The North Carolina Aquarium Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561512990
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Raleigh, NC, USA
Phone
9198775500
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,509,307
Expenses
$8,166,994
Assets
$57,673,309
Liabilities
$2,034,786

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

Leadership & pay

63 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Elizabeth Baird (President / Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Elizabeth Baird (President / Chief Executive Officer): $226,247 total reported compensation
  • Shana Barclay (Former Chief Finance Officer): $152,706 total reported compensation
  • Emily Bruce (Chief Philanthropy Officer): $118,326 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The purpose of the Society is to develop, encourage, and promote public awareness of, interest in, and support for the NC Aquariums and to serve as an philanthropic society for the continued maintenance, support, and promotion of the educational, conservation, and research purposes of the NC Aquariums. The Society is supported primarily through gift shop sales, memberships, grants, and contributions.

What it reported doing in 2025

Aquariums & Pier Support: The Society provides support for various projects at the 3 NC Aquariums and 1 Pier such as new exhibits, educational programs, conservation and sustainability efforts, etc. Employees of the Society allocate significant portions of their time to direct and indirect Aquariums and Pier support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 60% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 61% for direct work, and 39% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 40.9%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 73.2%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 64th 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: 62%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.06; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 40.9% of revenue deployed · 73.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 41 of 41 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $226K · 63 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $128K reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.