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Gulf of Mexico Alliance at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Gulf of Mexico Alliance

The alliance's mission is to promote the protection, restoration, enhancement, understanding, awareness and wise use of the natural resources of the gulf of america through aligned and cooperative efforts involving research, planning, management, information and resource sharing and public education.

$1.7M
Granted FY2024still arriving
20
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$291k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$49MPublic Safety & Disaster$559kHousing & Shelter$62kInternational$28kAnimals$10k
02FY2024 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k1 grant · $7k
  • $10k–50k10 grants · $275k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $856k
  • $250k+2 grants · $560k
$44,036
Median grant
7
States reached
$10M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE WATER INSTITUTE$291,147
MOREHOUSE SWCD$269,333
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY$201,504
GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION$130,231
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES$126,361
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY$124,939
FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION$122,691
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC$98,775
CNL WORLD$51,130
TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE RESEARCH$44,036
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY - CORPUS CHRISTI$40,303
THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM INC$30,507
GALVESTON BAY FOUNDATION$29,948
INSTITUTE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT$28,382
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI$28,320
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: $334k → 11%HAMLINE UNIVERSITY: $125k → 14%NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $99k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $179k → 14%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $909k → 22%NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY INC: $267k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: $2.6M → 15%FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: $1.1M → 19%UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $1.0M → 27%GULF STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION: $130k → 16%MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES: $126k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: $3.3M → 22%MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY: $202k → 24%NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY: $294k → 17%THE WATER INSTITUTE: $291k → 19%MOREHOUSE SWCD: $269k → 27%UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: $471k → 11%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $284k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS: $155k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $647k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $643k → 22%UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: $720k → 13%NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY INC: $183k → 13%FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: $635k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $537k → 27%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: $2.3M → 22%NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY: $248k → 17%THE WATER INSTITUTE OF THE GULF: $192k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: $465k → 11%JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $278k → 19%UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $591k → 16%TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $184k → 22%FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: $342k → 19%DAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LAB: $1.8M → 19%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: $1.5M → 22%TULANE UNIVERSITY: $1.8M → 23%UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: $508k → 13%FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION: $123k → 19%DAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LAB-MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES: $432k → 19%TULANE UNIVERSITY: $1.4M → 23%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: $849k → 13%DAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LAB: $195k → 19%TULANE UNIVERSITY: $383k → 23%UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: $225k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: $860k → 13%LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: $2.6M → 19%LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: $1.7M → 19%LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: $906k → 19%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
MT
MN
NY
MA
CA
NE
VA
MD
AZ
SC
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 61% of Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 16% of the giving stays in MS; by stated purpose, 1%.

Gulf of Mexico Alliancelessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 95% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$49M · 49 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

49 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2024, 38 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

49
15

Total granted

$49M
$313k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+72%
+99%

Still filing today

41%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $795k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentEducationAnimalsScience & TechPublic BenefitHousing & ShelterOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • UO
    University of Miami
    3× · 2017–2019 · $5.2M · revenue +96%
  • The Rand Corporation
    3× · 2017–2019 · $3.8M · revenue +34%
  • TA
    THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND
    3× · 2017–2019 · $3.6M · revenue +72%

Funded once

  • AC
    ARANSAS COUNTY
    one grant, 2019 · $45k
  • BE
    Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $41k · revenue +77%
  • BH
    BACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS
    one grant, 2023 · $40k · revenue -15%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
The Coral Reef and Marine Science Foundation Inc C/O James Bildner
—
2
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
3
Ocean Research and Educational
Science & Tech
4
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program Inc

Coastal bend bays & estuaries program is dedicated to protecting and restoring bays and estuaries of the texas coastal bend. coastal bend bays and estuaries remain a vital part of the environmental and economic landscape by preserving and…

Environment
5
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
6
Mote Marine Laboratory Inc

The advancement of marine and environmental sciences through scientific research, education and public outreach, leading new discoveries, revitalization and sustainability of our oceans and greater public understanding of our marine…

—
7
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
8
Schmidt Ocean Institute
Science & Tech
9
Marine Science Institute

The institutes mission is to cultivate a responsibility for the natural environment and our human communities through interdisciplinary science education.

—
10
San Francisco Estuary Institute

Provide scientific support and tools for decision making and communication through collaborative efforts.

Environment
11
Coastal Conservation & Research

Provide scientific, environmental research and education for environmental conservation, preservation, restoration, recycling, and environmental planning

Environment
12
Ocean First Institute

The mission of Ocean First Institute is ocean conservation through research and education. We work to deepen the natural connection between people and the ocean. We educate and empower people to understand the ocean is our life support…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Coastal Conservation Association; the most unlike its peers is Texas Sealife Center. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

31 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 31 of the 74 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
30/31
Grantees still filing
25/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: $7,146,048 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPILOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: $5,315,221 · OtherLOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTE: $2,625,505 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTEFLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: $2,078,825 · OtherFLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITYDAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LAB: $1,985,570 · OtherDAUPHIN ISLAND SEA LABUNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: $1,782,472 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDATEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY: $1,736,760 · OtherTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: $1,451,895 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: $1,238,138 · Other+38 more: $6,276,449 · Other+38 moreUniversity of Miami: $5,197,509 · EducationUniversity of MiamiTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $3,607,056 · EducationTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE T…University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc: $1,565,495 · EducationUniversity of Georgia Resea…ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $626,097 · EducationJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $561,870 · EducationNova Southeastern University Inc: $449,619 · Education+2 more: $134,939 · EducationThe Rand Corporation: $3,807,148 · Public BenefitTHE WATER INSTITUTE OF THE GULF: $528,002 · EnvironmentGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $185,173 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $135,110 · EnvironmentPONTCHARTRAIN CONSERVANCY: $119,392 · EnvironmentNatureServe: $92,872 · EnvironmentCNL WORLD: $51,130 · EnvironmentCOALITION TO RESTORE COASTAL LOUISIANA: $45,000 · EnvironmentMobile Baykeeper Inc: $44,220 · Environment+4 more: $98,561 · EnvironmentMARINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES CONSORTIUM: $606,589 · Science & TechInwater Research Group Inc: $74,054 · Science & TechThe Florida Aquarium Inc: $47,036 · AnimalsGULF COAST BIRD OBSERVATORY INC: $10,000 · AnimalsTEXAS SEALIFE CENTER: $9,840 · AnimalsSMART HOME AMERICA INC: $62,079 · Housing & Shelter
Other$31,636,883Education$12,142,585Public Benefit$3,807,148Environment$1,299,460Science & Tech$680,643Animals$66,876Housing & Shelter$62,079

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUniversity of Miami: $5,197,509 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Rand Corporation: $3,807,148 over 3y, 0.8% of budgetTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $3,607,056 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Georgia Research Foundation Inc: $1,565,495 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $626,097 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMARINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES CONSORTIUM: $606,589 over 4y, 3.3% of budgetJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: $561,870 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE WATER INSTITUTE OF THE GULF: $528,002 over 3y, 1.7% of budgetNova Southeastern University Inc: $449,619 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGalveston Bay Foundation Inc: $185,173 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $135,110 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE HAMLINE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: $124,939 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFLORIDA HOUSING COALITION INC: $122,691 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetPONTCHARTRAIN CONSERVANCY: $119,392 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetNatureServe: $92,872 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetInwater Research Group Inc: $74,054 over 2y, 6.7% of budgetSMART HOME AMERICA INC: $62,079 over 2y, 19% of budgetINSTITUTE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN EMERGENCY MGMT INC: $48,382 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $47,246 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetThe Florida Aquarium Inc: $47,036 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOALITION TO RESTORE COASTAL LOUISIANA: $45,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetMobile Baykeeper Inc: $44,220 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetBarataria-Terrebonne Estuary Foundation: $40,772 over 1y, 22% of budgetBACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS: $39,881 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetGULF REACH INSTITUTE: $27,004 over 1y, 16% of budgetLimitless Vistas Inc: $10,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetGULF COAST BIRD OBSERVATORY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetTEXAS SEALIFE CENTER: $9,840 over 1y, 11% of budgetCOASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: $9,346 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetThe Matagorda Bay Foundation: $8,562 over 1y, 12% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds University of Miami ↗
  • Who funds The Rand Corporation ↗
  • Who funds THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND ↗
  • Who funds University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES CONSORTIUM ↗
  • Who funds JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE WATER INSTITUTE OF THE GULF ↗
  • Who funds Nova Southeastern University Inc ↗
  • Who funds Galveston Bay Foundation Inc ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE HAMLINE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds FLORIDA HOUSING COALITION INC ↗
  • Who funds PONTCHARTRAIN CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds NatureServe ↗
  • Who funds Inwater Research Group Inc ↗
  • Who funds SMART HOME AMERICA INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

National Fish and Wil…National Academy of S…National Marine Sanct…The Administrators of…National Collegiate A…The Greater New Orlea…The Nature ConservancyFoundation for Louisi…University of MiamiShell USA Company Fou…Folds of Honor Founda…Greater Houston Commu…
National Fish and Wildlife FoundationDC36.4× affinity19 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · National Academy of Sciences · National Marine Sanctuary Foundation · The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund · National Collegiate Athletic Association · The Greater New Orleans Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · Foundation for Louisiana · University of Miami · Shell USA Company Foundation · Folds of Honor Foundation · Greater Houston Community Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Gulf of Mexico Alliance funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Gulf of Mexico Alliance. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 5%
  • Johns Hopkins University: 12% of income from government
  • University of Miami: 5% of income from government
  • Nova Southeastern University Inc: 2% of income from government
  • The Florida Aquarium Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Gulf of Mexico Alliance?

Find your warmest path to Gulf of Mexico Alliance through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 74 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home