Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jun 1994.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
68 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
33 people listed on the 990; $89K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Lacy Shirey’s $110K as Executive Director is at the 36th 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lacy Shirey | $109,538 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marjorie Mayfield Jackson | — | $98,942 | $98,427 | $99,125 | $89,482 | $89,245 |
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 Elizabeth River Project 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 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Restores the Elizabeth River's environmental quality through hands-on habitat restoration, pollution reduction partnerships, and coastal resilience education for students and businesses.
Questions for The Elizabeth River Project
Your first name shows with your question. The Elizabeth River Project answers here, for everyone.
The organization reached thousands of school children with hands-on ecology lessons through the learning barge, barge on wheels and a 40-ACRE nature park, constructed dozens of restored shorelines as pioneer alternatives to hold off erosion and continued to guide 6,500 homes, 54 schools, 143 businesses in ways to reduce pollution and…
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 54-1663058) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
Plus 4 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 2 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY21 | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $817K | $644K | $603K | $542K | $459K |
| AddedLn 1b | $509 | $42K | $39K | $65K | $73K |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $61K | $3K | $17K |
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $4.9M | $7.5M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $639K | $817K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $1.1M | $1.3M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $7.8M | $12.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $434K | $92K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $7.4M | $12.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $52K | $52K | ||
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $94K | $69K | $24K | $492 |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.0M | $745K | $262K | $5K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $14K | $10K | $4K | $74 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $75K | $55K | $19K | $390 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $82K | $60K | $21K | $427 |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $9K | $2K | $7K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $33K | $33K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $82K | $82K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $272K | $184K | $82K | $6K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $63K | $49K | $13K | $907 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $27K | $20K | $7K | $143 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $92K | $49K | $41K | $2K |
| TravelLn 17 | $10K | $9K | $664 | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $5K | $3K | $2K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $711 | $711 | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $18K | $18K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $125K | $55K | $70K | $350 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $273K | $228K | $7K | $37K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $31K | $13K | $17K | $1K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $2.4M | $1.6M | $630K | $137K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 21, 2026 | $3.5M | $4.1M | −$664K | $12.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Aug 13, 2025 | $3.4M | $4.0M | −$570K | $13.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Aug 14, 2024 | $3.0M | $3.6M | −$574K | $13.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Aug 15, 2023 | $4.8M | $3.1M | $1.7M | $14.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 15, 2022 | $7.5M | $2.4M | $5.1M | $12.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Aug 16, 2021 | $8.6M | $2.4M | $6.1M | $7.4M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990
Part I · Summary $7,512,633 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 32 of 32 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,512,633 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,371,531 across 20 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $12,795,047 assets, 16 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $12,702,827 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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