South Carolina Aquarium

“The draft form 990 is emailed to all board of directors members after management has completed their review. The board is provided a reasonable time to review and comment on the form 990. Upon completion of this comment period, management issues the form 990 with the internal revenue service.”

“As part of new board member orientation, the aquarium briefs the member regarding its conflict of interest policy. The organization is transparent in its transactions and seeks to avoid such transactions if possible with officers, directors, key employees and related family members. The board chair discusses the policy annually with all members and provides”

“Compensation for the ceo is reviewed and set by the executive committee and approved by the human capital committee of the board of directors and the board of directors.”

“Conpensation for officers and other key employees is set by the executive committee and approved by the human capital committee of the board of directors and the board of directors.”

“Governing documents, policies, and financial statements are available upon request.”

“Our volunteer force is made up of 350+ diverse, enthusiastic individuals. We offer many different opportunities for volunteers, including our anchor volunteer program for applicants 18 or older and various student programs, like internships and job shadow days. Anchor volunteers may engage with our guests in education or work behind the scenes in husbandry. Volunteering is an opportunity to join a community of individuals that are passionate about conservation, education and hospitality. Our volunteers enjoy a rewarding experience and many benefits. Benefits recognition and award pins for service aquarium membership and complimentary tickets at certain milestones field trips and ongoing educational opportunities social gatherings and recognition events at the aquarium opportunity to be a part of the behind-the-scenes operations requirements volunteers must be at least 18 years of age to participate in the anchor volunteer program. Students and/or individuals under 18. All volunteers must attend a mandatory orientation and various trainings. Volunteers who are 18 or older must pass a background check and pay a refundable deposit. Commitment we ask our volunteers to commit to at least one year. Generally, volunteers must be able to work at least one shift every week. Shift days and times vary.”

“Maintain animals for the exhibits that are displayed in the aquarium facilities. Currently the aquarium holds 4,660 specimens of animals within 268 species. During the past year we distributed nearly 40,000 pounds of seafood to our animals. The aquarium completed its new sea turtle care center and zucker family sea turtle recovery center, a state-of-the-art on our main floor so that every guest can observe the care and rehabilitation and education related to these threatened and endangered species; and increased our capacity to care for more sea turtles and educating moreguests on sea turtle conservation. Our seven new tanks in the zucker family sea turtle recovery center enables the sea turtle care center to double it capacity to care for sick and injued sea turtles.”

“Seafood and our sea turtle care center which has rehabilitated over 200 sea turtles and positioned itself to be a worldwide leader in sea turtle rehabilitation.”

“Husbandry: husbandry program services are designed to continuously collect and maintain animals for the exhibits that are displayed in the aquarium facilities. Currently the aquarium holds 4,660 specimens of animals within 268 species. During the past year we distributed nearly 40,000 pounds of seafood to our animals. The aquarium completed its new sea turtle care center and zucker family sea turtle recovery center, a state-of-the-art on our main floor so that every guest can observe the care and rehabilitation and education related to these threatened and endangered species; and increased our capacity to care for more sea turtles and educating moreguests on sea turtle conservation. Our seven new tanks in the zucker family sea turtle recovery center enables the sea turtle care center to double it capacity to care for sick and injued sea turtles. Education: over the years, the education program has served more than one million students with educational programming and enriched the careers of more than five thousand teachers. The sca serves as a complementary science education institution providing hands-on learning opportunities for students of all ages. Themed interpretive programs are presented daily by the staff, and are informative and fun for all visitors. The aquarium has developed a standards-based structured school program that allows k-12 students to participate in hands-on activities to reinforce the standards- based concepts introduced in the classroom. Conservation: the aquarium is uniquely positioned to educate and inspire the public to conserve and protect south carolina's rich and vast biodiversity, and its vulnerable species and their vanishing habitat. The aquarium has established a position of director of conservation to lead our ever- expanding influence on conservation efforts in the region. Our sea turtle care center rehabilitates sick and injured sea turtles, educates the public about conservation of endangered and threatened sea turtles, and has released nearly 250 rehabilitated sea turtles since its inception in 2000. During 2017, the sca opened zucker family sea turtle recovery that creates a revolutionary learning landscape that awakens passion amoung every guest. The mcnair center for sea turtle conservation and research has lauched a world-class research program, makng the sca an eminent destination for innovative animal care in our region. The sca is working to reduce the negative impact of plastics on our environment by continuing to explore and promote ways to minimize the use of single-use plastics. Our breaking down plastic conference included 535 participants at a daylong event convening top authorities in policy, advocacy, and inovation to discuss methods for tackling plastic pollution. The sca completed a project wiht mdi biological laboratory to create the south carolina aquarium citizen science app to log pieces of trash cleaned up and logged in the litter-free journal. 137 thousand pieces of trash were logged. We reached over 700 people at five coastal town hall meetings from myrtle beach to savannah addessing the impact of rising sea levels. Membership development: membership development includes all activities to develop relationships with prosective members, administration of the membership program and production of the member experience.”

“BAD DEBT EXPENSE -43,700”