Northwest Maritime Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911931643
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Port Townsend, WA, USA
Phone
3603853628
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,104,247
Expenses
$7,883,131
Assets
$22,704,188
Liabilities
$2,588,777

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SCOTT VOKEY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LYNN TERWOERDS (PRESIDENT)
  • JAKE BEATTIE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAKE BEATTIE (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $184,052 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE OMAN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $143,136 total reported compensation
  • BRADLEY HARRIS (DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR): $127,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the northwest maritime center is to engage and educate people of all generations in traditional and contemporary maritime life, in a spirit of adventure and discovery.who we are: at our core we use powerful maritime experiences to educate, inspire people to adventure, and celebrate our maritime culture. We do it for our own love of boats, in service to our community and maritime industry, but mostly because regardless of the subject, the sea is the most powerful teacher we know.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational programs: nwmc provides experiential maritime programs to youth and adults with the goals of connecting students to their communities, building maritime workforce development, and engaging people in the maritime environment. Our youth programs, ranging from learn-to-sail through high school credit programs specific to the maritime field include character building through leadership and teamwork training and on developing maritime-related skills through mentorship. Curricula include vessel operations, marine construction, and marine resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 60% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.3%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 70.7%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.9 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.88; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.3% of revenue deployed · 70.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $184K · 30 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.