Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1977.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
85 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
9 people listed on the 990.
James K Kuperberg’s $58K as Executive Di is at the 6th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $1–10M 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Smith | — | $61,308 |
| James K Kuperberg | $57,692 | — |
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
Promote whale and Salish Sea ecosystem stewardship through education and research.
Questions for The Whale Museum
Your first name shows with your question. The Whale Museum answers here, for everyone.
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The whale museum scientific research programs included soundwatch (education and research) which operated on the water from june-october for 118 days. Soundwatch spent 234.5 hours monitoring marine mammals, 669 hours on the water traveling 4,658 nautical miles, and contacted 1,469 people in educational outreach.
The whale museum completely closed for public safety on march 15, partially reopened in august, and due to wa state mandates closed the galleries in november while keeping the gift shop open. Despite building closures, 4,852 visitors toured the museum.
Educational programs, many virtual, served more than 860 teachers, students and lay naturalists through 26 programs, tours and workshops focused on marine science, local ecology and history.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $185K | $373K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $637K | $619K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $953K | $1.1M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $386K | $486K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $567K | $593K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $512K | $436K | $20K | $56K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $61K | $49K | $4K | $7K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $48K | $38K | $4K | $6K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $2K | $2K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $56K | $55K | $565 | $565 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $11K | $10K | $891 | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $66K | $45K | $4K | $16K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $7K | $5K | $395 | $987 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $31K | $26K | $3K | $2K |
| TravelLn 17 | $38K | $38K | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2K | $1K | $173 | $157 |
| InterestLn 20 | $19K | $16K | $1K | $2K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $18K | $16K | $1K | $725 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $19K | $15K | $2K | $1K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $30K | $29K | $1K | $610 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $3K | $2K | $103 | $51 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $925K | $786K | $43K | $95K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.5M | $1.3M | $161K | $690K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.1M | $1.5M | −$392K | $530K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.3M | $1.3M | $2K | $961K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.1M | $1.1M | −$8K | $957K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $1.4M | $1.0M | $378K | $964K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $951K | $925K | $26K | $593K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $950,514 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 9 of 8 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $950,514 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $924,510 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,079,112 assets, 10 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $593,184 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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