Oceanographic Research & Exploration Foundation
Westport, CT 06880 · IRS data through FY2024
Revenue, expenses and net assets
Revenue Expenses Net assets
| Tax year | Revenue | Expenses | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | $33,475,838 | $44,330,644 | $180,417,556 |
| FY2023 | $31,057,090 | $38,267,548 | $191,272,362 |
| FY2022 | $31,428,615 | $35,625,551 | $198,482,820 |
| FY2021 | $27,525,774 | $30,574,112 | $202,679,756 |
| FY2020 | $14,102,035 | $20,218,484 | $205,728,094 |
| FY2019 | $211,468,949 | $2,350,013 | $211,844,543 |
| FY2018 | $410,699 | $342,580 | $68,119 |
Form 990 filings
The returns filed by Oceanographic Research & Exploration Foundation (EIN 83-0757695), including Form 990 PDFs and e-file data by year, are available in ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. The figures on this page come from IRS data files built from those returns.
Where the revenue came from
| Source | Amount | % of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Contributions & grants | $27,432,225 | 82% |
| Program service revenue | $4,202,475 | 13% |
| Other revenue | $1,841,138 | 5% |
Where the money was spent
| Category | Amount | % of expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Program services | $43,259,907 | 98% |
| Management & general | $1,070,737 | 2% |
| Fundraising | $0 | 0% |
What the numbers show
- Contributions & grants made up 82% of total revenue in FY2024.
- Program services accounted for 98% of functional expenses, management & general 2%, and fundraising 0%.
- 98% of functional expenses went to program services in FY2024. That is higher than 94.2% of 171 Science & Technology organizations nationwide (too few in CT for a state comparison).
- Net assets covered about 48.8 months of expenses at the end of the reporting year. That puts it in the 79th percentile among 24 Science & Technology organizations in CT.
- Total revenue was the highest among 24 Science & Technology organizations in CT.
- Total revenue rose from $410,699 in FY2018 to $33,475,838 in FY2024. Revenue increased in 4 and decreased in 2 of 6 year-over-year comparisons.
- Expenses exceeded revenue in 5 of 7 reported years (FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, FY2024).
- The highest revenue on record here is $211,468,949 in FY2019.
- Net assets grew from $68,119 to $180,417,556 between FY2018 and FY2024.
- Contributions and grants made up 0% of revenue in FY2018 and 82% in FY2024.
Figures compared against other organizations of the same NTEE program area in the same state. See the methodology page for how these are calculated and the guide to reading nonprofit financials for their limits.
About this organization
THROUGH A SERIES OF INTEGRATED PROGRAMS, OREF 1) SUPPORTS AND CONDUCTS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION OF THE EARTH'S OCEANS WITH A WORLD CLASS RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION SHIP AND PACKAGE OF EQUIPMENT, ENABLING SUCH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION AND 2) CREATES AND DISTRIBUTES MEDIA AND
IRS status
| Ruling year | 2019 |
| Subsection | 501(c)(4) |
| Program area (NTEE) | U21 — Science & Technology |
Source: Internal Revenue Service — Exempt Organizations Business Master File (downloaded November 4, 2026), Statistics of Income extracts, Form 990 e-file data, Publication 78 and the Automatic Revocation list. Figures are as reported by the organization; IRS processing may adjust them. This is not a charity rating and not tax advice. Confirm deductibility in IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
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