WIDECAST Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 330751451
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024
- Location
- Godfrey, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3149548571
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $342,720
- Expenses
- $262,423
- Assets
- $193,149
- Liabilities
- $1,028
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Dr Karen Eckert (Director/Treas): $23,167 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
WIDECAST is a scientific network active in 45 nations and territories. The network was chartered in 1981 with the objective of preventing the extinction of six species of endangered sea turtles that live in the wider caribbean region.
What it reported doing in 2025
In bringing the best available science to bear on local sea turtle conservation projects and providing a mechanism and a framework for cooperation among nations, the WIDECAST network has successfully averted extinction for six species of depleted Caribbean sea turtles. Today, most Caribbean countries have adopted a national sea turtle management plan, poaching and illegal product sales have been dramatically reduced or elimiated at key sites, many of the regions largest breeding colonies are monitored on an annual basis, alternative livelihood models are increasingly available for rural areas, and citizens are mobilized in support of conservativion actions.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 54% for direct work, and 46% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 56
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.4%; rating input score 76
- Program expense ratio: 99.8%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 94.5%; rating input score 95; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 23.4%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.74; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -7.6% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76.4% of revenue deployed · 99.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $262K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $23K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 26 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.