Nonprofit · EIN 84-1827384
OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC
Tax-exempt · SAUNDERSTOWN, RI 02874
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | 990 | $815,470 | $701,371 | $114,099 | $1,153,042 | $444,492 | $708,550 |
| December 31, 2024 | 990 | $1,054,957 | $1,519,819 | -$464,862 | $779,526 | $185,075 | $594,451 |
| December 31, 2023 | 990 | $1,833,953 | $1,332,441 | $501,512 | $1,278,133 | $218,820 | $1,059,313 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $663,759
- Program service revenue
- $128,821
- Investment income
- $22,890
- Other revenue
- $0
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $0
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $146,120
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $158,675
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Legal fees
- $325
- Accounting fees
- $15,500
- Travel
- $9,950
- Depreciation
- $5,310
- Program services (functional)
- $590,445
- Management and general (functional)
- $95,474
- Fundraising (functional)
- $15,452
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $779,526
- Total assets, end of year
- $1,153,042
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $444,492
- Net assets, end of year
- $708,550
- Land, buildings and equipment
- $10,160
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $708,550
- Gross receipts
- $815,470
- Employees
- 1
- Year formed
- 2019
- State of legal domicile
- RI
From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.
Officers, directors and key employees
As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | Other / benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine Croff Bell | President Officer | 40 | $122,620 | $23,500 |
| Susan Poulton | Secretary Officer | 40 | $120,000 | $0 |
| Craig McLean | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Rafael Anta | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Terry Garcia | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Peter Girguis | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Ellen Blix | Chair Officer | 2 | $0 | $0 |
| Roderick MacLeod | Treasurer Officer | 2 | $0 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2024: 8 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine Croff Bell | President Officer | 40 | $144,615 |
| Susan Poulton | Secretary Officer | 40 | $119,095 |
| Martin Klein | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Rafael Anta | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Terry Garcia | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Peter Girguis | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| Ellen Blix | Chair Officer | 2 | $0 |
| Roderick MacLeod | Treasurer Officer | 2 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2023: 6 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | From related orgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine Croff Bell | President Officer | 40 | $89,308 | $40,000 |
| Susan Poulton | Sec-Treasurer Officer | 40 | $97,000 | $0 |
| Martin Klein | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Rafael Anta | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Peter Girguis | Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Ellen Blix | Chair Officer | 2 | $0 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- PO BOX 182, SAUNDERSTOWN, RI 02874-0182
- Mailing address (990-N for 2020)
- PO Box 182, Saunderstown RI 02874
- Principal officer (990-N for 2020)
- Katherine Bell, 43 Champlin Road, Saunderstown RI 02874
- Signed the 990
- Katherine Croff Bell, President
- Website
- www.oceandiscoveryleague.org
- Return prepared by
- Ward Fisher & Company LLP
Mission
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.
Program accomplishments
- 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.Expenses $152,977
- 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.Expenses $138,045
- 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.Expenses $136,541
- 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.Expenses $93,318
- 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.Expenses $42,907
- 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.Expenses $26,657
What it must file and when
IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | May 15, 2026 | 990 on file |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | May 15, 2025 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | May 15, 2024 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 84-1827384
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (509(a)(2))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 2021
- Accounting year ends
- December
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Science and technology (U21)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $1,153,042
- Income (IRS master file)
- $815,470
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | December 2025 | $815,470 | $701,371 | $1,153,042 | IRS |
| 990 | December 2024 | $1,054,957 | $1,519,819 | $779,526 | IRS |
| 990 | December 2023 | $1,833,953 | $1,332,441 | $1,278,133 | XML |
| 990 | December 2022 | $142,126 | $498,043 | $592,962 | IRS |
| 990 | December 2021 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990-N for 2020 Officer: Katherine Bell | December 31, 2020 | ≤ $50,000 receipts | – | – | e-Postcard |
990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 84-1827384).
Questions about OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC
- What is the EIN of OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC is 84-1827384.
- Is OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2021.
- Are donations to OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC file?
- Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.
- When is the next return of OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC due?
- The return for tax year 2026 (the year ending December 31, 2026) is due May 17, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC?
- The 990-N for 2020 names Katherine Bell.
- Who are the officers and directors of OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 lists 8 people; 2 received compensation from the organization, the highest $122,620 (Katherine Croff Bell, President).
- How much revenue does OCEAN DISCOVERY LEAGUE INC have?
- On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $815,470, expenses of $701,371 and total assets of $1,153,042 at year end.
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