Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 475249182
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2015
- Location
- San Pedro, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4244500570
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Wildlife Preservation, Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,517,693
- Expenses
- $3,409,018
- Assets
- $3,301,754
- Liabilities
- $294,356
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOHN WARNER (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JOHN WARNER (CEO): $258,969 total reported compensation
- MICHELLE RIVARD (DIRECTOR OF ANIMAL HEALTH & CONSERVATION): $144,571 total reported compensation
- DAVID BADER (CHIEF OPERATIONS & EDUCATI): $120,059 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To inspire ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation, education, and research.
What it reported doing in 2025
Rehabilitation: the center rehabilitates sick and injured marine mammals at our hospital until they can be released back to the wild. Annually, we care for 250 to 500 sea lions, elephant seals, fur seals, and harbor seals. Since 1992, we've treated more than 11,000 marine mammals. As a partner in noaa's marine mammal health and stranding response program, mmcc has the unique opportunity to improve the health of stranded marine wildlife while learning more about species that would otherwise be inaccessible. Our experts develop treatment and husbandry protocols to deliver advanced care to animals in need and collaborates with scientists from around the country to conduct research that advances marine mammal and environmental health.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 84% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 35
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- 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: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 3.1%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 18.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 78% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $259K · 14 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.