Friends of the Elephant Seal
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Friends of the Elephant Sea is dedicated to educating people about elephant seals and other marine life and teaching stewardship for the ocean along the central coast of California. by providing docent/guide services year round at the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery, conducting school field trips and an internship program.
- Income
- $233,299
- Spending
- $188,418
- Spent on programs
- 62%
- Reserves
- 32.8 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- other income, 43%
- Employees
- 5
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 88 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (animals, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 32.8 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 11% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 19% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 0% on the year before.
Spending floor
8 of 1562% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 88 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (animals, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 6 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
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
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, 2025, 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 (1)
- $116,210 spent. Friends of the Elephant Seal is a non-profit organizaation dedicated to educating people about elephant seals and other marine life and teaching stewardship for the ocean along the central coast of California. As a cooperating association with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the organization collaborates to offer interpretive services and support the needs of the expanding Piedras Blancas northern elephant seal colony. Piedras Blancas is the home of the largest mainland colory of northern elephant seals, with an estimated 25,000 seals over 8 miles of central California coastline. continued on Schedule O Volunteers provide interpretive services 365 days per year at the Piedras Blancas Northern Elephant Seal Rookery. An interactive science-based experience for primary and secondary school students provides on-site education for school children each year. The community-based speakers bureau provides outreach education, presenting in dozens of local and virtual meetings. A university-affiliated student internship program engages students in reasearch and education. The Community Science program provides collaborative assistance to university reseachers with observations of the elephant seal colony. Accomplishments in 2025 The San Simeon-based Elephant Seal Visitor Center provided interpretation and local resource infomration to over 20,000 visitors. In 2023, a total of 108 volunteers provided 14,000 hours of service and made 150,000 visitor contacts across multiple programs. Docents guides provided both daily roving interpretation and weekend Seal Science Sunday exhibition activities for visitors at the Elephant Seal Viewing Area. In addition, 32 volunteers in the Winter program at William R. Hearst Memorial Beach prevented over 700 disturbances to resting elephant seals and promoted public safety at this busy public beach. The School Groups program grew its reach into the community, welcoming over 1,700 students from elementary through university levels in field trips to the Piedras Blancas Rookery. The organization continued an active online presence, with over 10,000 virtual visits per month to view the rookery live streaming beach cams and providing socials media education, reaching a peak of 1.31 million followers per month.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 2026.
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 September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since April 1999.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 7, 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.