Fiscal Responsibility, Transparency, Accountability, Mission Effectiveness
As a small non-profit it is crucial for us at Ocean Alliance that our supporters trust us. Trust us to demonstrate fiscal responsibility, trust us to demonstrate transparency and accountability, and trust us to use our resources in the most impactful manner possible for whale and ocean conservation.
When an individual, foundation, or organization chooses to support Ocean Alliance, it reflects their confidence and trust in our mission and our work. With that trust comes a significant responsibility: to use the funds wisely and ensure they directly contribute to our mission of protecting whales and their ocean habitats.
In an effort to earn – and maintain – this trust, Ocean Alliance follows several key principles:
1. Fiscal responsibility
Ocean Alliance was founded in 1971, as one of the world’s first organizations dedicated to protecting whales and their ocean environment. We have worked through economic meltdowns, worldwide pandemics, and an ever-shifting whale conservation landscape. We have seen good years and bad years, and we know what it takes to maintain and encourage healthy fiscal responsibility – while continually looking to the future.
Much of our plan for the future lies in our headquarters at the Tarr & Wonson Paint Manufactory. We see this site as becoming a key component of Ocean Alliance’s long-term financial strategy. We purchased the site in 2008 and have invested close to five million dollars into its restoration and operation as an ocean conservation and innovation center. The site already constitures a source of income for Ocean Alliance – when it is completed it will provide us with a significant source of sustainable income for many years to come – through rented space, docking fees, and event fees.
Our Chief Financial Officer, who has been with Ocean Alliance for over 30 years, is vital in ensuring that we remain fiscally disciplined. His extensive experience helps us navigate both prosperous and challenging years, ensuring that we are always well-positioned to fulfill our mission, support our team, and meet our financial obligations.
Our board is actively engaged in holding us accountable to the highest standards. Our Treasurer, a former Chairman of the Board of Ocean Alliance, brings a wealth of experience in overseeing the organization’s financial and operational strategies, ensuring we stay on track with our goals.
2. Transparency & Accountability
To ensure our utmost commitment to financial accountability, we make all of our key financial documents available online. In addition to Form 990, we also publish our annual Financial Statements and Audit on our website. These documents reflect our board and leadership’s unwavering dedication to maintaining full accountability to our supporters.
3. Mission Effectiveness
The efficiency, flexibility, and adaptability that come with being a lean and efficient organization have been pivotal to our success. This is typified by our recent successes developing drone-based tools for studying and protecting whales. Our ability to rapidly develop innovative tools has set us apart from larger organizations that have struggled to implement similar initiatives.
We also recognize that some people might not naturally gravitate toward whale conservation. We believe it is our responsibility to communicate the simple scientific truth: whales are vital to the health of the ocean, the planet, and ultimately – to humanity. Our planet’s complex web of life is interconnected, and the decline of whale populations directly impacts the health of the oceans and the entire planet. Without whales, Earth becomes less hospitable to all forms of life, including humans.