The National Aquarium Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521243739
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
4105761187
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$-536,677
Expenses
$1,709,882
Assets
$2,528,432
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN C RACANELLI (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • KATHLEEN A SHER (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT EXTERNAL AFFAIRS)
  • BRENT WHITAKER (VICE PRESIDENT OF BIOLOGICAL PROGRAMS)
  • TIMOTHY PULA (VICE PRESIDENT OF CAPITAL PLANNING AND FACILITIES)
  • SEAN P DELANEY (VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE)
  • CANDACE OSUNSADE (VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN C RACANELLI (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $444,605 total reported compensation
  • BRUCE S HOFFBERGER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $288,348 total reported compensation
  • PAULA S SCHAEDLICH (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (THRU 8/2013)): $255,168 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To inspire conservation of the world's aquatic treasures.

What it reported doing in 2013

Conservation education: the national aquarium's education programs help students and teachers gain leadership skills and improve science learning, especially at a time when school districts are struggling to provide hands-on learning environmental education opportunities. Each year, more than 5,800 students and chaperones visit, with approximately 2,700 coming from the district, which has many struggling schools. The national aquariums free admission program, available to dc public and charter school children, introduces underserved students to environmental conservation and marine science. Programs for teachers and school-aged youth include curriculum support; teacher orientations, workshops, and other trainings; and grade-appropriate classroom programs that meet national and state curriculum standards.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.3%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -418.6%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.48; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -55.4% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.4% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $445K · 25 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2010 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.