Gulf of Mexico Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 272968791
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Ocean Springs, MS, USA
- Phone
- 2282151242
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,320,625
- Expenses
- $4,973,717
- Assets
- $10,934,697
- Liabilities
- $550,593
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAURA BOWIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & SECRE)
Highest reported compensation
- LAURA BOWIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & SECRE): $142,623 total reported compensation
- NORA GINN (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $107,364 total reported compensation
- CONSTANCE THRIFT (TREASURER/BUSINESS ADMINST): $94,058 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 alliance's mission is to promote the protection, restoration, enhancement, understanding, awareness and wise use of the natural resources of the gulf of america through aligned and cooperative efforts involving research, planning, management, information and resource sharing and public education.
What it reported doing in 2025
Gulf of mexico research initiative- because the gulf of mexico was severely impacted by the 2010 deepwater horizon oil spill, the alliance was asked to provide independent administrative services in connection with a ten (10) year research program to be funded by bp exploration & production, inc. (bp). The program, known as the gulf of mexico research initiative (gri or gomri), studied the impacts of the 2010 deepwater horizon oil spill on the gulf of mexico ecosystem from 2010 to 2020. The controlling document of the gomri was a master research agreement which identified the independent administrative services required of the alliance in connection with research grants. The administrative services are the same types of services the alliance provides in connection with other research activities and public funds. All the funding for the program was received by the end of 2019. Remaining bp funds are governmed by an amendment to the master research agreement and are used to wrap up the program, ensure public data availability and access through 2029, and keep the website active through 2029.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 61% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 63% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 86
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 52
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.4%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $41.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 80.9%; rating input score 81; 28th 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 6.5%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.2; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.9%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -11.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -8.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.4% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $143K · 13 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $116K 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 2011 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 28 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 25 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.