Tara Foundation for Marine Research
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 272018797
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2028878992
- Rating
- 91
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $53,890
- Expenses
- $52,880
- Assets
- $1,010
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
1 person listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARK SPALDING (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- MARK SPALDING (PRESIDENT)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Marine research
What it reported doing in 2024
The tara foundation for marine research is dedicated to studying marine biodiversity, understanding climate change impacts, and raising public awareness about ocean heath, primarily though scientific expeditions.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 99
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.1%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 1.9%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.1% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $53K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 1 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.