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African Aquatic Conservation Fund Inc

EIN 47-2592641 · Chilmark, MA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthWeak49 out of 100GovernanceStrong91 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

THROUGH FOCUSED RESEARCH, CONSERVATION, AND EDUCATION ACTIONS, THE AFRICAN AQUATIC CONSERVATION FUND IS DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION OF AFRICAN MANATEES, TURTLES, AND OTHER AQUATIC WILDLIFE AND THEIR HABITATS THROUGHOUT THE AFRICAN CONTINENT. WE WORK IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL PEOPLE, SCIENTISTS, GOVERNMENTS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS FOR THE BENEFIT OF BOTH WILDLIFE AND HUMANS.

Income
$777,977
Spending
$821,230
Spent on programs
90%
Reserves
2.4 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
2
Volunteers
6
Highest pay
$74,400, director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Weak: 49 out of 100. Higher than 9% of charities in its peer group (animals, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    10 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 2.4 months of spending.

  • Debt

    5 of 20

    It owes 56% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    4 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 6% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 9% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    90% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 91 out of 100. Higher than 87% of charities in its peer group (animals, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    5 of 9 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (5)
  1. $131,000 spent. THE AFRICAN MANATEE PROGRAM LEADER SUPERVISED TWO GRADUATE STUDENTS AND 13 TRAINEES FROM FIVE COUNTRIES AND CONDUCTED FIELDWORK PROGRAMS IN SENEGAL AND GUINEA. AFRICAN MANATEE GENETICS, FEEDING ECOLOGY, AND AGE DETERMINATION STUDIES CONTINUED WITH COLLABORATORS FROM SIX AFRICAN COUNTRIES. AS PART OF GENETICS RESEARCH, WE CONTINUED THE FIRST ENVIRONMENTAL DNA (EDNA) SAMPLING ANYWHERE IN WEST AFRICA, DURING OUR SURVEYS OF INTERIOR RIVERS IN GUINEA. ONE ADDITIONAL NEW RIVER FOR AFRICAN MANATEES WERE IDENTIFIED BY GUINEAN RESEARCH GRADUATE STUDENTS, BRINGING THE TOTAL TO 6 NEW RIVERS SINCE 2023. WE CREATED A PARTNERSHIP FOR MANATEE RESEARCH WITH THE ABU DHABI AQUARIUM, AND BEGAN A LONG-TERM PHOTO-ID STUDT OF INDIVIDUAL MANATEES AT PT ST GEORGE, CASAMANCE, SENEGAL. THE PI AND COLLABORATORS PUBLISHED TWO SCIENTIFIC MANUSCRIPTS. AN ADDITIONAL TWO SCIENTIFIC MANUSCRIPTS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO JOURNALS.
  2. $324,000 spent. THE WEST AFRICAN SEA TURTLE PROGRAM LED PROJECTS IN GABON, EQUATORIAL GUINEA AND COTE D'IVOIRE. IN GABON WE CONTINUED TO COORDINATE THE GABON SEA TURTLE PARTNERSHIP, A NETWORK OF PROJECTS TO PROTECT SEA TURTLES AND THEIR HABITAT THROUGH BEACH SURVEILLANCE, RESEARCH, THREAT REDUCTION, CAPACITY-BUILDING AND OUTREACH. IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA WE CONTINUED TO MONITOR SEA TURTLE THREATS AND CONDUCTED A NATIONAL AWARENESS-RAISING CAMPAIGN. IN COTE D'IVOIRE WE CONTINUED TO COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL PARTNERS TO MONITOR AND PROTECT 50 KM OF NESTING BEACHES AND CARRY OUT COMMUNITY-BASED CONSERVATION INITIATIVES, AS WELL AS IMPLEMENT THE COUNTRY'S FIRST MARINE PROTECTED AREA. WE PUBLISHED 3 PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC STUDIES.
  3. $185,000 spent. THE AFRICAN CETACEANS PROGRAM CONDUCTED CONTINUING PASSIVE ACOUSTIC MONITORING (PAM) PROJECTS OFF THE WEST COAST OF MADAGASCAR, OFF THE NAMPULA COAST OF MOZAMBIQUE, AND OFF SENEGAL. THE PAM WORK IN THE MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL WAS PART OF A MULTI-PARTNER EFFORT TO MITIGATE SHIPPING NOISE IN THE SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWIO) FUNDED BY THE FRENCH GOVT AGENCY FFEM, AND INVOLVED TWO EXPEDITIONS TO CROSS THE MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL IN A SAILING VESSEL TO DEPLOY AND RECOVER REMOTE ACOUSTIC RECORDERS. WE ALSO CONDUCTED AN OMURA'S WHALES RESEARCH EXPEDITION OFF THE NORTHWEST COAST OF MADAGASCAR SURVEYING APPROXIMATELY 400 KM OF COAST IN A SAILING VESSEL. THE CETECEANS PROGRAM LEADER CO-SUPERVISED THREE PHD STUDENTS ENROLLED AT CURTIN UNIVERSITY - MAURITIUS CAMPUS, ON THE ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY OF BLUE WHALES, HUMPBACK WHALES AND SPERM WHALES IN THE SWIO. THE LEADER ALSO ATTENDED AND PRESENTED WORK AT THE BIENIAL MEETING OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE OF THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION IN BLED, SLOVENIA.
  4. $60,400 spent. THE AFRICAN CHELONIAN INSTITUTE (ACI) LED SURVEYS TO DOCUMENT SEA TURTLE POACHING AND BYCATCH IN MBODIENE AND JOAL, SENEGAL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE JOAL-FADIOUTH MARINE PROTECTED AREA. ACI HELD THE FOURTH NATIONAL SEA TURTLE AWARENESS DAYS FOR SENEGAL AT NATIONAL PARK OF LANGUE DE BARBARIE NEAR SAINT-LOUIS OVER FOUR DAYS. THE EVENT INCLUDED AN OFFICIAL CEREMONY, AWARENESS ACTIVITIES, EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS AND BEACH CLEAN UPS AT THREE SITES. IT WAS ATTENDED BY OVER 1500 PARTICIPANTS. FOUR SEA TURTLE NESTS AT NGAZOBIL WERE MONITORED. A TEMPORARY TURTLE FACILITY WAS MAINTAINED IN NGAZOBIL. ON THE NEW ACI LAND FOR THE PERMANENT FACILITY, A WELL HAS BEEN DUG AND AN ACCESS ROAD WAS CLEARED. TOMAS WORKED WITH A CANADIAN FILM CREW AT KOYLI ALPHA PRESERVE TO FILM A TV DOCUMENTARY NAMED SURVIVAL OF THE SLOWEST.
  5. $36,499 spent. THE SENEGAL STRANDING NETWORK CONDUCTED NINE COASTAL STRANDING SURVEYS, INCLUDING MONTHLY SURVEYS FROM MAY-OCTOBER. WE ALSO RESPONDED TO CARCASSES OUTSIDE OF SURVEYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WE DOCUMENTED 186 STRANDED CETACEANS AND 182 STRANDED SEA TURTLES (MOST WERE SAMPLED FOR GENETICS, TAXONOMY AND OTHER DATA COLLECTION). WE PARTNERED WITH COLLEAGUES FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR CETACEAN TAXONOMY AND GENETICS STUDIES. WE ALSO ANALYZED STRANDING DATA COLLECTED SINCE 2014 AND CONTINUED WRITING A MANUSCRIPT FOR SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION. OTHER PROGRAMS

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since February 2016.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.