Cousteau Society (Dissolved)
732 Eden Way North
Suite E, #707
Chesapeake, VA 23320-2798
Dedicated to the protection & improvement of the quality of life for present & future generations. Educational activities directed towards members, classrooms & the general public promote environmental awareness leading to sound decisions to protect & manage the world's natural resources.
CharityWatch currently has concerns about this organization and/or is unable to provide complete rating information due to the organization's nondisclosure of financial information. Please see the Analysts' Notes section for a more detailed explanation.
CharityWatch is unable to provide a range of Top Three Salaries for this charity for the above fiscal reporting year because we lack complete salary data for the organization. Except for officers, directors, and trustees, the IRS does not require breakouts of salaries totaling less than $100,000.
For example, XYZ charity would be required to provide a breakout in its tax form of compensation to its president of $55,000, but would not be required to provide a breakout of $99,000 in compensation to its top medical researcher if that person is not also an officer, director, or trustee of the organization.
This charity reports that compensation to its officers, directors, and trustees is under $100,000 per individual. Donors who would like to view limited salary data for this organization should refer to its tax form, which may be available on the charity's web site or from a number of third-party sources. See CharityWatch's Links page for information on obtaining copies of charity tax forms.
According to the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Tax Exempt Organization Search database, the Cousteau Society's tax-exempt status was revoked on May 15th, 2023 due to failure to file "a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years." As of September 4th, 2024 the database does not reflect that the Cousteau Society's tax-exempt status has been reinstated. The most recent IRS tax Form 990 available on the IRS site or in ProPublica's online database is for the charity's fiscal year ended December 31st, 2019. Though the charity reports in its 2019 tax filing that its financial statements were "audited by an independent accountant," CharityWatch has been unable to locate such an audit in online public databases. According to its 2019 IRS Form 990 tax filing, the charity reports raising total revenue of $4,188,264 that year and incurring total expenses of $1,447,314. It reported total net assets or fund balances of $9,783,488 as of December 31st, 2019, of which $2,775,752 consisted of "Cash - non-interest-bearing," $10,615 consisted of net "Pledges and grants receivable," $6,470,451 consisted of "Land, buildings, and equipment," and $3,678,502 consisted of "Other assets." CharityWatch contacted Cousteau Society via U.S. mail on December 7th, 2021 requesting copies of its fiscal year ended 2019 and 2020 IRS tax Forms 990 and audited financial statements. As of September 5th, 2024, the Society has not responded to our request. In February of 2024 CharityWatch filed a Form 4506-A, Request for a Copy of Exempt or Political Organization IRS Form, with the IRS. Our reason for the request was stated as follows: "CharityWatch provides in-depth evaluations of charities' financial reporting to help donors make informed giving decisions. We are seeking a copy of this charity's fiscal 2022 990 to understand if it is complying with IRS reporting & disclosure rules and is still tax exempt." As of September 5th, 2024, CharityWatch has not yet received a response from the IRS. Because CharityWatch has been unable to obtain copies of the Cousteau Society's audits or tax filings past its 2019 fiscal year, it is unclear what happened to the nearly $10 million in cash and other assets cited above. |
As previously reported by CharityWatch, according to The Cousteau Society audit of December 31, 2018 (Note 5, Foreign VAT Payable): "During 2014 an administrative court in France rendered a judgment against the Society in the amount of $557,945 related to VAT [Value Added Tax] liabilities. During the year ended December 31, 2016 the Society suspended its efforts to contest the judgment and began making payments in satisfaction of the liability. The remaining unpaid balance at December 31, 2018 and 2017 was $252,888 and $310,196, respectively. Because the taxes stem from costs incurred in restoring the Calypso vessel, the entire amount was included in construction in progress in the accompanying [audited] statement of net assets." |
As previously reported by CharityWatch, according to The Cousteau Society audit of December 31, 2018 (Note 2, Transactions with Officers and Related Organizations, Related organizations): "The Society shares certain expenses with Equipe Cousteau and Cousteau Divers, two French nonprofit organizations under common management..." At December 31, 2018, Cousteau Society owed $111,648 to Equipe Cousteau and $20,268 to Cousteau Divers. |
According to The Cousteau Society 2019 tax filing, the Society reports re: the existence of family or business relationships among officers, directors, trustees, or key employees (IRS Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 2): "Francine Cousteau, President, and Michael Garin, Director[,] are married. Diane Cousteau, Director, is the daughter of Francine Cousteau, President. Pierre Yves Cousteau, Director, is the son of Francine Cousteau, President" (IRS Form 990, Schedule O). As previously reported by CharityWatch, according to The Cousteau Society audit of December 31, 2018 (Note 2, Transactions with Officers and Related Organizations, Officers): "During his lifetime, Jacques Y. Cousteau made interest-free loans to the Society to support the production of films. The amount due the Estate of Jacques Y. Cousteau was $2,568,388 at December 31, 2018 and 2017 and does not bear interest. The estate is still in probate and repayment terms have not yet been established. "During 2009 the Society's board set the annual salary of its president at $200,000. Due to its financial condition the Society has not paid the entire balance of this salary each year. At December 31, 2018 and 2017 the balance of unpaid salary was $53,032... The total amount due to officers, including the unpaid salaries, was $186,338 at December 31, 2018 and 2017." |