Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 1982.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 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
10 people listed on the 990; $801K paid to officers and key staff.
Rita Irwin’s $232K as President/CEO is at the 96th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1137 $1–10M animals 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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rita Irwin | $231,505 | $222,579 | $209,490 | $194,848 | $196,402 | $199,002 |
| Armando Rodriguez | $182,297 | $175,268 | $164,970 | $161,915 | $165,370 | $179,433 |
| Scott Gearhart | $144,531 | $141,937 | $131,026 | — | — | — |
| Linda Erb | $133,905 | $128,441 | $120,659 | $108,429 | $109,272 | $108,585 |
| Peggy McGill | — | $121,921 | $114,141 | $98,516 | $99,170 | $100,157 |
| Shane Keween | $108,985 | $67,078 | — | — | — | — |
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
Promotes understanding and coexistence between people and marine mammals.
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Public Education
Programs ranging in length from 1 hour to 1 week and varied in specific FOCUS/DEPTH of material and formation of dolphin research center training institute. All serve to develop an awareness for dolphin history, conservation issues and interactions with HUMANS.DRC welcomed approx 50,000 guests to DRC to meet its family of dolphins and…
Research
Investigations into dolphin physiology, development and behavior. Assistance to INJURED/ILL manatees, collecting physical data. Providing various recreational motivational education programs for individuals with special needs.
Membership
Providing regular publications containing a broad range of dolphin and conversation information, fostering concern for dolphins in general and issues that affect them.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $298K | $160K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $518K | $786K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $8.1M | $8.6M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $10.3M | $11.2M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $3.0M | $3.6M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $7.4M | $7.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $532K | $460K | $70K | $3K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $3.4M | $2.9M | $466K | $17K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $118K | $102K | $15K | $560 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $668K | $577K | $88K | $3K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $288K | $249K | $38K | $1K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $63K | $7K | $56K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $36K | $24K | $955 | $11K |
| TravelLn 17 | $58K | $47K | $7K | $5K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $398K | $398K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $435K | $367K | $61K | $7K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.2M | $959K | $222K | $6K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $196K | $155K | $39K | $2K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $7.4M | $5.9M | $1.5M | $55K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $7.6M | $7.4M | $178K | $7.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $6.3M | $7.2M | −$902K | $7.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $6.6M | $7.0M | −$362K | $8.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $7.2M | $6.4M | $857K | $8.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $7.5M | $5.9M | $1.6M | $7.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $4.3M | $5.9M | −$1.6M | $6.1M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $7,578,339 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,578,339 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $7,400,267 across 12 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $11,214,200 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $7,579,971 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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