Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium FY2020 filing

Dauphin Island, AL · Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Since 1971 · Science & Technology

✓ Tax-deductible Latest data FY2020
Revenue
$17.3M
Spent
$16.7M
To programs
86%
Net assets
$2.3M
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 2020 (IRS tax year 2019).

Figures match the IRS filing checked 8/6/26 · see original: IRS

Status and standing

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
No revocation on IRS record
Not on the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2024 (typical filing lag)
Foundation funders?
2 funders, incl. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
$5.3M in the latest grant year.
Spent on programs?
86% to programs
Form 990 Part IX, latest filing.
Size and trend
$10–100M
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CMarine Environmental Sciences Consortium
EINHdr · item D63-0779657
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 1980
Year of formationHdr · item L1971
Latest filingForm 990FY2024 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CDauphin Island, AL
NTEE classificationIRS BMFScience & Technology (U120)
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.disl.edu

Where the money goes

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.86 Management & general $0.14
Program services86%$14.3M
Management & general14%$2.3M
Total functional expensesLn 25$16.7M

Financial health

Revenue & expenses by yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$17.3M
FY2020
Expenses
$16.7M
FY2020
Program efficiency
86%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
1.7mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+3%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2020 · Form 990
Total assets
$22.7M
FY2020
Total liabilities
$20.3M
FY2020
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$583K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$22.7M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B86%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 323
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 423

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$2.3M
Total assetsLn 16$22.7M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$20.3M
Total net assetsLn 32$2.3M
Months of cash on handcomputed1.7

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$16.2M · 94%
Program service revenue$1.3M · 7%
Contributions & grants94%$16.2M
Program service revenue7%$1.3M
Investment income$994
— government grantsLn 1e$16.2M
Total revenueLn 12$17.3M

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2020 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $2.3M · Operating expenses/yr $16.7M
1.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $14.3M · Total expenses $16.7M
86%
Management & General
Management & general $2.3M · Total expenses $16.7M
14%
Fundraising
Fundraising $0 · Total expenses $16.7M
0%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $0 · Solicited contributions $0
Solicited contributions below reporting floor
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $16.2M · Total revenue $17.3M
94%
Government reliance
Government grants $16.2M · Total revenue $17.3M
94%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $1.3M · Total revenue $17.3M
7%
Investment reliance
Investment income $994 · Total revenue $17.3M
<0.01%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $1.3M · Total expenses $16.7M
8%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $17.3M · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $2.3M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $17.3M · Expenses $16.7M
+3%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $22.7M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $2.3M · Total assets $22.7M
10%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $22.7M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual John Valentine · Reported title Executive Director · Highest reported compensation $235K · Total expenses $16.7M
1%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $7.9M · Total expenses $16.7M
47%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 86%——
Overhead ratio 14%——
Fundraising cost ratio 0%——
Legal fee ratio 0.06%——
Accounting fee ratio 0.1%——

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.

Leadership and pay

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2020 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$235,338Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance & Administration
$150,409Pt VII · Sec A
Chair, University Programs
$122,053Pt VII · Sec A
SR. Marine Scientist III
$121,925Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Mbnep
$111,531Pt VII · Sec A
Chair Discovery Hall Programs
$110,761Pt VII · Sec A
Assoc. Director, Institutional Advancement
$80,602Pt VII · Sec A
President Alabama State University
$0Pt VII · Sec A

John Valentine’s $252K as Executive Director is at the 19th percentile of top reported officer pay among 139 $10–100M science & technology 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
John Valentine$252,274$252,274$244,923$242,473$235,338$235,338
David England$200,704$195,067$188,042$180,776$150,409$150,409
Delbert Smee$171,663$166,523$155,712$140,338$122,053$122,053
Ruth Carmichael$149,713$150,612$144,789$126,575$121,925$121,925
Dr Jeffry Krause$136,595$132,476————
Roberta Swann$135,673$133,189$129,664$119,345$111,531$111,531
Patrick David$131,955$128,107————
Christine Miller-Way$123,751$120,007$116,483$111,901$110,761$110,761

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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Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a23
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b23
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 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

Research and educate people and groups about coastal and marine environments.

Provided by the organization

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $11.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2019.
01

Research-faculty conduct research in disciplines ranging from biochemistry to paleobiology. Mobile Bay is the overwhelmingly dominant natural feature of the Alabama coast and MESC has concentrated its efforts on the Bay - although research is carried out as far as Antarctica (100 projects)

$6.0Mprogram expense
02

University Programs-support both graduate and undergraduate degrees of the 22 member institutions. Students utilize resources at MESC as an integral part of their education (300 students per year)

$3.0Mprogram expense
03

Discovery Hall Program-Intended to increase understanding and appreciation for science and the marine environment by directly involving participants in the environment with dynamic, hands on activities, k-12 students, teacher training and enhancement programs (10,000 students per year).

$2.7Mprogram expense

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Funders

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$5.3M

Filing history

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2024 $39.5M$36.9M+54% 990 PDF
FY2023 $25.7M$17.6M+3% 990 PDF
FY2022 $25.0M$18.3M+33% 990 PDF
FY2021 $18.8M$15.3M+9% 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $17.3M$16.7M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2020IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

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