Ocean Discovery League Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The Ocean Discovery League's mission is to accelerate deep-ocean exploration by developing accessible systems to broaden the community of those who explore and understand the deep sea.
- Income
- $815,470
- Spending
- $701,371
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- 11.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 81%
- Employees
- 1
- Highest pay
- $146,120, president
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: 73 out of 100. Higher than 42% of charities in its peer group (science, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 11.9 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 39% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 14% of income.
Income trend
5 of 15Income fell 23% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 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
Strong: 95 out of 100. Higher than 91% of charities in its peer group (science, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 7 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
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, 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 (6)
- $152,977 spent. Beyond the Blue. Beyond the Blue: Illuminating the Pacific is a multifaceted science campaign designed to raise collective knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of deep ocean waters in the Pacific Islands region through coordinated mapping and exploration expeditions, data management and sharing, strategic partnerships, and outreach and engagement. As part of this work, the organization participated in the NOAA mission to USS Yorktown, the first expedition to explore the WWII ship's hanger deck, revealing a number of unexpected discoveries. NOAA leads this project and Ocean Discovery League is a core partner. Funder: UCAR/NOAA.
- $138,045 spent. Low-cost, Accessible System Development. The organization is creating low-cost, easy-to-use deep-sea systems to gather the most critical data to inform deep-sea environmental decision-making. In 2025, the organization began development of the new deep ocean research and imaging system (DORIS), in collaboration with the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Blue Robotics. One prototype system was built in 2025, and additional units will be constructed in 2026. Funders: NOAA, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, LEX/NG Fund, National Geographic Society.
- $136,541 spent. Expanding the Community. The organization is developing deep-sea capacity and community development programs to establish the long-term technical and human capacity for deep-sea exploration and research in locations worldwide that do not currently have the capability to undertake this critical work. In 2025, the organization ran its second year of Accessing the Deep, a virtual deep-sea training program that focuses on fundamental technical and oceanographic knowledge, emphasizing low-cost, accessible methods for exploring depths greater than 200 meters. The organization continued its work on the Deep-Sea Capacity Development Maturity Model, a practical, user-friendly framework to support organizations in evaluating and strengthening their deep-sea capacity development efforts. Finally, the organization began development of its first DORIS Training Workshop, which will be piloted in 2026. Funders: Schmidt Family Foundation, UCAR/NOAA, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, LEX/NG Fund.
- $93,318 spent. Global Deep Sea Exploration Goals. The organization continued researching historical visual deep-sea exploration and research, culminating in the publication of a manuscript to Science Advances, How little we've seen: A visual coverage estimate of the deep seafloor (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp8602). Continued additions to the deep submergence dive locations database are maintained. The organization completed its work on the methodology for the Global Deep Sea Exploration Goals initiative and submitted a manuscript to Science Advances. Finally, the organization is developing an online interactive map for users to engage with the Exploration Goals, which will launch in 2026. Funders: National Geographic Society, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Dalio Family Foundation, LEX/NG Fund.
- $42,907 spent. FathomNet. The organization is continuing work on the FathomNet Portal, an online platform where thousands of hours of deep-ocean video will be automatically transcoded, objects detected, and initial classification done with minimal human intervention. This work will accelerate the processing of visual underwater data with a globally integrated network of services, tools, and a diverse community of users. The FathomNet project is a collaboration between the ODL, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, CVision AI, NOAA, and others. Funders: CVision AI/MBARI, Lyda Hill Philanthropies.
- $26,657 spent. Bristlemouth Pioneer Program. In collaboration with Sofar Ocean, the organization wound down support for the Bristlemouth Pioneer Program to accelerate the development of solutions to some of the enormous challenges that face our planet. The program is intended to fast-track low-cost underwater connectors to developers, scientists, and start-ups. By joining this program users can be amongst the first to start developing ocean exploration and monitoring hardware with Bristlemouth. Funder: Oceankind.
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 February 2021.
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.