Wave Foundation INC EIN 61-1325992

Wave Foundation INC

EIN  61-1325992 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Newport, KY
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Educates and engages communities about aquatic life and environmental conservation through programs.
Leadership
Tricia Watts · Executive Director · $127K
Money in and out
$916K revenue, $969K expenses
Bottom line
76% program efficiency

Educates and engages communities about aquatic life and environmental conservation through programs. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $916K in revenue, $969K in expenses, and $3.1M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$916K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$969K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$3.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$53K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.76 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.10
Program efficiency
76%
of spending reaches programs▲ +4% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
35.0mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -35% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-6%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -122% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$916K
FY2024▼ -15%
Expenses
$969K
FY2024▲ +23%
Total assets
$3.2M
FY2024▲ +3%
Total liabilities
$122K
FY2024▼ -15%
Total revenue
$916K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$969K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$3.1M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$53K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$3.2M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B76%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 312
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 412
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $732K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Educational Programs

Provides curriculum for teachers and students that further the educational goals of WAVE Foundations mission and Newport Aquariums programming which includes educational camps, community outreach and after school program.

$611Kprogram expense
02

Volunteer Programs

Recruit, on-board, train and schedule volunteers to provide education to Newport Aquarium guests as well as the Greater Cincinnati area. Volunteer programs include exhibit interpreters, dive services, summer naturalist teem programming, outreach education specialists, husbandry aids and episodic volunteers to support our fundraising…

$88Kprogram expense
03

Conservation Programs

Provides funding for conservation projects locally, nationally, and internationally. Also includes merchandise sales which include animal art, animal adoptions, shark tooth necklaces, coin drops and Kentucky wild cards. Funds raised from the sales of these items help to support our conservation effort.

$33Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CWave Foundation INC
EINHdr · item D61-1325992
Principal addressHdr · item CNewport, KY
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.wavefoundation.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MKY
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFArts & Culture (A501)
Ruling yearIRS BMFNov 1998

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a12
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b12
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$127,011Pt VII · Sec A
$127,011Pt VII · Sec A
Business Manager
$39,828Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Tricia Watts’s $127K as Executive Director is at the 96th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2213 $100K–1M arts & culture 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Tricia Watts$127,011$134,349$150,056$3,465
Trisha Watt$127,011
Scott Wingate$43,809$109,958
Julie Uffman$39,828$39,828$38,670

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$447K · 49%
Program service revenue$378K · 41%
Investment income$67K · 7%
Other revenue$24K · 3%
Contributions & grants49%$447K
Program service revenue41%$378K
Investment income7%$67K
Other revenue3%$24K
Total revenueLn 12$916K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.76 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.10
Program services76%$732K
Management & general14%$138K
Fundraising10%$99K
Total functional expensesLn 25$969K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$511K
Total assetsLn 16$3.2M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$122K
Total net assetsLn 32$3.1M
Months of cash on handcomputed6.3

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $2.5M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $969K · Less non-cash grants $112K · Cash operating expenses/yr $858K
35.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $732K · Total expenses $969K
76%
Management & General
Management & general $138K · Total expenses $969K
14%
Fundraising
Fundraising $99K · Total expenses $969K
10%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $86K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $634K
$0.14 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $447K · Total revenue $916K
49%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $916K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $378K · Total revenue $916K
41%
Investment reliance
Investment income $67K · Total revenue $916K
+7%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $378K · Total expenses $969K
39%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $916K · Prior year $1.1M
-15%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $497K · FY2024 $916K
+17%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $3.1M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $916K · Expenses $969K
-6%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $3.2M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $3.1M · Total assets $3.2M
96%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $2.0M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $3.2M
62%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Tricia Watts · Reported title Executive Director · Highest reported compensation $127K · Total expenses $969K
13%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $723K · Total expenses $969K
75%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 76%
Overhead ratio 14%
Fundraising cost ratio 22%
Revenue growth -15%
Accounting fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$6K

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$916K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$1.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$982K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$624K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$497K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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