Wildcoast

What it reported doing in 2024

WILDCOAST, founded in 2000, is an international team that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and addresses climate change through natural solutions. To achieve our mission, we establish and manage protected areas, protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems, and partner with local communities, governments, and the private sector. COSTASALVAJE, WILDCOASTs Mexico division, was established in 2008, and we are currently a registered tax-deductible, non-profit organization in both the United States and Mexico. We have a staff of 27 peoplehalf in the US and half in offices across Mexicowho work seamlessly together across the border. Natural Climate SolutionsMexico: Through legal protection and management, we are conserving and restoring mangrove forests in the Mexican states of Baja California Sur and Oaxaca that store 2.8 million tons of carbon. In the process, we are helping to create hundreds of local jobs restoring these mangrove forests that help address the climate crisis. We collaborate with groups of women from five regions of Mexico to train and equip them with the knowledge to carry out mangrove conservation and restoration in their local communities. We have planted over 263,000 mangrove seedlings throughout Mexico, restoring 271 acres with local women from Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the worlds most pristine gray whale breeding lagoon.California: In Southern California, we have helped 70.5 acres of wetlands that currently sequester 340 tons of carbon. We partnered with Scripps Institution of Oceanography to measure the amount of carbon stored in the sediment of coastal wetlands. We have gathered over 500 samples of blue carbon in five San Diego County wetlands that help us inform conservation policy and restoration. We also co-lead the Blue Carbon Collaborative with our partners at Coastal Quest, an international community of stakeholders that work together to align and advance blue carbon initiatives.California Marine Protected Areas We help to manage and conserve 545,280 acres of marine protected areas off California's coast through innovative compliance initiatives such as the MPA Watch community science program and Tidepool Ambassador Program. We have deployed three Marine Monitor (M2) RADAR units adjacent to 14,534 acres of San Diego County MPAs and provide data to local wardens and the District Attorneys office.Coral Reefs We are strengthening the management of 38.6 million acres of protected areas that are home to nearly 2,000 acres of coral reef ecosystems of the Mexican Pacific, including Cabo Pulmo. To safeguard these critical marine ecosystems, we monitor coral reefs across nine marine protected areas in Mexico, promote reef stewardship, and educate communities and tourism outfitters about the importance of healthy and thriving coral reef ecosystems. Marine Debris Since 2021, our trash boom in Tijuana near the US-Mexico border, the first-ever solid waste retention system in Mexico, has stopped over 300,000 lbs of plastic, tires, and trash from reaching the Pacific Ocean and contaminating a bi-national network of coastal, marine, and island protected areas. We plan to install a second trash boom in the El Pato neighborhood of Tijuana in late 2024 that will collect an additional 3,000 lbs of trash every month.Sea Turtles In Oaxaca, Mexico, we protect 56 miles of coastline and monitor arribadas (mass sea turtle nesting events) at Escobilla and Morro Ayuta beaches, the two most important olive ridley sea turtle nesting beaches in the world, where more than 2.5 million turtles have laid eggs and more than 72 million eggs have hatched since 2017. Additionally, WILDCOAST successfully advocated for the creation of the 224-acre Morro Ayuta Sanctuary, declared on January 8th, 2024, that will provide even greater protection for nesting turtles. Our work includes protecting 85 critically endangered leatherback turtle nests.Wildlands In order to conserve the last remaining

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
• Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 14%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.94; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 19.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings