Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT
THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 30 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,730,108 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($1,076,764). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $2.3M
- Funders on record
- 30
- Grants received
- $3.7M
- Net assets
- $2.0M
What The Whale Sanctuary Project does
Mission
To establish a model seaside sanctuary where cetaceans (whales and dolphins) can be rehabilitated or can live permanently in an environment that maximizes well-being and autonomy and is as close as possible to their natural habitat.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Planning for whales in urgent need efforts to retire the orcas and beluga whales at theme parks in france, canada and south korea enabled The Whale Sanctuary Project to build partnerships and collaborations with other ngos, develop diplomatic relations with foreign countries, and make progress towards a global sanctuary movement for whales and dolphins.** orcas wikie & keijo at marineland antibes: upon learning of the plight of three captive orcas (wikie, keijo, and inouk) held at marineland antibes, we worked with one voice france, a french ngo, to propose a collaboration with marineland antibes and the french government to retire the whales to the sanctuary in nova scotia. (sadly, inouk died in march at the young age of 26.)in april, The Whale Sanctuary Project submitted an extensive "expression of interest" to the french government detailing our proposed sanctuary solution for the two surviving whales (wikie and keijo): from specialized veterinary care at marineland; to training of the whales and their caregivers for transport to nova scotia; to construction at the sanctuary including animal care facilities - followed by completion of the perimeter net enclosing the 100 acre…
$414,554 spent25% of program spendingProgress at the sanctuary site marine and land infrastructure design; third-party review and reporting of environmental data; marine geotechnical surveys; wine harbour buoy deployment.** marine and land infrastructure design: we made significant progress in design engineering of the sanctuary's mile-long perimeter net and marine animal care facilities (including delineating the appropriate anchoring systems to withstand potential forces of extreme weather). We also made progress towards finalizing the architectural design of shore-side animal care and operations facilities. ** third-party review and reporting of environmental data: we concluded three years of comprehensive environmental studies with a formal marine ecological risk assessment (mera), conducted by a third-party consultant and required by the government of nova scotia. The mera provides a conclusive determination that the site represents a safe and healthy habitat for future whale residents and that the whales will be ecologically compatible with the existing flora and fauna. ** submissions to the canadian government: we submitted all required reports to provincial and federal government agencies, as required by the…
$1,044,675 spent63% of program spendingOutreach and education oceans day celebrations; community events in nova scotia; educational outreach to children and students of all ages.** oceans day celebrations: we organized and celebrated the first ever ocean's day celebration in st. Mary's municipality, where the sanctuary is located. Close to 500 people gathered at The Whale Sanctuary Project operations & visitor centre to celebrate all things ocean, including science, conservation, and community. We attended additional oceans day events in halifax and antigonish, nova scotia. ** community events in nova scotia: local volunteers contributed hundreds of hours of time to mount eight major community events, along with smaller events at schools and camps. ** educational outreach to children and students of all ages: we continued our collaboration with schluter elementary school in haslet, texas, where a fourth-grade teacher has established a "wild for whales" curriculum. Students were featured on nbc tv news when they sent handwritten letters and drawings to the french minister of ecology, advocating for the retirement of orcas wikie and keijo to the nova scotia sanctuary. We also continued building student volunteer and…
$198,986 spent12% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,658,215.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 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 2020 to 2021, from $881k to $1.6M (+80%).
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: 2021 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
99% of THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (74% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 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.
Chief executive
Charles Vinick
Chief executive officer
Board chair
Lori Marino Phd
President and chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 8 funders, grant income rose $8k → $392k.
6 of 30 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 40% 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 WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT’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 WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT leans on a few funders — its largest provides 29% of grant income and the top three 79%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
43% 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 WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 88% · 2018 100% · 2019 70% · 2020 36% · 2021 80% · 2022 37% · 2023 51% — 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
31% of THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 30% 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
THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT draws 97% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 12 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 5 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 WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 1,559 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,559 animals nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT
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, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
92% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
68%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT: 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 WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT?
- THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 30 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,730,108 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($1,076,764). 9 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT have?
- IRS filings report 30 organizations giving $3,730,108 in grants to THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT, 9 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT?
- DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $1,076,764 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE WHALE SANCTUARY PROJECT find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 30 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