Eastern Shore of Virginia Barrier Islands Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
541763248
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Machipongo, VA, USA
Phone
7576785550
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Reported finances

Revenue
$860,525
Expenses
$825,953
Assets
$5,781,989
Liabilities
$10,152

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN RUFFIN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SALLY DICKINSON (EXECUTIVE DI): $92,570 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The eastern shore of va barrier islands centers mission is to educate the general public and to promote the restoration and preservation of the history of the va barrier islands.

What it reported doing in 2025

Educational programs and events for adults and children focusing on life on Virginia's barrier islands, both historical and present day

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
  • 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: Limited
  • 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.2% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $703K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.