Marine Mammal Stranding Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222368650
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Brigantine, NJ, USA
Phone
6092660538
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Wildlife Preservation, Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$854,440
Expenses
$711,547
Assets
$1,321,161
Liabilities
$20,646

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert C Schoelkopf (President of the Board)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sheila Dean (Director): $65,000 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 Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) was formed in 1978 for the purpose of rescue, rehabilitation and release of stranded, sick or injured marine mammals and sea turtles. MMSC is the only state and federally authorized facility in the State of New Jersey to do this work.

What it reported doing in 2025

Sea Life Education Center and Museum: MMSC staff, trained volunteers and interns explain the mission of the Center and conduct tours of this 1940's era 12-sided building that houses many displays about the animals and the beach environment. Visitors learn about the types of problems the animals encounter due to illness, injury, and pollution. The building is open to the public year round, with extended hours during summer months. School children visit the Center throughout the year and summer programs are available to visitors. Programs include visiting the back bays and beaches to learn ecology, and dolphin and turtle stranding classes. Since 1983 there have been over 700,000 visitors to the museum.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.9%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.7%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.86; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.9% of revenue deployed · 73% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $519K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $65K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.