Northwest Discovery Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911584808
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2016–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2015, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone
3606712431
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural History, Natural Science Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$122,583
Expenses
$99,293
Assets
$0

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

People named in this filing

  • JEANETTE BRENNAN (EXEC DIRECTR)
  • JON SOINE (TREASURER)
  • DAVE GREEN (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To awaken wonder and promote stewardship of this region's environment through engaging exhibits, public education and wildlife rehabilitation.

What it reported doing in 2019

Our mission is to promote stewardship of Washington marine life through interaction. Mlc aims to introduce visitors to the creatures in the salish sea and instill a love for the marine animals that are at home in these waters. We are active in promoting stewardship of the waterways (whatcom creek, padden creek, squalicum creek and nooksack river) and watershed that flow into the estuary of bellingham bay. Our goal is to improve, restore and maintain marine habitat for fish and invertebrates living in bellingham bay. The mlc is an exciting public interactive center where visitors can closely observe and develop a greater appreciation and connection with the animal world that lives beneath our coastal waters; a water world that is often hidden and inaccessible.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 91.8%; rating input score 92

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.3% of revenue deployed · 91.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $91K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 5 of 5 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2016 to 2019
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.