Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences Bios Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
060706038
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
St Georges, BD
Phone
4412971880
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Biological & Life Sciences

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,851,664
Expenses
$18,044,370
Assets
$42,851,737
Liabilities
$2,288,019

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GILLIAN HOLLIS (ASSIST TO THE PRES AND CEO)
  • WILLIAM CURRY PHD (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MORGAN OLSEN (TRUSTEE): $1,167,038 total reported compensation
  • SALLY MORTON (VICE-CHAIR): $1,045,357 total reported compensation
  • LISA LOO (TRUSTEE): $655,042 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Bios's mission is to seek and share fundamental knowledge of the oceans through state-of-the-art scientific research, world-class field expeditions, and comprehensive educational experiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule o.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.4%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $62.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 72.2%; rating input score 72; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -7.1%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.37; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.4% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $15.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 31 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $647K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.