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
90 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
22 people listed on the 990; $527K 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.
See Sustainable Surf executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
- 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.
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 2022 over 2.1 million seatrees combined have been restored, planted and conserved through the work of the program.
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 2022 over 2.1 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. Over 40,000 surfboards were built in 2022 using our sustainability standard, bringing the grand total to 430,000 since the launch of the program in 2012. This project continues to grow year on year.
Sustainable surf established the ecoboard project as the first independent 3RD party consumer-facing "eco-label" for surfboards. Over 40,000 surfboards were built in 2022 using our sustainability standard, bringing the grand total to 430,000 since the launch of the program in 2012. This project continues to grow year on year.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2022 990, line by line.
Download 990
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 12, 2025 | $4.0M | $3.5M | $512K | $2.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 13, 2024 | $3.4M | $2.8M | $645K | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 15, 2023 | $2.5M | $2.0M | $475K | $1.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2022 | $1.4M | $997K | $392K | $991K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2021 | $1.0M | $498K | $506K | $599K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2022 990 (1 part)
Part VI · Governance 8 of 10 board members independent, 1 to look at
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2022 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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