Washington · Nonprofit
VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE
VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE (Washington) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $559,820 to it, the largest being NETWORK FOR GOOD ($154,372). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 64% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $388k
- Funders on record
- 12
- Grants received
- $560k
- Net assets
- $23k
What Vermilion Sea Institute does
Mission
To support and implement programs that support ecology, culture and education.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Our marine debris prevention programs are driven by the leadership and participation of young people and community members. We are committed to improving our community and reducing waste in Baha de Los ngeles through the following projects. 1. We empower young people to take charge and lead efforts to reduce plastic waste and marine debris through public education, beach cleanups, data collection, and community-powered campaigns. These youth collect valuable data following NOAA protocols and contribute to global understanding of marine debris. Further, through hands-on collaboration with visitors, they empower others to do the same. 2.We improve our community and reduce waste through the creation, operation, and continuous development of a specialized community recycling center. Our newly acquired, specialized, machines efficiently process post-consumer plastics, providing a more sustainable solution to plastic waste management. We prioritize community engagement and a circular economy, striving to maximize the impact of our recycling efforts and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in our local desert and oceans.
$13,057 spent4% of program spendingThe organization facilitated inquiry-based field studies in desert and marine ecosystems for educational groups at two field stations in Baja California. In 2024, 214 students and science researchers participated in the programs. The organization developed, conducted, coordinated, and facilitated programs to provide hands-on learning experiences for universities, schools, and other educational groups. The programs aimed to enhance understanding and appreciation of the ecosystems, promote scientific inquiry, and inspire creation of other change initiatives in visitors own communities.
$301,076 spent84% of program spendingWe offer participant-driven educational curricula and outdoor education activities to underserved local students of color, focusing on developing water exploration skills, self-care, team building, leadership, and conservation skills. In 2024, 94 students participated in these programs, which help to instill conservation-related values and protect the environment for future generations. Additionally, 707 different community members participated in 33 youth organized community events.
$42,212 spent12% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $356,345.
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 2022 to 2023, from $158k to $32k (−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: 2022 17% · 2023 26% · 2024 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
24% of VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (57% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 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.
Board chair
Autumn Moore - Barkus
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 3 funders, grant income fell $91k → $11k.
6 of 12 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 64% 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 VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE’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
VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 28% 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
72% 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 VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 93% · 2019 46% · 2020 60% · 2021 71% · 2022 88% · 2023 86% — 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
13% of VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% 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
64% of VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $202k that is directly attributable, 100% of it comes from funders outside Washington, across 4 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $358k arriving through sponsors registered in 6 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
VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE has grown faster than half of the 22,838 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 22,838 education nonprofits $100k–$1M, FY2024
Organizations like VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE
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
93% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
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 VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE: 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 VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE?
- VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE (Washington) receives grants from 12 organizations whose IRS filings report $559,820 to it, the largest being NETWORK FOR GOOD ($154,372). 6 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 64% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 12 organizations giving $559,820 in grants to VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE, 6 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE?
- NETWORK FOR GOOD is the largest funder on record, with $154,372 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like VERMILION SEA INSTITUTE 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.
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 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing