Maine Lobstermen's Association

Legal name: Maine Lobstermen's Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010455701
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Kennebunk, ME, USA
Phone
207-967-4555
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$535,826
Expenses
$572,411
Assets
$1,301,325
Liabilities
$12,644

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN TRIPP (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PATRICE MCCARRON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATRICE MCCARRON (PRESIDENT): $137,462 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 Maine Lobstermen's Association works tirelessly to represent our members on lobster issues. We endeavor to balance the economic realities of the industry with the conservation needs of the resource.

What it reported doing in 2025

Advocacy to sustain the lobster resource and the communities that depend on it. The mla participated in multiple policy arenas on behalf of our members to ensure a sustainable lobster resource and fishery. Mla continued its advocacy in the 2nd session of the 131st Maine legislature to secure funding to rebuild working waterfronts devastated by winter storms. The mla advocated to ensure regulatory proposals do not negatively impact our members, focusing on ensuring whale conservation measures and lobster conservation measures balance resiliency of the regulated species and the fishery. Mla continued advocacy against offshore wind to protect the ecosystem and fisheries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% 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

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -24.2% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -35.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $572K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $137K · 24 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 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: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.