Tybee Island Marine Science Foundation Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Education programs for the island's visitors we offer: hour-long walks, talks & treks: beach walks, turtle talks, and marsh treks. Visitors explore our coastal Georgia galleries-designed and constructed by science center staff members, the gallery is 4,000 square feet, but packed with information on coastal Georgia's natural resources. Cart exploration programs are scheduled in the gallery throughout the year. Our nine weeks of sea camp: coastal kids ocean adventure - offers summer fun for the kids. For groups we offer: girl scouts - participate in the coastal badge program. Cub and boy scouts - participate in barrier island patch program or oceanography merit badge program. School groups, pre-k through college - participate in our coastal classroom, sidewalk to the sea, and coastal scientist programs. Additionally, through our ocean outreach program we extend our educational reach at public and private events. Conservation programs our conservation programs include; the tybee sea turtle project, diamondback terrapin r&r, shore/seabird rescue, and we participate in the national marine mammal stranding network and sea turtle stranding and salvage network. Conservation diamondback terrapin r&r (rescue & release) diamondback terrapins take a long time to mature. They live for 25-40 years and don't start nesting until they're seven to eight years old. Just prior to the 1920s diamondback terrapins were hunted to the brink of extinction, because it was fashionable, in american, to eat a wine-based turtle soup. Fortunately for the terrapins, prohibition happened and the wine-based soup went out of style. In addition to natural predation, this century poses other threats, their habitat (the brackish waters of the marsh) is being destroyed, while attempting to reach higher ground to lay their eggs they're run over by cars, they drown in crab pots, and they're again being killed in some states and exported to the asian market for turtle soup. The combination multiple threats and low reproductive rates has resulted in the terrapins being put on the state of Georgia's department of natural resources protected species list. We rescue, or receive, sick, injured; adult and baby terrapins, provide triage or transport them to the Georgia sea turtle center, then tag and release the back into the marsh. When gravid females are killed by cars on the causeway, we extract the eggs and transport them to Georgia southern university for incubation. Lastly, we make available to the public teds for crab traps. Removal of live animals on the beach city of tybee island passed an ordinance (33-2011) in 2011 prohibiting the removal of live animals from the beach. The center provides an annual training to the tipd and ocean rescue that helps them understand the significance of the law and teaches them how to identify the animals most often taken (by the grocery bag full) from the beach. We are planning to design and produce signage for posting at the crossovers. Marine mammal stranding network we are a member of the national marine mammal stranding network and responds to stranded marine mammals, both dead and alive, under the direction of dnr who has listed the science center on their standing agreement with noaa's national marine fisheries service. In response to a dead animal we retrieved the animal, and either secure it for dnr to pick up or take tissue and teeth samples along with photographs and physiological data, which is sent to dnr. We haven't yet had a live stranding that needed to be retrieved. Thus far our only live stranding has been a manatee stuck in a tide pool, which we simply waited out with the animal. Sea/shorebird rescue island visitors frequently come across sick, injured, or hatchling sea- shorebirds and either call in a report or bring it to the center. We take- in the bird and either transport it to a vet for pro bono treatment or wildlife rehabilitator for rehabilitation. We do not advertise this program, because we couldn't handle

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 95.5%; rating input score 95
• Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • 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: 5.6%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings