User:Thelmadatter/The Ocean Foundation

The Ocean Foundation is a non-profit organization in Washington D.C., founded in 2003(TOF) by Wolcott Henry, J. Thomas McMurray, C. Bowdoin Train, Stephen Colwell, Ann Shulman, Vikki Spruill, Sylvia Earle, Hooper Brooks, Herbert Bedolfe, Shawn Reifsteck, James Elder, and Mark Spalding, who became The Ocean Foundation’s first president.(TOF) The mission of the Foundation is to support marine conservation in order to promote healthy ocean ecosystems and benefit the human communities that depend on them.(CSRWIRE)

History
The Ocean Foundation was created under the slogan of “Tell Us What You Want to Do for the Ocean, We Will Take Care of the Rest.”(UMB) The initial board of directors was a group of individuals with significant experience in marine conservation philanthropy, complemented by a professional staff, and a growing international advisory board of scientists, policy makers, educational specialists, and other experts.(TOF) As a non-profit organization, The Ocean Foundation used the money of donations, government agencies, and privates companies that were aware of coasts and oceans all over the world.(TOF).

Campaigns
The early projects made by The Ocean Foundation focused on the health of the national marine park and the community of Loreto, Baja California Sur, sustainable development in St. Kitts, fisheries in Alaska, and sea turtle conservation globally.(TOF) The Ocean Foundation also expanded their collaboration with the private sector to identify and collaborate in common areas of concern and share information for additional public awareness of important marine issues.(GUIDESTARORG) Today, The Ocean Foundation is working on creation initiatives for the international community including international sustainable aquaculture, coral reefs, coasts and beaches, marine mammals, polar seas, sea turtles, ocean leadership, world oceans, and ocean acidification.(GHSMP) The Ocean Foundation is also collaborating with private companies in order to protect species of concern, expand ocean literacy and awareness, protect marine habitat and special places and build the capacity of the marine conservation community.(GUIDESTAR)  The Ocean Foundation project’s and campaigns have produced award-winning books and films, increased the effectiveness of marine parks, and even helped bring back black sea turtles in danger of being extinct.(TOF)

Money Management
The foundation operates using community foundation model to keep donors and partners interested in marine conservation.(TOF) The resources obtained by the donations are used to marine conservation initiatives through the following lines of business: committee and donor advised funds, field of interest grant making funds, fiscal sponsorship fund services, and consulting services.(TOF) The 91% of the income of this non-lucrative foundation comes from donations from donors and private companies aware of the damage on the oceans in the last years.(CHARITYNAVEGATORORG) The other 9% of the income of this foundation comes from government grants.(CHARITYNAVEGATORORG) In the first 13 years of The Ocean Foundation, the foundation has given more than $34 million to organizations to support their work in the preservation of coasts and oceans.(TOF)  The other $21 million has been used on marine conservation to protect marine habitats and species of concern, build marine community capacity and expand ocean literacy.(GUIDESTARORG)