Grantmakers › District of Columbia
The Ocean Foundation
Washington, DC · EIN 71-0863908. Reported 108 grants totalling $4,211,410 to 80 organizations across tax years 2021-2024, on Form 990 Schedule I.
Does this grantmaker accept applications?
Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.
Three things in the filing do bear on it:
- What kind of organization it is. For The Ocean Foundation, by its IRS classification it raises and distributes funds for environment (NTEE C12).
- How spread out its giving is. 80 distinct organizations, with 12% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
- How much its list changes. 36% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is below the 56% median for grantmaking charities, and well below the 67% median for private foundations. It describes the organizations it already funds, not whether it would consider a new one.
How big are its grants?
The median reported grant is $20,550. Half of what it reported fell between $12,500 and $45,294; the smallest was $5,670 and the largest $302,700. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brick City Tv LLC | New York, NY | $497,636 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Conservacion Conciencia | San Juan | $489,502 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University | Stanford, CA | $248,765 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Playa Viva LLC | San Mateo, CA | $185,544 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Marine Debris Foundation | Washington, DC | $170,692 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Secore International Inc | Canton, OH | $150,069 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Oregon | Eugene, OR | $124,740 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Deep Green Wilderness | Seattle, WA | $124,500 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Coastal Coordination Program LLC | Bodega Bay, CA | $120,645 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| UC Santa Barbara Foundation | Santa Barbara, CA | $119,528 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | Woods Hole, MA | $100,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Race to Zero Films LLC | West Palm Beach, FL | $91,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Oregon State University-Research Office | Corvallis, OR | $82,189 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance Inc | Washington, DC | $75,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Anchor Coalition Inc | Arlington, VA | $64,760 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| The Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust Inc | Vieques, PR | $62,736 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| World Wide Wallace LLC | Hanalei, HI | $59,850 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Havenworth Coastal Conserv | Palmetto, FL | $52,816 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Earth Echo International Inc | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| L S U Foundation | Baton Rouge, LA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Netcentric Campaigns Inc | Washington, DC | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Parliamentarians for Global Action | New York, NY | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Trustees of Reservations | Boston, MA | $50,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Ecolibrium Inc | Boulder, CO | $49,950 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Don Hanson Foundation Inc | Atlanta, GA | $45,728 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Smithsonian Institute | Washington, DC | $42,783 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National Marine Sanctuary Foundation | Silver Spring, MD | $41,935 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Sustainable Travel Interntl | Seattle, WA | $40,302 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| International Indigenous Fund for Development and Solidarity Batani | Yarmouth, ME | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| University of Guam Endowment Foundation Inc | Mangilao, GU | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Pew Charitable Trusts | Washington, DC | $31,141 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Aleli Environmental | Lajas, PR | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| National Academy of Sciences | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Story of Stuff Project | Berkeley, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Wildcoast | Del Mar, CA | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Surfrider Foundation | San Clemente, CA | $29,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hawaii Marine Mammal Alliance Inc | Kailua, HI | $26,215 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Clean Water Fund | Washington, DC | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hawaii Local 2030 Hub | Honolulu, HI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Heal the Bay | Santa Monica, CA | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Only One Inc | New York, NY | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Smelts Sea Mammal Education Learning Training Society | Sedro Woolley, WA | $25,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Student-Led Sustainable Initiatives Inc | Dover, NH | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Protect Maines Fishing Heritage Foundation | Portland, ME | $24,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Algalita Marine Research and Education | Long Beach, CA | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies | Homer, AK | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation Inc | Gainesville, FL | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation | Lewiston, ME | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Mariana Islands Nature Alliance | Saipan, MP | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| North Pacific Wildlife Consulting | Seattle, WA | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Remote Ecologist Inc | Darien, CT | $18,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Marin Link Inc | San Rafael, CA | $17,518 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Univ of Hawaii | Honolulu, HI | $17,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Council on Sustainable Fashion and Design of Grenada | Brooklyn, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Coolant Climate Inc | San Francisco, CA | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ecodeo LLC | New York, NY | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| One Eleuthera Foundation | Clemson, SC | $15,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Fundacao Pro Tamar | New York, NY | $14,750 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| The Whale Lagoon Film LLC | Alexandria, VA | $13,697 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Marine Conservation Biology Institute | Glen Ellen, CA | $13,350 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Padi Aware Foundation | Rcho Sta Marg, CA | $13,300 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Florida State University Research Foundation Inc | Tallahassee, FL | $13,175 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Natural Resources Defense Council Inc | New York, NY | $12,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville, NC | $12,395 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Attagene Inc | Morrisville, NC | $12,240 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Agricultural Research Foundation | Corvallis, OR | $12,042 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of North Carolina Atwilmington | Wilmington, NC | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Auburn University Foundation | Auburn, AL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Int'l Center for Dialogue & Peacebuilding | Bloomington, MN | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| North American Association for Environmental Education | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| President and Fellows of Harvard College | Cambridge, MA | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Miami | Coral Gables, FL | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of Alaska | Fairbanks, AK | $9,797 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Restore Americas Estuaries | Washington, DC | $9,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| University of South Alabama | Mobile, AL | $9,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ocean Ecology Network Inc | San Diego, CA | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ocean County Vocational Technical School | Stafford Township, NJ | $7,500 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Save the Bay Inc | Providence, RI | $6,850 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Sawfish Conservation Society Inc | Bradenton, FL | $6,600 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Univ Pr Mayaguez Campus | Mayaguez | $5,670 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
17 of 80 (21%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.
- Secore
supp. Of community based coastal remediation in the insular caribbean - University of Oregon
utilize new & existing data - Vieques Conservation
support habitat restoration - Earthecho International
Suppoty the "High Seas Youth Fellowship" - Parliamentarians for Global Action
to support PGA campaign project - The Trustees of Reservations
Great Marsh Blue Feasibility Study
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 52 of 80 recipients we could match to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's, not ours -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants reported | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | $675,413 | $22,166 |
| 2022 | 22 | $1,013,472 | $16,825 |
| 2023 | 40 | $1,655,532 | $25,000 |
| 2024 | 24 | $866,993 | $20,250 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.
Where its money goes
24% of its giving went to organizations in California. Community foundations and federated funds are usually the most geographically bounded funders there are -- being outside the footprint is normally disqualifying in a way that a weak programme fit is not.
Down to the city
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Funders that support the same organizations
These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this grantmaker
- Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
- Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $20,550 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in California.
- Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.
Related guides
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from The Ocean Foundation's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Recipient classifications, the concentration and retention figures and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations from them, described in how we build this.
On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 23 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 1 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.
Address of record on the latest return: 1320 19TH Street Nw Suite 401, Washington, DC, 20036.
EIN 71-0863908 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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