Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jun 2012.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
13 people listed on the 990; $407K paid to officers and key staff.
Michael Stewart’s $154K as Co-Founder/ Director is at the 66th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 3 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Stewart | $154,264 | $140,209 | $130,966 | $93,000 | $77,000 |
| Kevin Whilden | $150,778 | $142,340 | $132,650 | $91,500 | $72,000 |
| Alexandra Von Winterfeldt | $102,413 | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Restores ocean ecosystems and educates people to combat climate change.
Questions for Sustainable Surf
Your first name shows with your question. Sustainable Surf answers here, for everyone.
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Sustainable surf started the seatrees program as part of its mission to reverse climate change and restore blue carbon coastal ecosystems by directly supporting local communities and scientists. All-time at the end of 2024 over 4.7 million seatrees combined have been restored, planted and conserved through the work of the program.
Sustainable surf established the ecoboard project as the first independent 3RD party consumer-facing "eco-label" for surfboards. In 2024 the program continued to focus on building new partnerships with boardshapers, who specifically use innovative and sustainable manufacturing materials and approaches.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.6M | $1.5M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $66K | $198K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $2.4M | $2.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $276K | $317K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.2M | $2.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $480K | $480K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $349K | $306K | $17K | $26K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $623K | $466K | $88K | $69K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $4K | $3K | $627 | $559 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $92K | $63K | $15K | $14K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $73K | $55K | $8K | $10K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $3K | $2K | $560 | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $42K | $42K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $243K | $205K | $25K | $13K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $36K | $34K | $500 | $2K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $68K | $30K | $33K | $6K |
| TravelLn 17 | $65K | $61K | $2K | $2K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $47K | $41K | $2K | $5K |
| InterestLn 20 | $4K | $4K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $25K | $23K | $2K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $21K | $13K | $8K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.3M | $1.2M | $41K | $36K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $77K | $62K | $11K | $4K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.5M | $3.0M | $298K | $189K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $4.0M | $3.5M | $512K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $3.4M | $2.8M | $645K | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $2.5M | $2.0M | $475K | $1.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $1.4M | $997K | $392K | $991K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $1.0M | $498K | $506K | $599K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,046,029 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 12 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $4,046,029 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,533,930 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $2,926,654 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,609,540 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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