California · Nonprofit
Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue
Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue (California) receives grants from 66 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,178,032 to it, the largest being NETWORK FOR GOOD ($1,493,161). 23 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.9M
- Funders on record
- 66
- Grants received
- $4.2M
- Net assets
- $2.9M
What Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue does
Mission
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. Collectively, with the ocean community, our goal is 30 protection by 2030.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Hope Spot Program Mission Blue designates and supports ecologically significant ocean regions known as Hope Spots to promote marine conservation and community-led protection. Hope Spots are nominated by local scientists and advocates, then supported through capacity building, communications, science tools, and partnerships that drive measurable conservation outcomes. As of 2025, the Hope Spot Network includes 167 sites across 115 countries, spanning approximately 58 million square kilometers of ocean.
$853,318 spentof which $442,578 as grants33% of program spendingThe Science and Exploration Program strengthens Mission Blues data-driven conservation work. Through partnerships with Esri, universities, and research institutions, the program uses GIS technology, environmental DNA eDNA, and field expeditions to map biodiversity, track ocean health, and inform protection strategies. This science underpins Hope Spot designations, policy advocacy, and management planning. The program also hosts scientific workshops and supports data integration for the global Hope Spot Network.
$532,117 spentof which $133,340 as grants21% of program spendingCommunications, Education, and Advocacy Mission Blue raises global awareness of ocean conservation through storytelling, film, digital campaigns, and public events featuring Dr. Sylvia Earle and Hope Spot Champions. The organization engages millions worldwide through media partnerships, social platforms, and educational outreach to inspire behavioral change and support for marine protection. Mission Blue also participates in international policy forums such as the UN Ocean Conference and COP meetings to elevate the oceans role in climate action.
$618,058 spentof which $185,000 as grants24% of program spendingProgram Service Expenses 546,655, Grants and allocations 86,848, Revenue 0 The Policy Program advances Mission Blues strategic vision and advocacy toward securing lasting conservation outcomes for the organizations global network of Hope Spots. This includes developing relationships and facilitating engagement with governments, international bodies, and other key stakeholders to promote science-based marine protection. The policy team collaborates closely with the Hope Spots program to identify and leverage policy opportunities that advance legal recognition, improved management, and expanded protection across more than 160 Hope Spots worldwide.
$546,655 spentof which $86,848 as grants21% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,550,148.
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 2021 to 2022, from $2.3M to $4.0M (+73%).
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 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
100% of Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (67% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 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
John Vermilye
Co Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2021 and FY2022 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 10 funders to 16 funders, grant income rose $258k → $470k.
13 of 66 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 60% 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 Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 66 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
Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 36% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
67% 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 Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 31% · 2018 25% · 2019 35% · 2020 33% · 2021 34% · 2022 47% · 2023 54% — 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
30% of Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 35% 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
60% of Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $1.7M that is directly attributable, 86% of it comes from funders outside California, across 22 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.5M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 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
Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 482 science & tech nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 482 science & tech nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue
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
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
52%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue: 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 Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue?
- Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue (California) receives grants from 66 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,178,032 to it, the largest being NETWORK FOR GOOD ($1,493,161). 23 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 60% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue have?
- IRS filings report 66 organizations giving $4,178,032 in grants to Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue, 23 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue?
- NETWORK FOR GOOD is the largest funder on record, with $1,493,161 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Sylvia Earle AllianceMission Blue 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 66 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