The Dolphin Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 990310715
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2022
- Location
- Hilo, HI, USA
- Phone
- 8083757892
- Rating
- 96
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Wildlife Preservation, Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $19,570
- Expenses
- $53,575
- Assets
- $77,563
- Liabilities
- $9,987
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR ADAM A PACK (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- DR ADAM A PACK (PRESIDENT)
- ELIA HERMAN MS (VICE PRESIDE)
- HANNAH HERMAN PHD (SECRETARY)
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
Hawaii based not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the study and preservation of dolphins and whales, and to the education of people whose attitudes and activities affect the survival and well-being of these animals.
What it reported doing in 2024
Research on life histories and long-term associations of humpback whales and other cetacean species in southeast alaskan waters. Research on song, body size and hormone levels in individual male humpback whale singers in collaboration with the hawaiian islands humpback whale national marine sanctuary (hihwnms) and university of Alaska fairbanks. Research on diurnal variations in habitat use in conjunction with vocal production in humpback whale male-female pairs and other social groups using acoustic-recording suction cup tags in collaboration with the hihwnms. Research on the diurnal and seasonal use of specific habitats of hawaiian spinner dolphins found off of hilo, Hawaii in collaboration with ocean-wide science institute research on wild atlantic spotted and bottlenose dolphins in the bahamas in collaboration with the wild dolphin project. Support for the louis m. Herman research scholarship to advance the work of graduate student research on dolphins and whales. Migration of tdis archival catalog of humpback whale tail fluke images to an automated matching program and association database.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 100
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 99.4%; rating input score 99
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: -173.8%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.45; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $53K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- 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: Operating margin scored 5/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.