Ocean Wise Conservation Association EIN 98-0050185 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Ocean Wise Conservation Association FY2020 filing

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Empowers communities to protect and restore the world's oceans. For fiscal year 2020 it reported $17.1M in revenue, $27.3M in expenses, and $42.9M in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1956
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Nonprofit
Location
Canada
Website
www.ocean.org
Filings
5 on file (2020–2020)
Revenue
$17.1MFY2020
Expenses
$27.3M
Net assets
$42.9M
People
28
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  98-0050185 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Canada Founded 1956
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 7/22/26 · see original: IRS
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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Empowers communities to protect and restore the world's oceans.
Leadership
Mr Lars Gustafsson · President & CEO · $243K
Money in and out
$17.1M revenue, $27.3M expenses
Bottom line
81% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2020
Total revenue
$17.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$27.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$42.9M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$10.2M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.81 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.03
Program efficiency
81%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
5.6mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-59%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2020 · Form 990
Revenue
$17.1M
FY2020
Expenses
$27.3M
FY2020
Total assets
$55.2M
FY2020
Total liabilities
$12.4M
FY2020
Total revenue
$17.1M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$27.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$42.9M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$10.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$55.2M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B81%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 356
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 456
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $20.5M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Display & Interpretation

Ocean Wise effects conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation through its aquarium facility. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization, which had significant financial, social and market impact.

$14.9Mprogram expense
02

Education

The COVID-19 pandemic forced school children to stay home. Ocean Wise helped ease the transition by retooling its Online Learning platform to meet the needs of educators, students and parents and by delivering education-based video courses, activities and virtual visits with ocean experts.

$3.4Mprogram expense
03

Research

Ocean Wise has a number of ongoing research programs with both onsite & field components. This involves cetaceans (including killer whales and belugas), marine mammals (sea otters, stellar sea lions, walruses and harbor seals), and specific research programs that include Ocean Pollution Research and BC Cetaceans Sightings network.

$2.3Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item COcean Wise Conservation Association
EINHdr · item D98-0050185
Principal addressHdr · item CCanada,
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.ocean.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1956
State of legal domicileHdr · item M
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 1982

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a56
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b56
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
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
President & CEO
$243,105Pt VII · Sec A
EVP, Conservation
$230,000Pt VII · Sec A
Former President & CEO
$223,643Pt VII · Sec A
EVP, Aquarium Ops & Planning
$177,138Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Education
$170,113Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Visitor Experience
$161,491Pt VII · Sec A
VP, Research
$149,990Pt VII · Sec A
EVP, Development
$148,243Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Mr Lars Gustafsson$308,245$344,526$357,221$300,890$243,105
Dr Carlos Drews$219,287$231,490$253,348$250,590$230,000
Ms Jennie Moushos$251,051$243,769$228,471$228,502$134,878
Dr John Nightingale$223,643
Mr Jeremy Douglas$184,549$148,243
Mr Clint Wright$177,138
Mr James Bartram$170,113
Ms Karen Howe$161,491

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$18.3M · 107%
Program service revenue$5.8M · 34%
Contributions & grants107%$18.3M
Program service revenue34%$5.8M
— government grantsLn 1e$13.1M
Total revenueLn 12$17.1M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.81 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.03
Program services81%$22.2M
Management & general16%$4.3M
Fundraising3%$831K
Total functional expensesLn 25$27.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$11.8M
Total assetsLn 16$55.2M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$12.4M
Total net assetsLn 32$42.9M
Months of cash on handcomputed5.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2020 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $12.7M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $27.3M · Less non-cash grants $197K · Cash operating expenses/yr $27.1M
5.6 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $22.2M · Total expenses $27.3M
81%
Management & General
Management & general $4.3M · Total expenses $27.3M
16%
Fundraising
Fundraising $831K · Total expenses $27.3M
3%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $831K · Solicited contributions $5.2M
$0.16 to raise $1
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $18.3M · Total revenue $17.1M
107%
Government reliance
Government grants $13.1M · Total revenue $17.1M
77%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $5.8M · Total revenue $17.1M
34%
Investment reliance
Investment income $-10.7M · Total revenue $17.1M
-63%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $5.8M · Total expenses $27.3M
21%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $17.1M · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $42.9M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $17.1M · Expenses $27.3M
-59%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $55.2M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $42.9M · Total assets $55.2M
78%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $922K · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $55.2M
2%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Mr Lars Gustafsson · Reported title President & CEO · Highest reported compensation $243K · Total expenses $27.3M
0.9%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $15.8M · Total expenses $27.3M
58%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 81%
Overhead ratio 16%
Fundraising cost ratio 5%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0.7%
Accounting fee ratio 0.5%
Fundraising 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 · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$50K
Grants paid · 1 grant · $390K · 2024–2024
Eif Sponsorship AgreementCA · FY2024$389,781

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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)$10.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$12.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$11.5M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$10.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$17.1M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF

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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
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