California · Nonprofit
MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE
MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 60 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,608,868 to it, the largest being ROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC ($1,133,000). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.7M
- Funders on record
- 60
- Grants received
- $6.6M
- Net assets
- $2.0M
What Marine Conservation Biology Institute does
Mission
Marine conservation institute is dedicated to securing permanent, strong protection for the oceans' most important places for us and future generations.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Conserving marine life & ecosystems - we use the best available science to identify important marine ecosystems and advocate for their protection. We advocate for the creation of new mpas and improvements of make existing mpas more effective at conserving marine biodiversity. Our aim is to help achieve effective protection for at least 30% of each ecosystem in every region of the global ocean. A majority of this grant revenue is received through fiscal sponsorship arrangements, whereby marine conservation institute serves as the fiscal sponsor for partner projects and programs, receiving and administering grant funds in accordance with the terms of the applicable grant agreements and fiscal sponsorship agreements.
$3,780,130 spentof which $3,267,806 as grants84% of program spendingMpatlas - our marine protection atlas (mpatlas.org) initiative measures progress toward marine conservation targets and commitments. We use science-based marine protected area (mpa) assessments to classify mpas and clarify differences among them that result in different conservation outcomes. Scientists and conservationists rely on the marine protection atlas to provide an independent measure of marine protected areas and advocate for improved marine conservation efforts.
$397,788 spent$221,075 earned by the program9% of program spendingThe blue parks - the blue parks initiative is a strategic program designed to improve marine protected area quality and coverage, ensuring that we achieve effective protection for at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. This target is guided by current science - enough to safeguard marine biodiversity. We set science-based standards for marine protected areas and incentivize governments, communities, and managers to achieve them with prestigious blue park awards. We collaborate with marine conservation leaders dedicated to achieving blue park recognition through our blue spark collaborations.
$335,257 spentof which $24,000 as grants$8,762 earned by the program7% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$0 spent0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,513,175.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $1.1M to $2.1M (+87%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 11% · 2024 0% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
96% of MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Nathalie Udo
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 11 funders to 25 funders, grant income rose $382k → $1.2M.
15 of 60 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 45% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 60 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 17% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
48% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 26% · 2018 43% · 2019 28% · 2020 26% · 2021 27% · 2022 14% · 2023 42% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
31% of MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 55% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE draws 75% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 19 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $3.0M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 9,615 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 9,615 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
93% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
53%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE?
- MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE (California) receives grants from 60 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,608,868 to it, the largest being ROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC ($1,133,000). 33 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE have?
- IRS filings report 60 organizations giving $6,608,868 in grants to MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE, 33 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE?
- ROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC is the largest funder on record, with $1,133,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 60 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing