Maryland · Public charity
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
The NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION is a leading voice for u.s. Protected waters, working with communities to conserve and expand those special places for a healthy ocean, coasts, and great lakes. Working together, we safeguard species and the places they call home, and preserve america's maritime resources.
- $6.0M
- Granted FY2024(still arriving)
- 61
- Itemized grants FY2024
- 61
- Organizations funded FY2023
- 61%
- First-time grantees FY2023
- Itemized, FY2024
- $5.6M
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2024
- $40,000
- Largest grant, FY2024
- $719,437
- Organizations funded a year
- 30 to 61
- FY2017 to FY2023
- States reached, FY2024
- 25
- Total assets, FY2024
- $15M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2023, 61% of the organizations National Marine Sanctuary Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 50% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 50% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.4M went to new ones.
RenewedFirst-time
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
EnvironmentEducationAnimalsArts & CultureScience & TechPhilanthropyOther
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.
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024still arriving | 60 | $5.6M | 52% |
| FY2023 | 61 | $6.9M | 61% |
| FY2022 | 44 | $4.2M | 48% |
| FY2021 | 30 | $1.9M | 40% |
| FY2020 | 32 | $1.8M | 56% |
| FY2019 | 41 | $1.7M | 54% |
| FY2018 | 31 | $2.0M | 65% |
| FY2017 | 56 | $2.1M | n/a |
100% classified
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Environment$15MAnimals$3.9MScience & Tech$3.1MEducation$2.6MArts & Culture$765kFood & Nutrition$536kCommunity Improvement$484kYouth Development$270kOther$0
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
AK
ME
WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
SD
OH
PA
CT
RI
CA
UT
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
SC
DC
HI
LA
MS
AL
GA
TX
FL
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mote Marine Laboratory Inc | $2,881,771 | 4 | 2% |
| The Coral Restoration Foundation Inc | $2,078,196 | 4 | 17% |
| Gulf of Maine Research Institute | $2,064,860 | 8 | 4% |
| Ocean Exploration Trust Inc | $1,527,758 | 4 | 8% |
| Mississippi Aquarium | $780,998 | 2 | 6% |
| University of Hawaii System | $714,312 | 7 | n/a |
| Lehigh University | $686,205 | 2 | 0% |
| Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education | $583,565 | 2 | 0% |
| Kakoo Oiwi | $572,335 | 3 | 33% |
| The University of the Virgin Islands | $549,455 | 2 | 0% |
Show all 208 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mote Marine Laboratory Inc | $2,881,771 | 4 | 2% |
| The Coral Restoration Foundation Inc | $2,078,196 | 4 | 17% |
| Gulf of Maine Research Institute | $2,064,860 | 8 | 4% |
| Ocean Exploration Trust Inc | $1,527,758 | 4 | 8% |
| Mississippi Aquarium | $780,998 | 2 | 6% |
| University of Hawaii System | $714,312 | 7 | n/a |
| Lehigh University | $686,205 | 2 | 0% |
| Temple University - Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education | $583,565 | 2 | 0% |
| Kakoo Oiwi | $572,335 | 3 | 33% |
| The University of the Virgin Islands | $549,455 | 2 | 0% |
| Audubon Nature Institute Inc | $521,100 | 3 | 1% |
| Reef Renewal USA Inc | $505,271 | 2 | 40% |
| Moody Gardens Inc | $423,875 | 2 | 0% |
| Seafood Nutrition Partnership | $410,000 | 6 | 39% |
| Lyza Johnston Dba Johnston Applied Marine Sciences | $392,258 | 2 | n/a |
| West Virginia University Foundation Inc | $383,719 | 4 | 0% |
| The University of Guam | $379,401 | 2 | n/a |
| The Ocean Foundation | $361,467 | 8 | 2% |
| The Florida Aquarium Inc | $350,633 | 2 | 1% |
| State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources | $344,918 | 2 | n/a |
| The Pew Charitable Trusts | $340,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Sea Research Foundation Inc | $276,344 | 7 | 0% |
| Paepae O He'Eia | $271,887 | 2 | 24% |
| Center for Coastal Studies Inc | $252,097 | 4 | 5% |
| Duke University | $229,251 | 4 | 0% |
| Guam Coral Reef Initiative | $226,358 | 1 | n/a |
| National Park Trust Inc | $223,400 | 2 | 3% |
| City of Key West | $220,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Keaukaha Panaewa Community Alliance | $195,673 | 2 | 64% |
| Oregon State University | $192,080 | 2 | n/a |
| Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands | $190,580 | 1 | n/a |
| Secore International Inc | $173,935 | 2 | 5% |
| Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement | $169,576 | 1 | 0% |
| Mit Sea Grant | $162,184 | 2 | n/a |
| Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science Inc | $152,424 | 1 | 1% |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | $151,453 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Maryland College Park | $143,927 | 3 | n/a |
| The College of the Florida Keys | $143,753 | 3 | n/a |
| University Corporation at Monterey Bay | $141,693 | 1 | 0% |
| Sustainable Ocean and Reefs Inc | $132,708 | 1 | n/a |
| Florida International University | $124,795 | 2 | n/a |
| Sea Studios Foundation | $116,426 | 1 | n/a |
| Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary | $110,735 | 4 | 15% |
| Regional Science Consortium at Presque I | $100,000 | 1 | 15% |
| Texas A&M Univ at Galveston | $97,290 | 1 | n/a |
| Kupu | $94,898 | 3 | 1% |
| California Marine Sanctuary Foundation | $91,700 | 3 | 3% |
| Wingate University | $90,085 | 1 | 0% |
| Smithsonian Institution | $87,154 | 2 | 0% |
| Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | $82,859 | 1 | 0% |
| Florida State University | $81,507 | 1 | n/a |
| Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute | $80,379 | 1 | 7% |
| Quinault Indian Nation | $80,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Greater Farallones Association | $79,214 | 3 | 3% |
| University of Georgia | $77,662 | 1 | n/a |
| Center for Cultural & Technical Interchange Btwn East & West Inc | $76,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Boy Scouts of America | $75,955 | 2 | 0% |
| Bishop Museum | $75,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Ocean Discovery Institute | $75,000 | 2 | 2% |
| University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc | $74,683 | 1 | 0% |
| Aquarium of the Pacific Corporation | $74,105 | 3 | 0% |
| California State University Channel Islands | $65,934 | 1 | n/a |
| Shedd Aquarium Society | $65,537 | 2 | 0% |
| Cal Poly Corporation | $63,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Museum Foundation of Pacific Grove Inc | $61,105 | 2 | 4% |
| Healthy Aquatics Marine Institute of Florida Inc | $60,360 | 1 | 6% |
| The Marine Mammal Center | $59,250 | 3 | 0% |
| University of Oregon | $58,904 | 1 | n/a |
| Turtle Island Restoration Network | $52,368 | 2 | 1% |
| Regents of the University of California at San Diego | $50,507 | 3 | n/a |
| Feiro Marine Life Center | $50,000 | 1 | 13% |
| Whale Trail | $50,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit | $50,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Gulf of Maine Marine Education Association | $50,000 | 5 | 4% |
| Edadvance | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Point Reyes Bird Observatory | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Mpt Foundation Inc | $50,000 | 1 | 1% |
| American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums Inc | $50,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Quileute Tribe | $50,000 | 2 | n/a |
| University of Florida | $49,798 | 1 | n/a |
| US Naval Academy Foundation Inc | $47,964 | 2 | 0% |
| South Carolina Aquarium | $47,582 | 5 | 0% |
| Icare Corporation | $47,472 | 1 | 18% |
| University of Connecticut | $46,560 | 1 | n/a |
| Oregon Museum of Science and Industry | $46,266 | 3 | 0% |
| The Artist Boat Inc | $44,853 | 2 | 1% |
| Consolidated Safety Services Incorporated | $44,737 | 1 | n/a |
| Alpena County Library Makerspace | $44,247 | 3 | n/a |
| MERITO Foundation Inc FKA MutliCultural Education for Reso | $44,000 | 1 | 22% |
| Boxerwood Education Association | $42,940 | 1 | 11% |
| Regents of the University of California | $42,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Skidmore College | $41,262 | 1 | 0% |
| Black in Marine Science | $40,376 | 2 | 2% |
| Malama Honua Public Charter School Foundation | $40,000 | 1 | 11% |
| City of Capitola | $40,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District | $39,258 | 1 | n/a |
| Georgia Aquarium Inc & Subsidiary | $39,100 | 2 | 0% |
| New England Aquarium Corporation | $38,700 | 2 | 0% |
| University of Dallas | $37,390 | 1 | 0% |
| Materevolve | $36,950 | 3 | n/a |
| Inland Seas Education Association | $35,614 | 1 | 2% |
| The Marion Institute Inc | $35,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Gulf Reach Institute | $34,045 | 1 | 20% |
| University of Wisconsin Madison | $33,965 | 1 | n/a |
| Udall Foundation National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution | $33,805 | 1 | n/a |
| The Mariners' Museum | $33,000 | 2 | 0% |
| University of Miami | $32,497 | 2 | 0% |
| Detroit Zoological Society | $32,102 | 1 | 0% |
| Environmental Science Center | $31,972 | 2 | 10% |
| National Aquarium Inc | $31,045 | 3 | 0% |
| Wisconsin Maritime Museum Inc | $31,000 | 2 | 2% |
| Malama Kai Foundation | $28,800 | 1 | 36% |
| Salmonid Restoration Federation Inc | $28,750 | 1 | 8% |
| University of South Florida | $28,200 | 1 | n/a |
| Chesapeake Conservancy Inc | $27,000 | 2 | 0% |
| The Living Planet Inc | $26,130 | 2 | 0% |
| Regents of the University of California at Berkeley | $25,986 | 1 | n/a |
| Galveston Bay Foundation Inc | $25,799 | 1 | 0% |
| Mississippi State University | $25,096 | 1 | n/a |
| Na Maka Onaona | $25,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Pacific Northwest College of Art | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation | $25,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Potomac Riverkeeper Network | $25,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Horizon Educational Services of Columbusinc | $25,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Edmunds Central School District | $24,992 | 1 | n/a |
| The Research Foundation for The State University of New York | $24,432 | 1 | 0% |
| Ocean Discovery League Inc | $23,100 | 1 | 16% |
| Texas State Aquarium Association | $22,902 | 2 | 0% |
| Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation | $22,500 | 1 | 2% |
| Living Classrooms Foundation | $22,069 | 1 | 0% |
| Lake Superior Center | $21,887 | 3 | 0% |
| Haskell Foundation | $21,480 | 1 | 2% |
| Ecoexploratorio Inc | $21,450 | 3 | 1% |
| Save the Bay Inc | $20,483 | 1 | n/a |
| Marine Science Institute | $20,084 | 1 | 1% |
| Marine Technology Society Inc | $20,053 | 2 | 0% |
| Makah Indian Tribe | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Westside Atlanta Charter School Inc | $20,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Minorities in Shark Sciences Inc | $20,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Pier Aquarium Inc | $20,000 | 1 | 8% |
| Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust | $20,000 | 1 | 4% |
| Salem Sound 2000 Inc | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Mate Inspiration for Innovation | $20,000 | 2 | 4% |
| Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laborator | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sc Sea Grant Consortium | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Applied Education Foundation | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Hoh Indian Tribe | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Reef Check Foundation | $20,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Friends of Deckers Creek Inc | $20,000 | 1 | 5% |
| Centro Criollo de Ciencias y Technologia | $20,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Re Sources | $20,000 | 1 | 1% |
| The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast Inc | $20,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Alameda City Unified School District | $19,985 | 1 | n/a |
| Mid Michigan College | $19,855 | 1 | n/a |
| Purple Maia Foundation | $19,800 | 1 | 0% |
| Savannah State University | $19,766 | 1 | n/a |
| New York State Marine Education Association | $19,750 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Delaware | $19,740 | 1 | 0% |
| Usf Research Foundation Inc | $18,300 | 2 | 0% |
| Grass Roots Garbage Gang | $18,000 | 3 | n/a |
| Whale and Dolphin Conservationinc | $17,998 | 1 | 2% |
| College of Charleston Foundation | $17,320 | 1 | 0% |
| FL Fish & Wildlife Conservation | $17,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium | $16,247 | 2 | 0% |
| Killer Whale Tales | $16,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Winston Salem Forsyth County Schools | $16,000 | 1 | n/a |
| International Ocean Film Foundation Inc | $15,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Helix Science LLC | $15,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Inc | $15,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Butler County Schools | $14,821 | 1 | n/a |
| Dauphin Island Sea Lab | $14,100 | 1 | n/a |
| The Institute of Diving Dba Man in the Sea Museum | $14,000 | 1 | n/a |
| University of North Carolina at Wilmington - College of Health & Human Serv | $13,408 | 1 | n/a |
| Coastal Interpretive Center | $13,000 | 1 | 8% |
| Pacific Whale Foundation | $12,459 | 2 | 0% |
| Gordon Research Conferences Inc | $12,000 | 1 | 0% |
| East Tennessee Historical Society Inc | $12,000 | 1 | n/a |
| New Mexico Wildlife Federation | $12,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Huliauapaa | $12,000 | 1 | 14% |
| Keco Pump & Equipment | $10,233 | 1 | n/a |
| Career Communications Group | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Hjr Reefscaping | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sea to Shore Alliance | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| National Marine Educators Association | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Lake Placid Olympic Museum | $10,000 | 1 | 26% |
| Iup Research Institute | $9,618 | 1 | 0% |
| Marine Life Studies | $9,200 | 1 | 3% |
| University of Hawaii at Monoa | $9,150 | 1 | n/a |
| GullahGeechee Legacy LLC | $7,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Everett Community College | $7,500 | 1 | n/a |
| The Elizabeth River Project | $7,493 | 1 | 0% |
| Queens College Foundation Inc | $7,470 | 1 | 0% |
| University of Maryland Eastern Shore National Alumni Association | $7,200 | 1 | 9% |
| Sea Turtle Inc | $7,040 | 1 | 0% |
| Resilience Education Training and Innovation Center Limited | $7,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Rhode Island Marine Trade Association | $6,947 | 1 | 1% |
| Pacific Coastal Research & Planning | $6,752 | 1 | n/a |
| Charleston County Public Library | $6,400 | 1 | n/a |
| New Mexico Biopark Society Inc | $6,024 | 1 | 0% |
| The Surfrider Foundation | $6,000 | 1 | 0% |
| State Historical Society of Wisconsin | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Regents of the University of California at Riverside | $6,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition | $5,995 | 1 | 1% |
| Solve | $5,988 | 1 | n/a |
| Mystic River Watershed Association Inc | $5,860 | 1 | 0% |
| San Diego Bird Alliance | $5,657 | 1 | 0% |
| Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation | $5,100 | 1 | n/a |
Plus 9 recipients with no EIN on record ($157k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 6 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 131 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 131.
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 Wildlife FoundationDC48.3× affinity38 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →
Open a dossier: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Resources Legacy Fund · Patagoniaorg · American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums Inc · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · Trustees of the Estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop Dba Kamehameha Schools · North American Association for Environmental Educa · Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement · University of Miami · Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida I
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.
Compare National Marine Sanctuary Foundation with peer funders
About National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
- How much does National Marine Sanctuary Foundation give?
- National Marine Sanctuary Foundation reported 61 itemized grants totaling $5,641,465, out of $6,014,467 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 30 and 61 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
- What does National Marine Sanctuary Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Environment (55%), Animals (14%), Science & Tech (11%).
- Who are National Marine Sanctuary Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: Mote Marine Laboratory Inc ($2.9M), The Coral Restoration Foundation Inc ($2.1M), Gulf of Maine Research Institute ($2.1M).
- Does National Marine Sanctuary Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2023, 61% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as National Marine Sanctuary Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The Schmidt Family Foundation.
- Where is National Marine Sanctuary Foundation based?
- National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is based in MD.
Play a game based on National Marine Sanctuary’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