The Ocean Foundation Grantmaking

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Enriched International · Found: 2026-03-10 13:43

The Ocean Foundation operates as the only community foundation for the ocean, dedicated to improving global ocean health, climate resilience, and the blue economy. Facilitates grantmaking from individual donors, corporations, and government entities, directing funds towards critical conservation initiatives. Bridges the gap in environmental grantmaking for ocean causes.

Source: https://oceanfdn.org/grantmaking

Funding Details

Funder: The Ocean Foundation
Funding Goal: Support marine science, conservation, ocean literacy, capacity building, and protection of marine habitats and species. Grantmaking in four categories: Conserving Marine Habitats, Protecting Species of Concern, Building Capacity of Marine Conservation Community, and Expanding Ocean Literacy and Awareness.
Funding Amount: Average grant approximately $10,000. Grants have ranged from $1,000 to $224,000+. Indirect costs capped at 15%.
Deadline: Rolling basis — Letters of Inquiry reviewed quarterly; open RFPs posted when available (Rolling)
How to Apply: Submit Letter of Inquiry by email to grants@oceanfdn.org. Do not call or mail hard copies. Inquiries reviewed quarterly. If funding match found, full proposal requested. Open RFPs published at oceanfdn.org/post-category/rfp/. Contact Mark J. Spalding at mspalding@oceanfdn.org for Donor Advised Fund information.
Target Region: Global (>50% outside USA). Includes island communities, Latin America, Africa, Pacific, Caribbean.
Contact: grants@oceanfdn.org; Mark J. Spalding: mspalding@oceanfdn.org
Last Checked: 2026-03-15 14:23

Application Checklist

Eligibility

Open to NGOs, individuals, and researchers globally
Does not support religious organisations or election campaigns

Project Scope

Demonstrate DEIJ commitments in proposal

Required Documents

Submit Letter of Inquiry by email to grants@oceanfdn.org (do not call or mail)

Constraints

No generic open RFP — proposals invited only when donor match exists
Indirect costs limited to 15% of budget
Average grant ~$10,000; multi-year giving preferred when possible

Summary

The Ocean Foundation (TOF) is the only community foundation dedicated exclusively to ocean health. It operates a grantmaking programme that bridges philanthropy with marine conservation, addressing the longstanding underfunding of ocean causes (historically receiving only 7% of environmental philanthropy and under 1% of total philanthropy). Grantmaking covers four categories: (1) Conserving Marine Habitats and Special Places, (2) Protecting Species of Concern, (3) Building Capacity of the Marine Conservation Community, and (4) Expanding Ocean Literacy and Awareness. TOF supports multi-year giving and acts as an engaged partner, not just a funder. Eligible activities include habitat restoration, blue carbon projects, MPA advocacy, coral restoration, capacity building, youth summits, ocean literacy initiatives, and science diplomacy. TOF explicitly incorporates DEIJ considerations and seeks grantees that promote equity in conservation. Eligibility is global — more than 50% of grantmaking supports projects outside the USA. Average grant size is approximately $10,000, though individual grants in FY2022 ranged from $1,000 to over $224,000. Indirect costs are limited to 15%. There is no generic open RFP — grantmaking is donor-driven. Letters of Inquiry can be submitted on a rolling basis and are reviewed quarterly. Open RFPs are published on the website and distributed through conservation community newsletters. TOF also provides institutional support and fiscal sponsorship services to organisations lacking in-house grant management capacity.

Historical Context

Operates for nearly 20 years as the only community foundation for the ocean. In FY2022, awarded $1,199,832 to 59 organisations worldwide. Funds come from unrestricted donations, donor collaboratives, and Donor Advised Funds. Also provides fiscal sponsorship services.

Why it was added

Unique community foundation for ocean health with broad grantmaking for marine conservation

Sources

https://oceanfdn.org/grantmaking

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Change History

Time	Action	Reason
2026-03-15 14:23	enriched	top: marine-conservation=0.65, 10 tags

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