Force Blue INC FY2020 filing

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Force Blue is the only nonprofit organization in the world that retrains, retools and redeploys former special operations veterans and military-trained combat divers on missions of marine conservation.

Form 990 Part I, line 1, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 81-2921674) · Dispute this line
501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
56¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$163K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
The IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
The latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 3
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $99K a year · 14% of revenue · last 3 filings
A surplus in 2 of the last 3 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 3 filings
Spent on programs
56%
of spending
56% of spending went to programs.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$163K
to officers and key staff · 40% of spending
Pay to officers and key staff is 40% of spending.
Part VII, Section A
12.5 mo
of spending, in cash
12.5 months of spending in cash.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $95K
2 funders name it on their filings.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$170K
40% of total assets
Liabilities are 40% of assets.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 5 voting members
5 of 5 voting members are independent.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$693K
Spent
$403K
To programs
56%
Net assets
$256K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$693K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$693K
FY2021$798K
FY2022$654K
FY2023$88K
FY2024$112K
Expenses
$403K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$403K
FY2021$659K
FY2022$784K
FY2023Not on file
FY2024Not on file
Net assets
$256K
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$256K
FY2021$459K
FY2022$324K
FY2023$93K
FY2024$198K

From the FY2020 Form 990 · see the original

You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Oct 2016.

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

Where the money goes

56 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 56% · $227K Management & general 40% · $162K Fundraising 3% · $13K

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

5 people listed on the 990; $163K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$54,404Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$54,338Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$53,908Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

James Ritterhoff’s $60K as President & CEO is at the 57th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1265 $100K–1M philanthropy & grantmaking 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Angelo Fiore$60,000$61,890$56,039$54,338
James Ritterhoff$60,000$61,598$56,538$54,404
Keith Sahm$60,000$61,430$55,243$53,908

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 Force Blue INC 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
  • Loans to or from officersSch L · Pt II1 listed

Programs and updates

Retrains veterans for marine conservation missions.

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2 programs · $227K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

100 yards of hope is a year long coral reef restoration project, honoring the NFL'S 100TH season and america's military veterans, that will feature force blue veteran divers working alongside scientists from the university of miami's rosenstiel school of marien and atmospheric science, the phillip and patricia frost museum of science and…

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 81-2921674) · Dispute this line
$227Kprogram expense
02

Force blue is the only nonprofit organization in the world that retrains, retools, and redeploys former special operations veterans and military-trained combat divers on missions of marine conservation.

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2020. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 81-2921674) · Dispute this line
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B

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$95K

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$693K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$537K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$112K
Other incomeLn 4–11$44K
Money outPt IX
$403K
Ln 25
Programscol B$227K
Managementcol C$162K
Fundraisingcol D$13K
Owns and owesPt X
$256K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$421K
Total assetsLn 16$426K
LiabilitiesLn 26$170K
PeoplePt VI, VII
5
listed · VII A
PaidVII A3
Voting boardVI 1a5
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$537K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$112K
Other incomeLn 4–11$44K
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$693K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$421K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$421K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5K
Total assetsLn 16$426K
LiabilitiesLn 26$170K
Net assetsLn 32$256K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$22K$421K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$5K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$22K$426K
LiabilitiesLn 26$62K$170K
Net assetsLn 32−$40K$256K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5$163K$92K$71K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$0
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$7K$4K$3K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$34K$34K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$0
Advertising and promotionLn 12$5K$552$5K
Office expensesLn 13$577$577
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$22K$20K$2K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$3K$3K
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$18K$8K$10K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$102K$75K$26K
All other expensesLn 24e$50K$28K$15K$7K
Total functional expensesLn 25$403K$227K$162K$13K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Nov 4, 2025 $112K$198K 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2024 $88K$93K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 14, 2023 $654K$784K−$130K$324K 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Feb 6, 2023 $798K$659K$139K$459K 990 PDF
FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Dec 13, 2021 $693K$403K$289K$256K 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

A · Public support I · Grants O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990
Part I · Summary $692,589 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $251,135$536,805
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $388,806$112,002
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenue$43,782
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $639,941$692,589
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $189,254$169,224
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $588,584$234,027
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $777,838$403,251
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$137,897$289,338
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body5
VI-1b Independent voting members5
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $692,589 across 10 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$536,805
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$536,805
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $112,002$112,002
VIII-3 Investment income$0
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $43,782$43,782
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $155,784$692,589
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $403,251 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Programs $91,998 · Management $70,652$162,650
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wages$0
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $3,702 · Management $2,872$6,574
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $33,660$33,660
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $552 · Fundraising $4,913$5,465
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $577$577
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 TravelPrograms $19,724 · Fundraising $1,952$21,676
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 InterestManagement $3,329$3,329
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $8,046 · Management $9,781$17,827
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $75,099 · Management $26,500$101,599
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $28,216 · Management $15,047 · Fundraising $6,631$49,894
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $227,337 · Management $162,418 · Fundraising $13,496$403,251
Part X · Balance sheet $426,065 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $22,263$421,018
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-5 Loans to officers and key people$0
X-6 Loans to other insiders$0
X-7 Notes and loans receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, net$0
X-11 Publicly traded securities$5,047
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $22,263$426,065
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $5,435$4,525
X-22 Loans from officers and insidersStart of year $13,010$13,010
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $43,779$152,261
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $62,224$169,796
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$39,961−$102,420
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictions$358,689
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year −$39,961$256,269
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $22,263$426,065
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $256,269 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$692,589
XI-2 Total expenses$403,251
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$289,338
XI-4 Net assets at start of year−$39,961
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$5,047
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$15,000
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$1,845
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$15,000
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$256,269

Form 990 e-file FY2020 from the IRS (about our sources) · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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