Hawaii Marine Mammal Alliance Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811077953
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
Kailua, HI, USA
Phone
8884764627
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$639,238
Expenses
$624,179
Assets
$249,521
Liabilities
$69,757

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jon Gelman (President, Director and Chairman of the Board)

People named in this filing

  • Jon Gelman (President, Director and Chairman of the Board)
  • Whitney Beer-Kerr (Treasurer, Secretary and Director)
  • Megan Rycraft (Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To take substantial actions that result in the preservation, recovery and stewardship of Hawaiis protected marine species and the ocean ecosystem we share.

What it reported doing in 2025

Hawaii Marine Animal Response (HMAR) is the largest Hawaii-based nonprofit marine species conservation and response organization. Our team of dedicated volunteers, interns and staff are supported by private donations, corporate funding and government grants. We strive to achieve our mission every day of the year through activity that impacts our key objectives: (1) growing active and engaged community support, (2) managing and increasing protected species populations, and (3) saving animals that need help. Thousands of times each year, our outreach, field response, interventions, rescue and stranding support activities help us move towards our vision of Hawaiis ocean ecosystem shared in sustainable harmony by humans and protected marine animals such as Hawaiian monk seals, sea turtles and seabirds.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 85% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - 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: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.3%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.4%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.3% of revenue deployed · 97.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $609K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.