The Marine Mammal Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 510144434
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Sausalito, CA, USA
- Phone
- (415) 289-7325
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Wildlife Preservation, Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $18,607,476
- Expenses
- $23,416,223
- Assets
- $50,014,115
- Liabilities
- $4,749,279
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CECILY MAJERUS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- CECILY MAJERUS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $309,773 total reported compensation
- JEFFREY BOEHM (CHIEF EXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICER): $293,606 total reported compensation
- DOMINIC TRAVIS (CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $273,490 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To advance global ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, and education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Program #1: rescue and rehabilitation: the marine mammal center rescues and rehabilitates sick and injured marine mammals at its state-of-the-art veterinary facilities by engaging a dedicated workforce and a supportive community. Since 1975, the center has responded to more than 27,000 marine mammals, including sea lions, elephant seals, harbor seals, fur seals, sea otters, and more. In an effort to save hawaiian monk seals from extinction, the center opened the first-ever rehabilitation facility devoted to this endangered species in 2014, and since then has rehabilitated nearly 30 percent of the total population, which is estimated at about 1,600 individuals. The center admitted over 1,100 marine mammals with the help of volunteers who recorded more than 133,000 (continued in sched o) volunteer hours served, an estimated workforce value of approximately $5.3 million as of september 30, 2025.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 85% 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
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: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: -25.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.6%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $18.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $310K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- 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 24/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.