Bering Sea Elders Group

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823556262
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone
9078911229
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$484,759
Expenses
$462,564
Assets
$731,006
Liabilities
$384,579

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JAYLENE WHEELER (DIRECTOR): $164,251 total reported compensation
  • JERRY IVANOFF (CHAIR): $13,640 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM IGKURAK (TREASURER): $5,060 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Bseg's mission is to speak and work together as one voice to protect and respect our traditional ways of life, the ocean web of life that supports the resources we rely on, and our children's future. As elders, we are messengers to our children, our tribal councils, and the people who make decisions that affect our marine resources, ecosystem, and ways of life.

What it reported doing in 2025

Gbmf 3: with support from the gordon and betty moore foundation (gbmf), the northern bering sea climate resilience area (nbscra) federal task force and bering intergovernmental tribal advisory council (bitac) co-produced a salmon resilience plan. The intent was to protect 291,000-km2 area from bottom trawling and other fishing, shipping and offshore development impacts, as well as assist the bitac secure multi-year federal funding. Fndi: with support from the first nations development institute (fndi), the bering sea elders group (bseg) prioritized goals included in its fund development plan (ex. Reinforce sustainability), implemented various components of its communications plan, and continued to support in-person convenings of elder representatives that aimed to further natural resource protection. Nap: with support from the native americans in philanthropy (nap), the northern bering sea climate resilience area (nbscra) coalition provided a variety of assistance to the bering intergovernmental tribal advisory council (bitac). Assistance was provided in following areas (examples): consulting assistance in the development of a salmon resilience plan; identifying governance model options for the nbscra work; providing nbscra updates to over 70 tribes that are represented by the bitac; and providing co-production of knowledge (cpk) training to the bitac. Other common counsel foundation: the purpose of this grant is general operating support. Indigenous earth fund: the purpose of this grant is general operating support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.3%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 99.8%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.6%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.58; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.8%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -44.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -33.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.3% of revenue deployed · 99.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $462K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $164K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.