Georgia Aquarium

Legal name: Georgia Aquarium Inc & Subsidiary

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582574918
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, US
Phone
(800) 901-7011
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$165,667,302
Expenses
$125,452,805
Assets
$632,928,177
Liabilities
$166,038,097

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

Leadership & pay

46 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TRAVIS BURKE (VP/INTERIM CEO)
  • BRIAN L DAVIS PHD (FORMER PRESIDENT/CEO)
  • CHRISTINA D ROBINSON (FORMER SR VICE PRESIDENT/CFO)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRIAN L DAVIS PHD (FORMER PRESIDENT/CEO): $958,720 total reported compensation
  • TRAVIS BURKE (VP/INTERIM CEO): $427,600 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL DIPIAZZO (CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER): $388,902 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Georgia Aquarium is a nonprofit committed to inspiring awareness and preservation of our ocean and aquatic animals worldwide.

What it reported doing in 2024

Activities in connection with operating a world-class aquarium for the benefit of the general public.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 24.3%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.05; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 58% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $99.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $959K · 46 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $17.1M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 26 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.