Ocean Wise Conservation Association FY2021 filing

Canada · Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Since 1956

✓ Tax-deductible Latest data FY2021
Revenue
$10.0M
▼ -42% vs prior year
Spent
$14.2M
To programs
79%
Net assets
$38.9M
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Form 990 for the fiscal year ending December 2021 (IRS tax year 2021).

Figures match the IRS filing checked 7/22/26 · see original: IRS

Status and standing

Tax-deductible?
Yes, by treaty
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?
1 funder — Erm Group Foundation INC
$50K in the latest grant year.
Spent on programs?
79% to programs
Form 990 Part IX, latest filing.
Size and trend
$10–100M
↓ -42% vs prior year
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item COcean Wise Conservation Association
EINHdr · item D98-0050185
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFApr 1982
Year of formationHdr · item L1956
Latest filingForm 990FY2024 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CCanada,
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.ocean.org

Where the money goes

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.79 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.05
Program services79%$11.3M
Management & general16%$2.3M
Fundraising5%$672K
Total functional expensesLn 25$14.2M

Financial health

Revenue & expenses by yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$10.0M
FY2021▼ -42%
Expenses
$14.2M
FY2021▼ -48%
Program efficiency
79%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
37.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-42%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Total assets
$45.4M
FY2021▼ -18%
Total liabilities
$6.6M
FY2021▼ -47%
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$4.2M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$45.4M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B79%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 351
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 451

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$43.0M
Total assetsLn 16$45.4M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$6.6M
Total net assetsLn 32$38.9M
Months of cash on handcomputed36.3

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$10.5M · 105%
Program service revenue$835K · 8%
Contributions & grants105%$10.5M
Program service revenue8%$835K
Investment income$19K
— government grantsLn 1e$7.7M
Total revenueLn 12$10.0M

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $44.0M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $14.2M · Less non-cash grants $49K · Cash operating expenses/yr $14.2M
37.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $11.3M · Total expenses $14.2M
79%
Management & General
Management & general $2.3M · Total expenses $14.2M
16%
Fundraising
Fundraising $672K · Total expenses $14.2M
5%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $751K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $4.0M
$0.19 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $10.5M · Total revenue $10.0M
105%
Government reliance
Government grants $7.7M · Total revenue $10.0M
77%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $835K · Total revenue $10.0M
8%
Investment reliance
Investment income $19K · Total revenue $10.0M
+0.2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $835K · Total expenses $14.2M
6%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $10.0M · Prior year $17.1M
-42%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $38.9M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $10.0M · Expenses $14.2M
-42%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $45.4M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $38.9M · Total assets $45.4M
86%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $925K · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $45.4M
2%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Mr Lars Gustafsson · Reported title President & CEO · Highest reported compensation $301K · Total expenses $14.2M
2%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $8.3M · Total expenses $14.2M
58%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 79%——
Overhead ratio 16%——
Fundraising cost ratio 6%——
Revenue growth -42%——
Investment management fee ratio 0%——
Legal fee ratio 0.7%——
Accounting fee ratio <0.01%——
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.

Leadership and pay

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$300,890Pt VII · Sec A
EVP, Conservation
$250,590Pt VII · Sec A
EVP, Finance & Business Dev.
$228,502Pt VII · Sec A
EVP, Development
$184,549Pt VII · Sec A
Directr & Ambas Whale Research
$111,696Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt 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.

See Ocean Wise Conservation Association executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a51
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b51
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

Mission and programs

Empowers communities to protect and restore the world's oceans.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Ocean Wise Conservation Association claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $9.4M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

Education

Ocean Wise's education programs engage educators, students and parents by delivering curriculum-based video courses, take-home education kits, activities and virtual visits with ocean experts.

$4.4Mprogram expense
02

Display & Interpretation

Ocean Wise effects conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation through its aquarium facility. Our exhibits and interpreters provide information about animals, their habitats, environmental and conservation issues to thousands of members and guests on an annual basis.

$2.7Mprogram expense
03

Conservation

Ocean Wise Seafood continues to drive responsible consumer choices in North America. The program, established to help businesses and customers identify and purchase sustainable seafood, has over 750 partner organizations around the world.

$2.3Mprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Funders

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

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

Filing history

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2024 Latest $10.9M$12.0M-11% 990 PDF
FY2023 $12.3M$14.7M+7% 990 PDF
FY2022 $11.5M$12.4M+15% 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $10.0M$14.2M-42% 990 PDF
FY2020 $17.1M$27.3M 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

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.

Similar organizations you could support

Closest in mission — by what they do
See all organizations like Ocean Wise Conservation Association →

Run this organization? Claim this page

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.
Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.