Marine Science Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
941719649
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Redwood City, CA, USA
Phone
6503642760
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,806,833
Expenses
$2,857,828
Assets
$5,376,014
Liabilities
$260,404

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MARILOU SELF (EMPLOYEE): $148,262 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Msi mission is to cultivate a responsiility for the natural environment and our human communities through interdisciplinary science education

What it reported doing in 2024

Discovery voyage - this program primarily consists of four hour expeditions of hte san francisco bay aboard the 90 foot research vessel. The rv robert g brownlee and discover the life in the estuary and how we are connected to it. Students rotate through our 4 stations using scientific methods and equipment to examine different types of life. Marine camp this is a summer day camp for childeren that runds for 9 weeks, 5 days per week and 7 hours per day from june to august. Campers sign up for weekly sessions. The program develops campers curiousity and enthusiasm for learning about and caring for the environment. Led by our experienced science instructors campers discover local habitats and animals at our redwood city site and through field trips across the bay areas including a day long trip aboard our research vessel the robert g brownlee. Land programming these programs consist of a variety of indoor and outdoor educational activities that take place at our facilities in redwood city, school campuses, and other locations. Students learn about local marine environments and the organisms that live in them throug a combination of hands on investigation and inquiry based learning activities. They interact with artifacts and live animals while developing teamwork and critical thinking skills.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 62% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.5%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 75.2%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.8%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.88; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.5% of revenue deployed · 75.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $148K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.