Washington · Nonprofit
THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL
THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL (Washington) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $146,001 to it, the largest being THE NORCLIFFE FOUNDATION ($46,260). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $694k
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $146k
- Net assets
- $367k
What The Salish Sea School does
Mission
The Salish Sea Schools mission is to awaken curiosity and deepen connections with the sea through shore and sea exploration programs for all ages.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Student summer camps: The Salish Sea School offered immersive summer camps for elementary, middle, and high school students, combining adventure with education to inspire the next generation of marine conservation leaders. Participants engaged in experiential learning activities, including observing marine wildlife on guided boat trips, kayaking through kelp forests and intertidal zones, and conducting hands-on marine research. These activities deepened students understanding of the salish seas ecosystems and the importance of conservation. The program emphasized environmental stewardship, scientific inquiry, and personal growth, helping participants develop leadership skills and a meaningful connection to the natural world. As junior citizen scientists, students collected data on species like tufted puffins and southern resident killer whales, actively contributing to real-world conservation efforts. In 2024, students took part in small-group activities, which provided impactful educational experiences. Scholarships ensured access for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
$526,731 spent$312,571 earned by the program100% of program spendingStudent field trips: The Salish Sea School provided outdoor, experiential field trips for k-12 students, focusing on marine ecosystems, salmon habitats, and watershed health. These programs combined shore-based and boat-based activities, immersing students in hands-on learning experiences that fostered environmental awareness and scientific curiosity. Participants engaged in guided wildlife observation, explored the salmon life cycle, analyzed plankton samples, and investigated intertidal zones. These activities connected students directly with the natural environment, enhancing their understanding of the salish seas unique ecosystems and the importance of conservation. In 2024, students participated in field trips, including many from underserved communities in skagit county and beyond. Scholarships provided opportunities for students, including those experiencing the salish sea for the first time.
Adult programs: The Salish Sea School offered diverse conservation-focused programs for adults, including wildlife and bird ecotours, mindfulness retreats, and art classes. These immersive, hands-on experiences deepened participants understanding of marine ecosystems while fostering a stronger connection to the salish sea and its conservation. In 2024, adult programs engaged participants in activities like puffin research, porpoise edna collection, and mindfulness retreats. These programs promoted marine conservation awareness while supporting student scholarships.
Puffin ecotours: puffin ecotours offered guided boat trips to observe tufted puffins and other seabirds while promoting conservation awareness. Participants contributed to bird surveys supporting the tufted puffin recovery plan in collaboration with the washington department of fish and wildlife. In 2024, these tours advanced research on puffin populations and their prey while fostering an appreciation for the salish seas ecosystems. Proceeds funded scholarships for underserved students, providing first-time access to marine education programs. Puffin ecotours directly supported The Salish Sea Schools mission to inspire stewardship and conservation.
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $526,731.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2020, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2020, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $246k to $385k (+56%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2022 29% · 2023 29% · 2024 14% · 2025 34%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
55% of THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 4 funders, grant income rose $8k → $21k.
3 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 24% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 32% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
45% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 75% · 2020 100% · 2021 70% · 2022 76% · 2023 73% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
50% of THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL's funders are still giving 2 years after their first grant; 58% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
78% of THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL's grant income comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $36k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL has grown faster than three-quarters of the 2,433 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,433 environment nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2025
Organizations like THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
96% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL?
- THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL (Washington) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $146,001 to it, the largest being THE NORCLIFFE FOUNDATION ($46,260). 7 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $146,001 in grants to THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL, 7 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL?
- THE NORCLIFFE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $46,260 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE SALISH SEA SCHOOL find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Salish Sea School →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2020–2025), and the filings of 12 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing