-powered accountability tool for Soil and Water Conservation Districts.RateMySWCD.com is a public-facing platform that allows landowners, contractors, and community members to rate their local SWCD on the things that matter most:Transparency and public accessibilityProject completion and follow-throughStaff and board stabilityCommunity engagement and partnershipsHow it works: Users answer a short survey—no text required, just ratings and checkboxes. The data is aggregated into district-level scores and displayed on a public dashboard. Districts can respond to reviews. Policymakers can see where capacity gaps exist.Why we built it: Because the current point system measures paperwork compliance—not performance. It does not measure staff turnover, contract execution, payment timeliness, or project completion. And the public has no way to know which districts are professional and which are struggling.RateMySWCD fills that gap.

    The Vision

    We envision a New Mexico where:Every landowner knows what their SWCD does and how to access programsEvery landowner knows which districts are safe to work withEvery voter knows who their supervisors are and when elections are heldEvery district has the tools and training to meet professional standardsEvery taxpayer can see how their money is being spent on conservationThat is what RateMySWCD is building.

    RateMySWCD is the first step toward operational cohesion

    It provides:Standardized assessment across all districtsPublic transparency on district performanceHistorical data to track trends over timeAccountability mechanisms for landowners and contractorsVoter education to increase participation in SWCD electionsData for policymakers to target funding and trainingWe are collecting the data while streamlining conservation delivery.

    We're Inviting You to Be Part of the Development Team

    This tool belongs to the people who use it: landowners, district staff, partners, and voters. If you have ideas for how to improve it, we want to hear from you.Ways to get involved:Test the survey and tell us what works and what doesn'tSuggest new questions or categories we should be measuringShare your experience with a district so we can refine the ratingsJoin a working session at an upcoming Local Work Group meetingConnect us with districts, partners, or funders who want to be part of the conversationWe are workshopping this tool with districts at Local Work Group meetings across the state.If you want us to present at your Local Work Group, or if you want to host a workshop in your region, reach out. We will bring the tool, the data, and the conversation.Why Beta Matters
    Beta means we are testing assumptions. We are learning what questions to ask. We are discovering what data districts are willing to share and what they aren't. We are finding out which metrics actually predict district performance—and which ones don't.    Beta means we are building this together.What We're Working On
    Feature Status
    District assessment survey Live in beta
    Public ratings dashboard In development
    District response portal Planned
    Historical data archive Planned
    Voter education module Planned
    Partner API Planned    How to Join the Development Team
    Email: [email protected]