Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation

“Trustees Julie Packard and Susan Orr are sisters. Christopher Scholin, a Trustee, is the CEO of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute ("MBARI"), of which Julie Packard and Susan Orr are Board members.”

“The Form 990 is prepared by Grant Thornton LLP based on audited financial statements and with the assistance of the Aquarium's finance and accounting staff. The final draft of the Form 990 is reviewed by the CFO. Upon acceptance of the draft by the CFO, the Form 990 is delivered to the Board of Trustees in advance of their next meeting and prior to filing.”

“The Aquarium regularly and consistently monitors and enforces compliance with its conflict of interest policies. Trustees and Officers Conflict of Interest ("COI") Policy -- The Executive Director's office assures that all disclosures forms (and mitigation plans, if applicable) have been received by January 31 of each year from all trustees and officers, prepares a summary of disclosures, and forwards the completed forms and the summary to the Aquarium's Conflicts Review Panel, consisting of the Executive Director, Legal Counsel, V. P. - Human Resources, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Trustees and officers also acknowledge receipt and understanding of the Aquarium's COI Policy in conjunction with providing the annual disclosures. Following review by the Panel, the Panel's findings and the disclosures are provided to the Board's Audit Committee, which reviews the disclosures and makes a report to the Board at its March Board meeting. Both the Panel and the Audit Committee annually evaluate the effectiveness of the process. The CFO assures appropriate reporting to the external auditors and tax filings preparer. Trustees and officers have a continuing duty to make additional disclosures throughout the year if warranted. Employees Code of Ethical Conduct Policy ("Code") -- The V. P. Human Resources forwards the Code, which includes a section on conflicts of interest, to all managers in early January each year, and assures that each manager respond that they have read it and are in compliance by January 31. Managers are also required to disclose any interests which could give rise to conflict, and to assure that any staff in their areas with interests which could give rise to conflict has done the same. Disclosures (and mitigation plans, if applicable) are reviewed by the Executive Director, V. P. Human Resources and CFO by March. This team also evaluates the effectiveness of the process. The CFO assures appropriate reporting to the external auditors and tax filings preparer. Employees have a continuing duty to make additional disclosures throughout the year if warranted.”

“The Board of Trustees maintains a performance evaluation process for the Chief Executive Officer, referred to as the Executive Director, who is a member of the Board. The Board's Executive Compensation Committee, comprised of independent directors, reviews the CEO's performance with input from the other Board members, and recommends the compensation of the CEO to the Board. The Committee obtains and reviews market survey data from several independent organizations (in 2013 this was five national and regional firms, including one custom survey) containing data for comparable positions at comparable organizations. The Committee provides the performance review and comparable salary information to the Board and recommends the CEO's compensation. Based upon the performance review and comparable salary information, the independent members of the Board determine that the compensation is fair, just and reasonable and then approves total compensation for the CEO. The Board delegates to the Executive Compensation Committee the performance review and compensation approval of the CFO, who is not a member of the Board, and any other Officers or senior staff who are highly compensated. Based upon the performance review and comparable salary information, the Committee determines that the compensation is fair, just and reasonable and approves total compensation for the CFO and all other Officers and highly compensated senior staff. In each case, the review and approval is contemporaneously documented in the minutes of the Committee and the Board, respectively.”

“The Aquarium makes its audited financial statements and Form 990 for the most recent three years available to the public by posting on its website. The conflicts of interest policy and governing documents are provided upon request within two business days.”

“The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans. In 2013 we welcomed nearly 2 million visitors - our fourth highest attendance ever - as we opened a remodeled sea otter exhibit and a new restaurant and cafe. We contributed in more ways than ever to shaping a future with healthy oceans through innovative exhibits, expanded education programs, new discoveries in ocean conservation science and a bold new plan to accelerate the impact of our market-based seafood initiatives and ocean conservation work.”

“Marine life exhibition and care costs of $28,304,589 include the cost of operating and maintaining the Aquarium's living exhibit galleries. Great exhibits begin with incredible animals. We reopened the popular Sea Otter exhibit in April after an extensive remodel that began in fall 2012. Our five resident sea otters - Kit, Ivy, Abby, Rosa and Gidget - came to us as rescued animals and are no longer able to survive in the wild. They serve two important roles - as engaging ambassadors for their wild counterparts and as working moms and companions who play key roles in sea otter recovery efforts. New interactive videos at the remodeled exhibit show how these surrogate moms and Aquarium sea otter staff care for stranded otter pups and injured adults behind the scenes. The addition of touchable bronze models helps illustrate the varied diet of southern sea otters, while the updated "Sea Otter Family Album" offers photographs and short biographies of all five members of our resident sea otter family. New high-definition video monitors offer more viewing opportunities during sea otter feeding and training sessions. Interpreters help visitors spot wild otters in Monterey Bay off the Aquarium's back deck at a new Otter Spotter station, using binoculars, telescopes and a radio tracking device to find and observe the sea otters being monitored by the our field research team. We welcomed a new member into our penguin flock in August with the hatching of Maq, an African blackfooted penguin chick. She is the fourth chick to hatch in our penguin colony in Splash Zone; all members of the colony are part of a species survival plan for recovery of this threatened species coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Our Husbandry team used its expertise and imagination to bring to life our next special exhibition, in preparation for an April 2014 opening of Tentacles: The Astounding Lives of Octopuses, Squid and Cuttlefishes. In 2013 the team succeeded in breeding and raising the flamboyant cuttlefish and bigfin reef squid in preparation for Tentacles, which offers the largest collection of cephalopods anywhere in the world. Our team even used everyday objects, like soda bottles as egg bubblers, to help raise generations of these delicate and dramatic animals.”

“Education and Outreach costs of $10,897,660 include the cost of education programs for both teachers and students, Aquarium Adventures programs to deepen guest experiences, and the Cooking for Solutions event that promotes sustainable seafood practices. With a long-term goal to create a generation of young adults who are inspired, ocean-literate and ready to act on the ocean's behalf, our programs for young people continued to grow, and show tangible results. We continue to deepen our investment in young people through programs like our long-term partnership with high schools in the diverse community of Pajaro Valley. Teens there graduate with a strong science background, environmental values and self-confidence that will shape their, and our, future. In September we received $150,000 for our Teen Conservation Leaders program from the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services, which we matched with $235,000 donated to our Children's Education Fund. Through the program, 150 teens a year get hands-on service opportunities as they learn science content and practice leadership skills. Our Watsonville Area Teens Conserving Habitats program earned significant achievement honors from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for its contributions to building audience diversity. The program serves high school students in the predominantly Hispanic farmworker communities of the Pajaro Valley - building their connection to science and conservation, and putting many on a path to college. We offer scholarships to those students who graduate, further encouraging them to pursue college studies. Our programs for educators extend our reach even further, giving teachers new tools to bring ecosystem-based science into their classrooms. In addition to weekend workshops and summer institutes, we again hosted our Ocean Plastic Pollution Summit - engaging teachers and students in learning and outreach activities about this significant threat to ocean health. Our long-term support for middle school science teachers is paying big dividends. As teachers gain skills through our Project Based Science Institute, they tell us they have new confidence and excitement as they work with students in their classrooms. That's because we make them comfortable with new technology, and connect them with experts and other teachers from whom they can draw ideas and inspiration. Looking ahead, we crafted an ambitious long-term vision for our education programs that will dramatically increase the impact we have on the over 80,000 students we host for free school group visits each year. This vision includes expanding our services for teachers, with the goal to energize and equip California educators to successfully meet today's science education needs. Throughout 2013 we reached thousands of visitors through customized Aquarium Adventures programs, ranging from behind-the-scenes tours - including a new tour about jellies - and overnight sleepovers to educational scuba adventures. These programs provide enriching experiences for visitors as well as cherished memories. In July we launched our first iPhone app to help visitors plan their day and share it with family and friends. Its postcard feature lets users create e-postcards with custom messages they write or with whimsical, pre-written captions for social sharing. The app includes a library of beautiful professional images for the e-postcards. Guests can also create the postcards from images they shoot during their visit. Our active and responsive presence on social media platforms allows visitors to remain connected with us, and us with them, once they leave the aquarium. Our followers once again more than tripled in number in 2013, and we ended the year with 1,848,299 followers across all social media platforms and properties, especially Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and a Spanish-language Facebook page called Tu Monterey Bay Aquarium. We're considered one of the social med”

“Conservation and Science costs of $5,497,275 represent expenses for marine policy and advocacy efforts, the Seafood Watch program, and field research. The Aquarium's Seafood Watch program works to broaden awareness of the connection between seafood choices and ocean health as it helps consumers and businesses choose seafood that supports environmentally responsible fishing and fish farming practices through pocket guides, website, mobile applications and outreach efforts. Seafood Watch has always considered accurate and up-to-date science to be at the core of its work and essential to its credibility. Its scientific rigor and collaborations with respected external experts are central to the successes that have made Seafood Watch the most recognized sustainable seafood resource in the U.S. In 2013, we clearly saw the results of improvements in U.S. fisheries management enacted in recent years. Today, Seafood Watch rates 95 percent of U.S. fisheries we assess as a "Best Choice" or "Good Alternative" - meaning more good options for seafood lovers. For the first time in June, Seafood Watch rated a number of independent eco-certification standards for wild and farmed seafood as equivalent to at least its own yellow rankings, and recommended that consumers, chefs and businesses treat seafood assessed under those standards as carrying a Seafood Watch "buy" recommendation. Eleven eco-certification standards - some species-group specific, others that apply to a broad suite of seafood - were found to be equivalent in their sustainability criteria to the standards used by Seafood Watch in its own respected science reports. Seafood Watch continues to be a leading example of successful markets-based approaches to achieve positive environmental change. Today, more than 100,000 business locations in North America rely on Seafood Watch science to inform their purchasing practices. With our collaborators, we're driving global business change in how seafood is farmed and fished. One major new direction in 2013: Our partnership with Mars Petcare U.S., which now purchases ocean-friendly seafood for its SHEBA Entres for Cats. In December, our Seafood Watch team convened 20 culinary leaders from across the country to discuss how to best inspire consumers and businesses to make ocean-friendly seafood choices. The chefs are carrying the message to customers and peers nationwide. Our conservation and science work with ocean wildlife is at the heart of all that we do. In 2013 we welcomed new leadership for our conservation and science programs, and saw continued success for our policy initiatives. In particular, legislation we sponsored to end the shark fin trade in California went fully into effect in July 2013, and is being replicated across the country. The status of key marine species - sea otters, white sharks and Pacific bluefin tuna - reflects the underlying health of ocean ecosystems. Similarly, the status of endangered shorebirds like snowy plovers reflects how people interact with critical coastal habitats. We and our colleagues both rescue and study wildlife to help threatened populations recover and to advance scientific understanding of species so important to the future of our ocean planet. We and our university colleagues tagged an additional 25 great white sharks in California waters in 2013. Tag data deepens our understanding of white shark migration patterns in order to help wildlife managers better design conservation strategies to address the threats these highly migratory fishes face. In November we hosted more than 200 experts from 24 countries to share information and research on the conservation and care of sharks, skates and rays at the 2nd International Elasmobranch Husbandry Symposium. With research colleagues, we launched a three-year study of sea otters in the wetlands of Elkhorn Slough. Our goal is to understand how otters are faring in an estuary habitat and the impact they're having on the ecosystem. We hope the project”

“Other program services of $14,268,821 represent the costs of activities to provide a high-quality experience for the nearly 2 million people who visited the Aquarium in 2013. Included in this category are costs for marketing, guest services, membership services, as well as costs associated with foodservices and retail. Marketing includes costs associated with the creation, production, and placement of advertising in various media for the purpose of building awareness about the opportunity to connect with marine life and ocean conservation through an Aquarium visit. (An allocation of marketing costs is included in management and general expenses to represent the costs associated with soliciting admission revenue.) In April 2013 we opened Cindy's Waterfront, our new restaurant with award-winning culinary partner, Chef Cindy Pawlcyn, who also transformed the menu and look of our self-serve cafe. The beautifully redesigned spaces offer great dining and spectacular ocean views. Aquarium visitors can enjoy Pawlcyn's inspired seasonal dishes and farm-to-table cuisine, and seafood dishes meet the Aquarium's Seafood Watch guidelines. We expanded our Free to Learn and Shelf to Shore programs, making it easier for special needs communities and people from low-income households to visit the Aquarium at no cost. Including these programs and free admission provided to visiting school groups, nearly 240,000 visitors attended the Aquarium free of charge in 2013. As California's demographics change, we continue to attract and inspire visitors who reflect the changing face of the state. In 2013, 25 percent of all our Aquarium visitors were Hispanic-a 70 percent increase since 2009. More important than the numbers, Hispanic visitors tell us that they come away "strongly inspired" by their experience to help conserve the oceans. Membership households totaled 66,449 as of December 31, 2013 and membership visits exceeded 450,000 in 2013. In addition to the essential processing and customer service functions, membership services hosts 10 member events each year including sleepovers, a Halloween dance party and holiday wine tasting event. Aquarium members also receive Shorelines, the Aquarium's member magazine. Membership services include other efforts to serve, retain and communicate with members about our conservation mission. Our overall outreach wouldn't have the impact it does without the dedication of our many volunteers who help connect with visitors, clean exhibits, feed animals and make countless other connections that further our mission in compelling and very personal ways. We renamed our Volunteer Resources department to Volunteer Engagement to reflect the highly interactive duties of this dedicated group. More than 1,231 individuals volunteered at the Aquarium in 2013. Collectively, they served more than 13,900 hours every month, for a total of over 167,000 hours for the year.”