OCEAN CONSERVANCY

Programs

1. Cross-cutting work: Ocean Conservancy has multiple cross-cutting programs to support the three key pillars - protecting biodiversity, preventing ocean plastics, and mitigating climate change. Our government relations work engages directly with governments at all levels to advance policies that protect the ocean. Ocean Conservancy is an evidence-based organization that ensures we are pursuing solutions that are backed by science. Our communications and marketing work inspires people to care about and take action for our ocean through the media as well as digital and social channels. This includes our recently launched sports marketing initiative, protect where we play, which mobilizes athletes, events, venues, artists and fans to make a difference for the ocean. The inaugural protect where we play tour partners with venues to use reusable cups; it is estimated that the tour will prevent 1 million single-use cups from entering the waste system.

   $15,415,069 spentof which $268,440 as grants
   42% of program spending

2. Protecting biodiversity: our ocean is home to an incredible diversity of life, feeding billions and supporting cultures and livelihoods around the world. But the ocean's bounty is under threat from unsustainable extraction, overfishing, plastic pollution and a warming ocean. Ocean Conservancy works in partnership with indigenous and local communities to ensure that the ocean and the people who rely on it can thrive for generations to come. We protect biodiversity hotspots with an emphasis on the arctic, work toward zero lost or discarded fishing gear in the ocean and supporting sustainable fisheries. In the arctic, we previously secured a moratorium on commercial fishing in the central arctic ocean and are now working to expand that pause to cover all industry, including shipping and deep-sea mining. We lead the global ghost gear initiative to end "ghost gear"- fishing gear that's been lost or thrown away that continues to fish indiscriminately. Ghost gear is the deadliest form of marine debris in our ocean. Finally, we advocate for sustainable fishing given the central role fish play in ocean ecosystems and the lives of billions of people worldwide. We have a long history of…

   $10,405,413 spentof which $947,583 as grants
   28% of program spending

3. Preventing ocean plastics: 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean annually equivalent to a garbage truck's worth of plastic every single minute. Plastic pollution can be deadly to marine animals that eat or become trapped in it. Grounded in our cutting-edge research, Ocean Conservancy focuses on two critical solutions to the crisis: reducing production of the single-use plastics most dangerous to ocean life, and cleaning up 1 billion pounds of ocean plastic by 2050. Ocean Conservancy advocates at the global, national, state and local levels for policies that reduce production of single-use plastics. In the last three years, we've secured 13 policies, eliminating 900 million single-use plastics every year. We also organize the international coastal cleanup, one of the largest single day volunteer events to clean up our shorelines and waterways. To date, Ocean Conservancy has removed over 400 million pounds of plastic and trash from our ocean, coast and waterways, engaging millions of volunteers on behalf of the ocean in over 150 countries. Through this effort, we also built the world's largest ocean plastics database, which is part of our cutting-edge research to fill…

   $5,949,838 spentof which $316,384 as grants
   16% of program spending

4. Mitigating climate change: climate change is the greatest threat our ocean has ever faced. A warming ocean leads to bleached coral reefs, mass deaths of marine animals, and more frequent and severe hurricanes and storms. But the ocean is also a crucial ally for our climate: it produces half the world's oxygen and absorbs more than 90% of the excess heat from climate changeand it has vast untapped potential to provide clean energy that reduces climate impacts. Ocean Conservancy works with partners and decision-makers at the local, state, national and international level to develop, inform and advocate for ocean-based solutions to protect our climate. These include deploying clean ocean energy from wind, waves and tides and phasing out offshore oil and gas which harms our ocean. Ocean Conservancy also leads international efforts to eliminate the global shipping industry's emissions roughly one billion tons of carbon dioxide every year.

   $4,884,123 spentof which $86,010 as grants
   13% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $36,654,443.