The Hydrous is an education-centered nonprofit organization dedicated to translating scientific discovery in our ocean into public understanding. Our mission is to create "open access oceans" so that all people may explore, understand, and engage with beautiful and threatened marine invironments.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
27¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 10 volunteers.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $8K a year · 3% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
27%
of spending
Concern: 27% of spending went to programs; under 50%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$54K
to officers and key staff · 45% of spending
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 45% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Named funders
2
named funders · $110K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$0
0% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$47K
-80% vs prior year
Spent
$119K
To programs
27%
Net assets
$62K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$47K
FY2025▼ -80%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$181K
FY2021$1.1M
FY2022$90K
FY2023$133K
FY2024$238K
FY2025$47K
Expenses
$119K
FY2025▼ -35%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$126K
FY2021$357K
FY2022$544K
FY2023$363K
FY2024$185K
FY2025$119K
Net assets
$62K
FY2025▼ -54%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$67K
FY2021$763K
FY2022$309K
FY2023$82K
FY2024$135K
FY2025$62K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 2025.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

27 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 27% · $32K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

6 people listed on the 990; $54K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$54,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Dr Erika Woolsey Peterson’s $54K as CEO is at the 87th percentile of top reported officer pay among 168 <$100K community development 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024
Dr Erika Woolsey Peterson$54,000$84,000

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 The Hydrous executive salaries →

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Programs and updates

Translates ocean science into public understanding for greater engagement with marine environments.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $88K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Research the hydrous conducts research on the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality for marine education with research partners like the stanford university virtual human interaction lab, the university of oregon, and the university of gothenburg and funders like the national science foundation, national geographic, and…

$84Kprogram expense
02

Content creationwe design digital and physical curricula to teach audiences of all ages about the ocean. For instance, we created an award-winning ocean education kit called "coral reefs: a hydrous learning expedition" that includes hands-on learning activities and digital experiences, designed for middle school students.

$2Kprogram expense
03

Public engagementwe lead in-person learning activities and virtual dives by synchronizing virtual reality headsets at formal and informal learning institutions like schools, universities, libraries and museums.

$2Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$110K

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$47K
Ln 12
Other incomeLn 4–11$47K
Money outPt IX
$119K
Ln 25
Programscol B$32K
Owns and owesPt X
$62K
net assets · Ln 32
Total assetsLn 16$62K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
PeoplePt VI, VII
6
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Other incomeLn 4–11$47K
Total revenueLn 12$47K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
Total assetsLn 16$62K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
Net assetsLn 32$62K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 610
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $47K$119K−$73K$62K 990 PDF
FY2024 $238K$185K$53K$135K 990 PDF
FY2023 $133K$363K−$230K$82K 990 PDF
FY2022 $90K$544K−$454K$309K 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.1M$357K$696K$763K 990 PDF
FY2020 $181K$126K$55K$67K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support O · Explanations

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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