Seacology

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
870495235
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5105593505
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,769,333
Expenses
$3,577,746
Assets
$12,038,045
Liabilities
$303,499

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KIMBERLY MYERS HEWLETT (Vice President)
  • SANDIE TILLOTSON (Vice President)
  • DOUGLAS HERST (President)
  • KRISTIN REED (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • DUANE SILVERSTEIN (Executive Dir.): $317,780 total reported compensation
  • KAREN PETERSON (SR MGR SPEC. INIT.): $153,482 total reported compensation
  • ERIN COYNE (INST. GIVING OFF.): $150,998 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Seacology protects the threatened species and habitats of the worlds islands by working directly with local people to both conserve their natural resources and improve their quality of life.

What it reported doing in 2025

The annual seacology prize recognizes an indigenous islander for exceptional achievement in preserving the environment and culture of his or her home country. The seacology board of directors chose cynthia ong as the 2025 prize recipient. This dedicated environmental leader has worked tirelessly to halt ecological damages on borneo, as well as promoting positive, sustainable policies and actions to help her island and its people thrive.additional description on schedule o.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 52% for direct work, and 48% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 78.5%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Pass
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -29.2%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.36; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 78.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $318K · 19 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.