Wildcoast
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE MISSION OF WILDCOAST IS TO CONSERVE COASTAL AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS AND ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH NATURAL SOLUTIONS. OUR STAFF IS DEDICATED TO CONSERVING THREATENED AND ENDANGERED COASTLINES AND WILDLIFE IN CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO. WILDCOASTS AWARD-WINNING TEAM IS PASSIONATE, DEDICATED, AND DRIVEN TO ACHIEVE HIGH IMPACT RESULTS THAT SAFEGUARD OUR COASTAL AND MARINE HERITAGE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
- Income
- $4.9 million
- Spending
- $4.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 82%
- Reserves
- 16.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 88%
- Employees
- 15
- Volunteers
- 2,000
- Highest pay
- $165,635, executive dir.
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 86% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 16.2 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 8% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 14% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 21% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1582% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 9 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 60% of charities in its peer group (environment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2513 of 13 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 (1)
- $3.4 million spent. WILDCOAST, founded in 2000, is an international team that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and addresses climate change through natural solutions. To achieve our mission, we establish and manage protected areas, protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems, and partner with local communities, governments, and the private sector. COSTASALVAJE, WILDCOASTs Mexico division, was established in 2008, and we are currently a registered tax-deductible, non-profit organization in both the United States and Mexico. We have a staff of 27 peoplehalf in the US and half in offices across Mexicowho work seamlessly together across the border. Natural Climate SolutionsMexico: Through legal protection and management, we are conserving and restoring mangrove forests in the Mexican states of Baja California Sur and Oaxaca that store 2.8 million tons of carbon. In the process, we are helping to create hundreds of local jobs restoring these mangrove forests that help address the climate crisis. We collaborate with groups of women from five regions of Mexico to train and equip them with the knowledge to carry out mangrove conservation and restoration in their local communities. We have planted over 263,000 mangrove seedlings throughout Mexico, restoring 271 acres with local women from Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the worlds most pristine gray whale breeding lagoon.California: In Southern California, we have helped 70.5 acres of wetlands that currently sequester 340 tons of carbon. We partnered with Scripps Institution of Oceanography to measure the amount of carbon stored in the sediment of coastal wetlands. We have gathered over 500 samples of blue carbon in five San Diego County wetlands that help us inform conservation policy and restoration. We also co-lead the Blue Carbon Collaborative with our partners at Coastal Quest, an international community of stakeholders that work together to align and advance blue carbon initiatives.California Marine Protected Areas We help to manage and conserve 545,280 acres of marine protected areas off California's coast through innovative compliance initiatives such as the MPA Watch community science program and Tidepool Ambassador Program. We have deployed three Marine Monitor (M2) RADAR units adjacent to 14,534 acres of San Diego County MPAs and provide data to local wardens and the District Attorneys office.Coral Reefs We are strengthening the management of 38.6 million acres of protected areas that are home to nearly 2,000 acres of coral reef ecosystems of the Mexican Pacific, including Cabo Pulmo. To safeguard these critical marine ecosystems, we monitor coral reefs across nine marine protected areas in Mexico, promote reef stewardship, and educate communities and tourism outfitters about the importance of healthy and thriving coral reef ecosystems. Marine Debris Since 2021, our trash boom in Tijuana near the US-Mexico border, the first-ever solid waste retention system in Mexico, has stopped over 300,000 lbs of plastic, tires, and trash from reaching the Pacific Ocean and contaminating a bi-national network of coastal, marine, and island protected areas. We plan to install a second trash boom in the El Pato neighborhood of Tijuana in late 2024 that will collect an additional 3,000 lbs of trash every month.Sea Turtles In Oaxaca, Mexico, we protect 56 miles of coastline and monitor arribadas (mass sea turtle nesting events) at Escobilla and Morro Ayuta beaches, the two most important olive ridley sea turtle nesting beaches in the world, where more than 2.5 million turtles have laid eggs and more than 72 million eggs have hatched since 2017. Additionally, WILDCOAST successfully advocated for the creation of the 224-acre Morro Ayuta Sanctuary, declared on January 8th, 2024, that will provide even greater protection for nesting turtles. Our work includes protecting 85 critically endangered leatherback turtle nests.Wildlands In order to conserve the last remaining coastal wilderness along the Pacific coast of the Baja California Peninsula, we established the WILDCOAST Valle de los Cirios Coastal Reserve through private land acquisition and conservation easements. The reserve consists of 39 miles of coastline and 44,000 acres of coastal desert, making it one of the largest privately owned land reserves in North America.
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 June 2000.
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.