Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561967579
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Surf City, NC, USA
Phone
9103283377
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Wildlife Sanctuary, Refuge

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,812,979
Expenses
$1,178,433
Assets
$7,886,868
Liabilities
$136,740

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHRYN ZAGZEBSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHRYN ZAGZEBSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $93,017 total reported compensation
  • TERRY MEYER (TREASURER): $72,646 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Sea turtle rescue & rehabilitation

What it reported doing in 2024

Rescued and provided medical and other care for sea turtles suffering from injury and/or other illness with the goal of releasing them into their natural habitat; informed and edcuated the public regarding the plight of sea turtles and the threat of their extinction; provided an experiential learning site for students of biology, wildlife conservation, and veterinary medicine from around the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $38.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 35%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.69; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.1%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.8% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.5% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.