Save Our Shores

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942745941
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Phone
8314625660
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$498,918
Expenses
$521,693
Assets
$421,862
Liabilities
$3,006

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHLEEN THOMPSON (Executive Dir.): $110,256 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 organizations mission is to steward clean shores, healthy habitats, and livingwaters to foster a thriving monterey bay and monterey bay national marine sanctuary.we focus on these three areas because we believe they are the most criticalconditions for a healthy marine ecosystem.

What it reported doing in 2025

Save Our Shores protects the Monterey Bay and Central Coast through integrated programs in advocacy, education, and community action. Advocacy efforts focus on advancing local and regional policies that prevent pollution at its source, including ordinances addressing single-use plastics and mobilizing public engagement to oppose offshore oil drilling. Education programs provide hands-on, science-based learning experiences that connect K12 students to coastal ecosystems, fostering environmental literacy and stewardship, with a focus on reaching underserved communities. Community action programs engage thousands of volunteers in beach and river cleanups, removing marine debris while collecting data that informs community science and strengthens policy initiatives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 63% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 72.2%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.6%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.1%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.7% of revenue deployed · 72.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $377K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.