American Littoral Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 221731073
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Highlands, NJ, USA
- Phone
- 7322910055
- Rating
- 89
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Pollution Abatement and Control Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,936,666
- Expenses
- $6,551,574
- Assets
- $2,009,744
- Liabilities
- $794,596
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TALLY BLUMBERG (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- TIMOTHY DILLINGHAM (FORMER EXEC): $140,367 total reported compensation
- DANIELLE MCCULLOCH (EXECUTIVE DI): $45,481 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Promote the study and conservation of marine life and its habitat, defend the coast from harm, and empower others to do the same.
What it reported doing in 2025
Advocacy-everything we do at the society is about the public trust. The coast belongs to all of us and our advocacy and policy program has been protecting the average person and their stake in the coast for more than 50 years. We speak out for the coast, marine life and its habitats, and for the benefit of diverse coastal communities. Our advocacy is often community based, working on the most pressing problems with the people who are most affected. We seek opportunities to provide the public with the knowledge and tools they need to raise their voices along with us. The main areas of interest where the society advocates for better public policy to protect the littoral zone are coastal public access, coastal land use reform, and natural resource protection. A grant from the william penn foundation is providing support for a study to identify water quality improvement opportunities to reduce bacteria in the 27 mile stretch of the Delaware river flowing past philadelphia, camden, chester and wilmington. Working with people representing all aspects of the river's use, our goal is to develop a "road map" to increase equitable opportunities for swimming and paddling in targeted areas as well as advance community health, public access, and job creation.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 79% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 90%; rating input score 90
- Fundraising efficiency: $81.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.6%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 90% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $140K · 13 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.9M reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.