Mariners Museum
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MARINERS' MUSEUM AND PARK CONNECTS PEOPLE TO THE WORLD'S WATERS, BECAUSE THROUGH THE WATERS - THROUGH OUR SHARED MARITIME HERITAGE - WE ARE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER.
- Income
- $14.3 million
- Spending
- $12.5 million
- Spent on programs
- 81%
- Reserves
- -6.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 68%
- Employees
- 137
- Volunteers
- 179
- Highest pay
- $281,876, president & ceo
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
Fair: 65 out of 100. Higher than 36% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 6% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 13% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 51% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1581% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 15 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: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2517 of 17 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports 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 (3)
- $4.6 million spent. THE TWO OPERATIONAL TENETS OF THE "COMMUNITY-FOCUSED" PRONG OF OUR STRATEGY ARE "ACCESS" (TO THE ART, ARTIFACTS, AND ARCHIVAL MATERIAL OF THE MARINERS' MUSEUM COLLECTION, AND TO THE "LIVING COLLECTION" THE FOREST, LAKE, AND WILDLIFE - WITHIN MARINERS' PARK), AND "VALUE" (WITH A PRIMARY FOCUS ON EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS SERVING SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN). OUR EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS (EEP'S) ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE ENGAGING EXPERIENCES THAT ENHANCE THE STANDARD CLASSROOM CURRICULUM, ENCOURAGE ACTIVE STUDENT PARTICIATION, AND EMPHASIZE IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS SUCH AS CRITICAL THINKING AND COMMUNICATION. PARTICIPATION IN OUR EEP'S FOSTER A GREATER SENSE OF BELONGING WITHIN THE STUDENTS WE SERVE, CONSISTENT WITH THE GOALS OF OUR MISSION. DURING THE 2023-2024 ACADEMIC YEAR, THE MARINERS' MUSEUM SERVED LOCAL SCHOOLS WITH MORE THAN 26,000 STUDENT ENGAGEMENTS. OVER 80% OF THESE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED FOR FREE, THE PROGRAMS FOR THE REMAINDER WERE HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED, AND IN MANY INSTANCES, WE PAID THE TRANSPORTATION COSTS TO GET THE STUDENTS TO OUR MARINERS' CAMPUS. OUR TEAM ALSO COMPLETED THE FIRST YEAR OF "THE MARINERS' LAKE EFFECT" PROGRAM WITH ALL SIXTH-GRADERS FROM NEWPORT NEWS PUBLIC SCHOOLS. FOR MANY, THIS WAS THEIR FIRST TIME ON THE WATER FOR AN IMMERSIVE KAYAK EXPERIENCE.
- $3.0 million spent. ONE OF THE TWO OPERATIONAL TENETS OF THE "COLLECTIONS-BASED" PRONG OF OUR STRATEGY IS "CONSERVATION" OF THE ART, ARTIFACTS, AND ARCHIVAL MATERIAL OF THE MARINERS' MUSEUM COLLECTION ("HERITAGE CONSERVATION") AND OF THE "LIVING COLLECTION" THE FOREST, LAKE, AND WILDLIFE - WITHIN MARINERS' PARK ("ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION"). HIGHLIGHTS FROM HERITAGE CONSERVATION WORK IN 2024 FEATURE THE RELOCATION OF THE MUSEUM'S NEARLY 90 FIGUREHEADS AS WELL AS OVER TWO DOZEN STERNBOARDS WITH THE GOAL OF IMPROVING THE PREVENTIVE CARE OF THESE IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS. TEAM MEMBERS FROM MULTIPLE MUSEUM DEPARTMENTS BUILT OUT STORAGE FOR THESE RELOCATED COLLECTIONS ACTUALLY WITHIN MUSEUM GALLERIES, SIMULTANEOUSLY IMPROVING COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE COLLECTIONS. CONTEMPORANEOUSLY, THE MUSEUM'S DIGITIZATION AND ARCHIVAL TEAMS LAUNCHED AN IN-HOUSE DIGITIZATION PROJECT FUNDED BY A "SAVE AMERICA'S TREASURES" GRANT. NEARLY 13,500 NEGATIVES WERE DIGITIZED FROM THE A. AUBREY BODINE AND EDWIN LEVICK COLLECTIONS. THE MARINERS' PARK TEAM AND OUR CONSERVATION SCIENTIST CONTINUED ACTIVE WATER QUALITY TESTING OF OUR 167-ACRE MARINERS' LAKE, A PROGRAM THAT SHOWS OUR STORMWATER-FED LAKE REMAINS HEALTHY. OUR FOREST MANAGEMENT TEAM CONTINUED THE REMOVAL OF HAZARD TREES ALONG PUBLIC TRAILS WITHIN MARINERS' PARK, AND SUSTAINED EARLIER INVASIVE-SPECIES REMOVAL EFFORTS WITHIN THE FOREST.
- $2.5 million spent. ONE OF THE TWO OPERATIONAL TENETS OF THE "COLLECTIONS-BASED" PRONG OF OUR STRATEGY IS "RESEARCH, OR "BUILDING THE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE" ABOUT THE MARINERS' MUSEUM'S VAST MARITIME ARCHIVAL COLLECTION (AN ESTIMATED 2 MILLION ARCHIVAL PIECES), MARITIME LIBRARY (OVER 100,000 VOLUMES), MARITIME ART COLLECTION (THOUSANDS OF PAINTINGS AND WORKS ON PAPER), AND MARITIME ARTIFACT COLLECTION, AND ABOUT THE "LIVING COLLECTION" THE FOREST, LAKE, AND WILDLIFE WITHIN MARINERS' PARK. IN 2024, OUR CONSERVATION RESEARCH SCIENTIST, IN COLLABORATION WITH A CONSERVATION SCIENCE FELLOW, FURTHER REFINED AN APPROACH TO CAPTURE AND/OR MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF SULPHUR TRAPPED IN WATERLOGGED ARCHAEOLOGICAL WOOD. THIS PROBLEM, UNTREATED, MANIFESTS ITSELF IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SULFURIC ACID WHEN FORMERLY WATERLOGGED ARCHAEOLOGICAL WOOD THAT IS DRIED AND DISPLAYED - A PARTICULARLY THORNY PROBLEM FOR RECOVERED AND CONSERVED HISTORIC SHIPWRECKS GLOBALLY. OUR ARCHIVAL TEAM AND CURATORIAL TEAM IMPROVED THE CATALOGING OF SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF OUR ARCHIVE, PHOTOGRAPHIC, AND ARTIFACT COLLECTIONS, WITH A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON CAPTURING THE HUMAN STORIES THAT LIVE WITHIN THESE COLLECTION ITEMS. WE REGULARLY HOST PARTNER RESEARCHERS FROM HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND OTHER TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS WITHIN THE MARINERS' PARK, AND IN 2024 ESTABLISHED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A FORMAL RESEARCH LIAISON AND MANAGER TO SUPPORT THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH IN THE LIVING COLLECTION AND BEGIN DESIGNING A SYSTEM FOR AGGREGATING AND DISSEMINATING THAT RESEARCH.
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
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.
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.
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.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since April 1932.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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.