Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
The Ocean Foundation
The Ocean Foundation (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 193 organizations whose IRS filings report $41,531,777 to it, the largest being The Pew Charitable Trusts ($13,701,089). 101 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $13M
- Funders on record
- 193
- Grants received
- $42M
- Net assets
- $16M
What The Ocean Foundation does
Mission
As the only community foundation for the ocean, The Ocean Foundation's 501(c)(3) mission is to improve global ocean health, climate resilience, and the blue economy. We create partnerships to connect people in the communities in which we work to the informational, technical, and financial resources they need to achieve their ocean stewardship goals.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Protecting Marine Habitats and Special Places - Our oceans are a mosaic of special places, from the bustling vibrancy of coral reefs to the tidal pools of rocky coasts, to the stark, glistening beauty of the frozen Arctic. These habitats and ecosystems are more than just picturesque; they all provide vital benefits to the health of the ocean, the plants and animals that live in them, and the human communities that depend on them.
$5,707,382 spentof which $819,798 as grants$221,598 earned by the program40% of program spendingExpanding Ocean Literacy and Public Awareness - One of the most significant barriers to progress in the marine conservation sector is the lack of genuine understanding about the vulnerability and connectivity of ocean systems. It is easy to view the oceans as vast, nearly unlimited sources of food and recreation, filled with abundant animals, plants, and protected spaces. As a result, it can be difficult to recognize the destructive consequences of human activities along the coast and beneath the surface. This lack of awareness creates a substantial need for programs that effectively communicate how the health of our oceans is connected to climate change, the global economy, biodiversity, human health, and our quality of life.
$3,515,615 spentof which $1,512,616 as grants$239,349 earned by the program25% of program spendingBuilding the Capacity of the Marine Conservation Community- There are many outstanding conservation organizations dedicated to protecting and preserving our oceans. The Ocean Foundation provides assistance to these entities, which have a need to develop a certain skill or competence, or for general upgrading of performance ability. The Ocean Foundation was created in part to bring new financial and technical resources to the table so that we can increase the capacity of these organizations to pursue their missions.
$2,568,683 spentof which $1,066,356 as grants$87,273 earned by the program18% of program spendingProtecting Species of Concern - For many of us, our first interest in the oceans began with an interest in the large animals that call it home. Whether it be the awe inspired by a gentle humpback whale, the undeniable charisma of a curious dolphin, or the ferocious, gaping maw of a great white shark, these animals are more than just ambassadors of the sea. These apex predators and keystone species keep the ocean ecosystem in balance, and the health of their populations often serves as an indicator of the health of the oceans as a whole.
$2,365,578 spentof which $470,339 as grants$472,697 earned by the program17% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $14,157,258.
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 $23M to $18M (−24%).
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: 2017 12% · 2018 10% · 2020 10% · 2021 13% · 2022 6% · 2023 9% · 2024 16% · 2025 17%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
92% of The Ocean Foundation’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 44 funders to 68 funders, grant income rose $1.8M → $6.7M.
41 of 193 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 28% 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 The Ocean Foundation’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 193 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
The Ocean Foundation has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 33% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
43% 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 The Ocean Foundation.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 27% · 2018 26% · 2019 47% · 2020 32% · 2021 29% · 2022 36% · 2023 25% — 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
40% of The Ocean Foundation's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 52% 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
57% of The Ocean Foundation's grant income comes from Washington, D.C. funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $11M arriving through sponsors registered in 18 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
The Ocean Foundation's funding base is broadening — from 44 funders to 68 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 210 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding The Ocean Foundation receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $11.3M on record — $11.3M federal, $34k state.
- Department of Commerce$8.3M
- Department of the Interior$1.6M
- Department of State$1.1M
- Department of Defense$156k
- Agency for International Development$150k
- PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NON-IT$34k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like The Ocean 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 Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
89%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 38 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for The Ocean 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 The Ocean Foundation?
- The Ocean Foundation (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 193 organizations whose IRS filings report $41,531,777 to it, the largest being The Pew Charitable Trusts ($13,701,089). 101 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does The Ocean Foundation have?
- IRS filings report 193 organizations giving $41,531,777 in grants to The Ocean Foundation, 101 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of The Ocean Foundation?
- The Pew Charitable Trusts is the largest funder on record, with $13,701,089 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like The Ocean Foundation find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. 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 193 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