California · Nonprofit
PADI AWARE FOUNDATION
PADI AWARE FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,110,788 to it, the largest being THE ARTHUR M BLANK FAMILY FOUNDATION ($165,000). 18 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.4M
- Funders on record
- 31
- Grants received
- $1.1M
- Net assets
- $732k
What Padi Aware Foundation does
Mission
Our mission to 'drive local action for global ocean conservation' is carried out through citizen science, public policy, and community grants. For over 30 years, padi and aware have built a truly unique voice for the protection of the underwater world. Together, we have set ambitious ocean conservation targets through a shared blueprint for ocean action that provides the framework to tackle key threats to the ocean and create ocean change in our dive communities around the world.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Marine debris: the aware flagship program, dive against debris, improves the health of ocean ecosystems through local action while providing valuable information about underwater debris to help inform policy change for global impact. Divers are often the first to witness human impact on the marine environment and are uniquely positioned to help report, remove and advocate to stop marine debris at its source.
$322,118 spentof which $10,000 as grants28% of program spendingMarine protected areas (mpas): in partnership with blancpain, our founding partner of the padi blueprint for ocean action and its flagship program, adopt the blue, and our non-profit charity, the Padi Aware Foundation, we are dedicated to significantly increasing the number of marine protected areas (mpas) worldwide. Our mission directly supports the global goal to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.
$381,529 spentof which $53,161 as grants34% of program spendingVulnerable species (sharks and rays): over a third of all known shark and ray species are facing an increased risk of extinction, making them the second most vulnerable group of animals on the planet. Populations are continuously impacted by overfishing, loss of critical habitats, climate change and pollution. Immediate action to prevent extinctions is needed to protect sharks and rays that play a vital role in many countries' economies, as well as helping secure food security, functioning ecosystems and cultural heritage. To combat this ocean emergency, padi aware is proud to introduce the global shark & ray census, a global citizen science program that aims to monitor shark and ray populations and to ensure they are protected from extinction. Both divers and non-divers will be able to collect sightings data on the species they encounter, or take part in monitoring sites to track population trends. The data will undergo rigorous scientific analysis and will be used to ensure vulnerable species of sharks and rays have adequate protection to ensure healthy populations.
$305,445 spentof which $66,430 as grants27% of program spendingCoral: accelerate coral reef recovery and resoration: restoring 5% of coral reef habitats through citizen science programs and project funding for key coral reefs.blue carbon/climate: reduce and offset the dive industries carbon footprint, acheiving net-zero across the padi organization and protecting and restoring blue carbon habitats.
$127,431 spentof which $248,002 as grants11% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,136,523.
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 2022 to 2023, from $736k to $969k (+32%).
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 8% · 2022 9%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of PADI AWARE FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (72% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 7 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
Drew Richardson
President/chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $69k → $267k.
8 of 31 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 35% 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 PADI AWARE FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 31 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
PADI AWARE FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 15% 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
47% 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 PADI AWARE FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 84% · 2018 91% · 2019 100% · 2020 60% · 2021 50% · 2022 37% · 2023 37% — diversifying over time.
“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
44% of PADI AWARE FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% 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
PADI AWARE FOUNDATION draws 78% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 14 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $384k arriving through sponsors registered in 7 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
PADI AWARE FOUNDATION has grown faster than half of the 611 unclassified nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 611 unclassified nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like PADI AWARE FOUNDATION
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
79% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
85%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 53 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PADI AWARE FOUNDATION: 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 PADI AWARE FOUNDATION?
- PADI AWARE FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 31 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,110,788 to it, the largest being THE ARTHUR M BLANK FAMILY FOUNDATION ($165,000). 18 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PADI AWARE FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 31 organizations giving $1,110,788 in grants to PADI AWARE FOUNDATION, 18 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PADI AWARE FOUNDATION?
- THE ARTHUR M BLANK FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $165,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PADI AWARE FOUNDATION 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 31 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing