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Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue

Explore protect the ocean by advancing public awareness of the oceans importance as Earths life support system, furthering scientific knowledge of ocean systems igniting public support for a network of MPAs--Hope Spots--Mission Blue aims to save and restore the ocean.

$848k
Granted FY2024still arriving
6
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$185k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through 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, FY2022 to 2024.

Environment$261kHealth$185kAnimals$87kArts & Culture$20kEducation$20k
02FY2024 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 6 grants below total $299,573, the rows itemized in this filing. The $847,766 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $548,193 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k5 grants · $115k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $185k
$24,581
Median grant
4
States reached
$3.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Wildpath$185,000
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel$30,000
Migramar$24,581
Northern Chumash Tribal Council$20,000
The Kohala Center Inc$20,000
The Florida Int'l University Board of Trustees$19,992
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 (FY22–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 81% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%THE SOCIETY FOR MARINE MAMMALOGY: $25k → 8%Migramar: $25k → 9%Innoceana: $18k → 11%Northern Chumash Tribal Council: $20k → 14%The Kohala Center Inc: $20k → 15%The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel: $30k → 17%SeaLegacy Foundation Inc: $125k → 11%Wildpath: $185k → 13%Mother of Coral: $18k → 12%Seattle Aquarium Society: $50k → 9%Migramar: $7k → 9%Marina Megafauna Foundation: $30k → 11%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.

Grants abroad, by region: $495k on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 6 regions, $463k to organizations and $32k to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

South America$162k · 33% · 7 grants · 2 people

Stated purpose: General support · Support a strong MPA in the sea of Peru · Grant

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$156k · 32% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: Support seagrass program · General support

Sub-Saharan Africa$76k · 15% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: Kelp initiative grant · General support · Support Diving, Education Art Program

East Asia and the Pacific$61k · 12% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: General support

Central America and the Caribbean$20k · 4% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: General support

South Asia$20k · 4% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: Sustain the Verde Island Passage

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its 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 Alliance Project

Protecting and promoting the marine biodiversity of Hawai'i through coral restoration, ecological monitoring, regenerative tourism, and cultural integration

Science & Tech
4
Schmidt Ocean Institute
Science & Tech
5
National Marine Mammal Foundation Inc

The nmmf's mission is to improve and protect life for marine mammals, humans, and our shared oceans through science, service, and education. our vision is to be the leading laboratory in marine mammal science, where critical questions…

Animals
6
Marine Science Institute

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

—
7
Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute

To inspire lifelong environmental stewardship and to ensure the survival of coral reefs and sea turtles in hawaii through science-based conservation efforts, education and outreach.

Environment
8
Sociedad Ambiente Marino

Environmental and water protection and education

Education
9
Oceanic Society Expeditions

Our mission is to conserve marine wildlife and habitats by deepening the connections between people and nature.

—
10
Ocean Research and Educational
Science & Tech
11
Global Foundation for Oceanographic & Atmospheric Research Inc
Philanthropy
12
OneReef Worldwide Stewardship

OneReefs mission is to ensure healthy ocean ecosystems and thriving coastal communities across the Pacific.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Migramar; the most unlike its peers is Mother of Corals. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

11 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. 11 of the 12 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
4/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Wildpath LLC: $185,000 · OtherWildpath LLCSeaLegacy Foundation Inc: $125,000 · OtherSeaLegacy Foundation IncTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE IN ISRAEL INC: $30,000 · OtherTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE IN ISRAEL INCINNOCEANA: $18,000 · OtherTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $50,000 · AnimalsTHE SEATTLE AQUA…MIGRAMAR: $31,581 · AnimalsMIGRAMARTHE KOHALA CENTER: $20,000 · EnvironmentMOTHER OF CORALS: $17,880 · EnvironmentMARINE MEGAFAUNA FOUNDATION: $30,000 · InternationalSOCIETY FOR MARINE MAMMALOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $25,000 · Science & TechNORTHERN CHUMASH TRIBAL COUNCIL: $20,000 · Arts & CultureFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $19,992 · Education
Other$358,000Animals$81,581Environment$37,880International$30,000Science & Tech$25,000Arts & Culture$20,000Education$19,992

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 budgetSeaLegacy Foundation Inc: $125,000 over 1y, 5.4% of budgetTHE SEATTLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMIGRAMAR: $31,581 over 2y, 2.8% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATURE IN ISRAEL INC: $30,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetMARINE MEGAFAUNA FOUNDATION: $30,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetSOCIETY FOR MARINE MAMMALOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $25,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetTHE KOHALA CENTER: $20,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetNORTHERN CHUMASH TRIBAL COUNCIL: $20,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $19,992 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINNOCEANA: $18,000 over 1y, 2.2% 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.

Gs Donor Advised Phil…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management IncNY10.9× affinity4 shared granteesties to 2 of 2Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · 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 Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
    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.
    04Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue?

    Find your warmest path to Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue 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 12 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 Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue’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