The Seattle Aquarium Society

What it reported doing in 2024

The seattle aquarium is a conservation organization working to regenerate the health of earth's one ocean. We advance animal well-being, marine and ecosystem science, public policy, field conservation, education and species recovery that benefits the ocean and its inhabitants. We thoughtfully bring the ocean to life for the public with experiences that inspire awe, empathy, and conservation action. We manage five facilities and welcomed over 1 million people in 2024, plus many more people through our community programming outside of our campus. Our work supports a healthy future for marine life, people and the planet.(continued on schedule o).the aquarium opened on may 20, 1977. Since then, it has been an integral part of the city and the region, providing a platform for education and conservation. In 2024, the aquarium's historic ocean pavilion expansion opened, providing a platform to tell the story of how one ocean unites us, from the salish sea to the coral triangle. Seattle aquarium by the numbers for 2024:- 59,150 tickets for free aquarium admission distributed- 123,000 hours of service provided by 1,092 volunteers- 1,059 diver presentations provided to guests- 5,160 interpretive talks available for guests- 697 hours of engaging activities offered via our "wonder carts"- 24 federal letters written and/or signed by our policy and advocacy team- 8 state comment letters/statements written and/or signed by our policy and advocacy team- 20,000+ mammals, fish, invertebrates, corals and plants receiving expert care across our expanded campusnoteworthy programmatic activity for 2024: ocean pavilion opens: the aquarium's ocean pavilion expansion opened on august 29, 2024, marking a significant expansion of the aquarium's campus and broadening the reach of our impact. The ocean pavilion features three immersive habitats showcasing the extraordinary biodiversity of the coral triangle and, along with our local habitats at piers 59 and 60, emphasizing that earth has one connected ocean. Currently the ocean pavilion is home to almost 200 different species and over 5,000 individuals. Safe homes for a species facing extinction: we worked with conservation partners to care for nine critically endangered bowmouth guitarfish pups, transferring eight to other u.s. Aquariums and providing a home in the ocean pavilion for one as an ambassador. The bowmouth guitarfish in our care, rhina, moved into our largest ocean pavilion habitat in september 2024. Partnering to recover endangered pinto abalone: the seattle aquarium's pinto abalone recovery work evolved further in 2024. For the first time, we took on two new sites to outplant independently from our Washington department of fish and wildlife and puget sound restoration fund partners to effectively expand the footprint of the recovery efforts. Members of our animal care team released 1,266 abalone that were raised in our animal care center, and an additional 2,224 animals were released at previously existing sites.partnering on the global stage to restore an endangered shark species: the stegostoma tigrinum augmentation and recovery (star) project made further advances in 2024, releasing 18 indo-pacific leopard sharks to the wild. The seattle aquarium cares for indo-pacific leopard sharks both as ambassadors and as breeding cohorts to contribute to the recovery of wild populations. Thirty-six eggs came through the seattle aquarium en route to indonesia in 2024 with plans to rear the pups and release them into protected waters. Legislative advocacy: in the Washington state legislative session, our policy and advocacy team signed in on the record in 33 hearings with our supportive position on 18 different bills. We worked with our youth ocean advocates (high school marine science volunteers) to pass a bill in the state legislature to declare bull kelp forests the official marine forest of Washington, to raise awareness of their importance and the need for conservation. An aquarium for all: we c

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 49.8%; rating input score 50
• Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 12.1%; rating input score 12; 6th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • 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: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 36.6%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.16; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings