Boston Marine Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042139204
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6172420522
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,553,810
Expenses
$992,726
Assets
$27,336,320
Liabilities
$1,493,809

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CAPTAIN RICHARD R CUNIO (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • CAPTAIN JOHN F MULDERIG (PRESIDENT)
  • LISA V WALSH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA V WALSH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $146,544 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Promote knowledge of the coast, relieve members and families of poverty, and financially assist in the education and training of maritime academy students.

What it reported doing in 2024

Scholarships and memorial funds granted to maritime academies and others associated with the education and preservation of the coast.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 61% for direct work, and 39% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 51.1%; rating input score 51
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 74.7%; rating input score 75; 33rd 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 36.1%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 27.54; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.1% of revenue deployed · 51.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $507K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 18 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $153K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.