New England Aquarium Corporation

“The organization has members but does not have stockholders. Membership at the aquarium provides limited benefits such as unlimited visitation to our exhibits and discounts at the cafe, gift shop and simons theater for a period of 1 year. Membership is a means of providing much needed financial support to the organization and exposing people to our mission. However, membership does not provide entitlements or rights such as electing individuals to the governing body, any influence in establishing policies, procedures or managerial actions or an ownership stake.”

“The form 990 is prepared and reviewed by independent public accountants with information provided by new england aquarium's finance department. Once the document is considered ready for review, copies (excluding schedule b) are distributed to the members of the audit committee of the board of trustees prior to a previously scheduled meeting to review it. Schedule b is not included for review in order to respect donor confidentiality as requested by several donors. In addition to the form 990, a summary of key elements contained in the form 990 is distributed to facilitate the review. A copy of form 990-t is also provided. During the meeting, the tax professional from the organization's public accounting firm and management leads the committee through the summary document, pausing to address questions and facilitate discussion as necessary. Minutes of the meeting are prepared and retained as a record. Any changes resulting from the review are incorporated in the form 990 and the committee chair distributes that document (excluding schedule b, which is redacted to honor the request for confidentiality of several donors) to the full board of trustees with his/her comments before it is filed. The full board is typically given a week to ten days to comment prior to it being filed with the irs.”

“The new england aquarium conflict-of-interest policy was distributed to all board of trustees members and key employees through a docusign link in the first quarter of 2024.”

“The chair of the board of trustees appoints a compensation committee on an annual basis to review and make recommendations to the board of trustees regarding base compensation and any bonus opportunity for the ceo of the new england aquarium. The compensation committee conducts an annual review and provides a memo to the board of trustees outlining the process and criteria used to assess the ceo's performance and the data used to determine compensation. The committee then recommends ceo compensation (base salary and bonus opportunity) to the board of trustees (or the executive committee acting on behalf of the board) for final review and approval during the executive session of the board's spring meeting. The board of trustees also reviews and approves any major changes to benefit plans applicable to the ceo.”

“The organization makes its governing documents including its conflict of interest policy, and its financial statements, available to the public by requesting them in writing or in person to new england aquarium, 1 central wharf, boston, ma 02110. The form 990 is available on www.guidestar.com and the massachusetts attorney general's website as well.”

“Loss on valuation of pension liability -433,612. Net change in beneficial trust 141,829.”