This paper contains the stories of six watershed organizations considered "successful": the Charles River Watershed Association, South Yuba River's Citizen League, Amigos Bravos, Blackfoot Challenge, Elizabeth River Project, and Friends of the Mississippi River. Success was gauged by the organizations' demonstrated accomplishments and by their growth in members and annual budgets. The stories shared approaches used by organizational leaders to grow outstanding watershed organizations. Although all of the groups began small, they are now significantly larger organizations with expanded annual budgets, membership, and staff. Their "lessons learned" can be instructive for groups who are active in their watersheds and who hope to achieve similar success.