Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201055264
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bothell, WA, USA
Phone
4254868173
Rating
51
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,800,636
Expenses
$2,984,903
Assets
$1,054,423
Liabilities
$248,003

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DOUG WELLS (PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)
  • EDWARD POULSEN (VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)
  • FRANK KELTY (VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)
  • SCOTT GOODMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • DOUG WELLS (PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)
  • EDWARD POULSEN (VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)
  • FRANK KELTY (VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To aid, encourage, promote, and support scientific research and education regarding the shellfish and ancillary fisheries of the north pacific

What it reported doing in 2024

Bristol bay red king crab research: during 2024, bsfrf activities included several projects for bristol bay red king crab (bbrkc). A winter/spring distribution pot and trawl survey (cps2) was conducted in march and april 2024 in collaboration with national marine fisheries service (nmfs) and the Alaska department of fish and game (adf&g). The foundation chartered three fishing vessels (the fv vesteraalen, the fv arctic lady, and the fv seabrooke) to complete a winter/spring bbrkc survey in bristol bay, Alaska. This was the second in a sequence of collaborative pot sampling (cps) projects focusing on seasonal distribution of bbrkc and added a second gear type to sample with the bsfrf nephrops survey trawl. The project placed subcontractors from bsfrf along with personnel from nmfs and adf&g onboard the charters as scientific parties to complete the research. This project addressed a primary research priority of collecting more information on the winter/spring distribution of bbrkc to review the efficacy of current spatial conservation measures. The cooperative procurement of satellite tags for bbrkc was a high-priority research item and part of ongoing research to address bbrkc movement and seasonal distribution in bristol bay. The foundation purchased approximately $242,000 of smart-technology tags to be shared with nmfs scientists for placement on bbrkc during the bering sea noaa summer survey. Tags were purchased from wildlife computers by bsfrf and shipped to nmfs kodiak scientists for deployment during the survey.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 92% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.6%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 14 of 25 current checks pass · 11 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX ConferencesMeetings column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX DepreciationDepletion column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX FeesForServicesAccounting column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX FeesForServicesLegal column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX FeesForServicesOther column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX GrantsToDomesticIndividuals column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX InformationTechnology column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX Insurance column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX OfficeExpenses column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX Travel column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.