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Schmidt Ocean Institute at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

Schmidt Ocean Institute

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$707k
Granted FY2024still arriving
19
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$180k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$1.0MArts & Culture$1.0MScience & Tech$739kEducation$712kInternational$180kHealth$2k
02FY2024 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k10 grants · $44k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $84k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $580k
$6,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$109M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Regents of the University of California$180,000
University of South Florida Foundation Inc$100,000
Marine Technology Society Inc$100,000
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research$99,831
Nautilus Think Inc$50,000
Marine Technology Society Inc$50,000
MONGABAYORG CORPORATION$35,000
Fundacion TBA21$34,000
World Ocean Observatory$15,000
Marine Technology Society Inc$6,000
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers$5,000
Gordon Research Conferences$5,000
Escuela Rural San Miguel Conimo$5,000
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers$5,000
Smithsonian Institution$5,000
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.

US giving: 70% of grant dollars ($2.6M). The need read here covers only this US portion; the 30% that went abroad ($1.1M) is mapped below.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 96% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $41k → 11%MONGABAYORG CORPORATION: $35k → 7%The Regents of the University of California: $180k → 10%THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA: $90k → 11%MATE INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION: $50k → 12%REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA CRUZ: $140k → 13%FRIENDS OF THE CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: $5k → 9%Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers: $5k → 17%CONSORTIUM FOR OCEAN LEADERSHIP: $213k → 14%University of South Florida Foundation Inc: $100k → 13%UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND: $59k → 7%Gordon Research Conferences: $5k → 7%UNIVERSITY CORPORATION FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH: $112k → 12%MAP THE GAPS: $5k → 9%Escuela Rural San Miguel Conimo: $5k → 9%Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: $5k → 9%WORLD OCEAN OBSERVATORY: $50k → 11%THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA: $90k → 10%THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA: $90k → 11%MATE INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION: $50k → 12%INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS: $5k → 17%CONSORTIUM FOR OCEAN LEADERSHIP: $150k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $100k → 13%University Corporation for Atmospheric Research: $100k → 12%WORLD OCEAN OBSERVATORY: $19k → 11%MATE INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION: $50k → 12%Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers: $5k → 17%Marine Technology Society Inc: $100k → 14%UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $82k → 13%WORLD OCEAN OBSERVATORY: $15k → 11%NAUTILUSTHINK INC: $50k → 17%Marine Technology Society Inc: $50k → 14%World Ocean Observatory: $15k → 11%NAUTILUS THINK INC: $50k → 17%CONSORTIUM FOR OCEAN LEADERSHIP: $10k → 14%WORLD OCEAN OBSERVATORY: $12k → 11%NAUTILUSTHINK INC: $50k → 17%Marine Technology Society Inc: $6k → 14%Nautilus Think Inc: $50k → 17%MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY: $6k → 14%SUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $5k → 17%MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY INC: $6k → 14%KING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATION: $150k → 17%MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY INC: $6k → 14%KING BAUDOUIN FOUNDATION: $30k → 17%MARINE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY INC: $6k → 14%NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $40k → 14%Smithsonian Institution: $5k → 14%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

ME
WA
NY
NV
OH
PA
RI
CA
CO
MD
DC
HI
FL

Beyond the US: 30% of all-years giving ($1.1M)

8 countries, by the recipient’s country on the filing.

grant dollars sentlessmore
Italy$978k · 1 grant
Australia$50k · 1 grant
Spain$34k · 1 grant
Portugal$20k · 1 grant
France$10k · 2 grants
Chile$5k · 1 grant
Puerto Rico$5k · 1 grant
Germany$2k · 1 grant
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. International giving is mapped by the recipient’s country from the same 990 filings; comparable need data isn’t available at that grain.
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 6% of Schmidt Ocean Institute’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Schmidt Ocean Institutelessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 30% 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.

58%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.1M · 10 repeat orgs$1.5M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +29% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 10 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
16

Total granted

$2.1M
$1.4M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+29%
+22%

Still filing today

80%
38%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $107k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Science & TechEnvironmentEducationArts & CultureHealthSocial ScienceOther
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

  • University of South Florida Foundation Inc
    3× · 2022–2024 · $282k · revenue +32%
  • NI
    NAUTILUSTHINK INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $200k · revenue +29%
  • MT
    Marine Technology Society Inc
    5× · 2020–2024 · $180k · revenue +172%

Funded once

  • CN
    CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE
    one grant, 2022 · $978k
  • RO
    REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    one grant, 2021 · $140k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
    one grant, 2023 · $59k
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
Schmidt Ocean Institute
Science & Tech
2
The Coral Reef and Marine Science Foundation Inc C/O James Bildner
—
3
The Oceanography Society

The Oceanography Societys mission is to build the capacity of its diverse global membership; catalyze interdisciplinary ocean research, technology, policy, and education; and promote equitable access to opportunities for all.

—
4
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
5
Global Foundation for Oceanographic & Atmospheric Research Inc
Philanthropy
6
Ocean Genome Atlas Project

The Ocean Genome Atlas Project OGAP aims to collect, classify, sequence and map the genomic information of organisms representing at least 80 of the extant marine species worldwide. Deploying a fleet of advanced but cost effective research…

Science & Tech
7
Earth & Space Research

Increase societal understanding of the earth system through scientific research and education.

Science & Tech
8
Unavco Inc

Unavco, a non-profit university-governed consortium, facilitates geoscience research and education using geodesy.

—
9
Earthscope Consortium

Facilitating geophysical research and education, promoting free and open exchange of geophysical data and knowledge, fostering cooperation to advance geophysical reseach and conveying its benefits to all of humanity.

Public Safety & Disaster
10
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
11
American Astronomical Society

The american astronomical society (aas), established in 1899, is the major organization of professional astronomers in north america. the basic objective of the aas is to promote the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of…

Science & Tech
12
The Genetics Society of America in

Gsa serves an international community of scientists who use genetics to make new discoveries and improve lives. we advance biological research by supporting professional development of scientists, by communicating advances and fostering…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Mongabay Org Corp; the most unlike its peers is Consortium for Ocean Leadership. 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

23 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. 23 of the 37 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/23
Grantees still filing
13/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE: $978,122 · OtherCONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEThe Regents of the University of California: $450,000 · OtherThe Regents of the University of CaliforniaCONSORTIUM FOR OCEAN LEADERSHIP: $372,503 · OtherCONSORTIUM FOR OCEAN LEADERSHIPMATE INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION: $150,000 · OtherMATE INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATIONREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA: $140,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA+11 more: $199,258 · Other+11 moreUNIVERSITY CORPORATION FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH: $212,015 · Science & TechUNIVERSITY CO…Marine Technology Society Inc: $180,000 · Science & TechMarine Techno…NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $40,000 · Science & TechNATIONAL ACAD…+4 more: $18,500 · Science & TechUniversity of South Florida Foundation Inc: $282,225 · EducationUniversity o…UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $90,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY O…LEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $40,689 · EducationLEHIGH UNIVE…+1 more: $4,000 · EducationNAUTILUSTHINK INC: $200,000 · Arts & Culture+1 more: $5,000 · Arts & CultureMYRIAD USA INC: $180,000 · InternationalWORLD OCEAN OBSERVATORY: $110,978 · EnvironmentMONGABAY ORG CORP: $35,000 · Environment+3 more: $10,500 · EnvironmentSOCIETY FOR IN VITRO BIOLOGY: $3,000 · Social ScienceDRI RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,000 · Health
Other$2,289,883Science & Tech$450,515Education$416,914Arts & Culture$205,000International$180,000Environment$156,478Social Science$3,000Health$2,000

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 budgetCONSORTIUM FOR OCEAN LEADERSHIP: $372,503 over 3y, 4.4% of budgetUniversity of South Florida Foundation Inc: $282,225 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY CORPORATION FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH: $212,015 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNAUTILUSTHINK INC: $200,000 over 4y, 10% of budgetMYRIAD USA INC: $180,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMarine Technology Society Inc: $180,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetMATE INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION: $150,000 over 3y, 8.2% of budgetWORLD OCEAN OBSERVATORY: $110,978 over 4y, 27% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $90,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLEHIGH UNIVERSITY: $40,689 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: $40,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMONGABAY ORG CORP: $35,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMap the Gaps: $7,500 over 2y, 1.0% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSUSTAINABLE MARKETS FOUNDATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetENVISION EXCELLENCE IN STEM EDUCATION INC: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSOCIETY FOR IN VITRO BIOLOGY: $3,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetDRI RESEARCH FOUNDATION: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGeochemical Society: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetIOOS Association: $500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

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.

Gordon E and Betty I …Gates FoundationNational Philanthropi…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Gordon E and Betty I Moore FoundationCA17.2× affinity6 shared granteesties to 5 of 5Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gordon E and Betty I Moore Foundation · Gates Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile 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 Schmidt Ocean Institute funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Schmidt Ocean Institute. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 20%
  • Society for in Vitro Biology: 20% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
3report 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 Schmidt Ocean Institute?

Find your warmest path to Schmidt Ocean Institute 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 37 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-PF 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 Schmidt Ocean Institute’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