Our oceans are facing unprecedented threats — from the decline of coral reefs caused by sea acidification and pollution to the sharp decline of fish species driven by insatiable fishing practices — the problems we, as a species, must solve are one too many, and it takes a global, collective effort to move the needle forward.
Here are some numbers to define the scale of our problems. It’s estimated that over 50% of the world’s coral reefs have been lost or are at risk of being lost, a vital ecosystem that is home to millions of marine species and shields our coastlines from erosion and storms. In an analysis published by Nature, researchers indicate that 90% of the world’s predatory fish, such as tuna and swordfish, have been depleted due to overfishing, not to mention all the other marine species affected by plastic pollution and toxic waste.
This begs the question: what charities should you support to help solve these problems?
The charities we found to be more impactful are the Ocean Conservancy, the Surfrider Foundation, Oceana, the Coral Reef Alliance, and the Marine Conservation Institute. Some of these charities operate at a larger scale so they tend to focus on having a general impact by tackling every issue imaginable from climate change to advocating for laws that prevent overfishing, while others are smaller charities fully dedicated to preventing specific problems such as plastic pollution, so they do things like finding volunteers to clean up beaches.
In the end, all of them contribute to ocean protection and conservation, so no matter which one you support, you’re contributing significantly to a better future.
These Are The Top 5 Charities For Ocean Conservation And Protection
Ocean Conservancy: Well-Rounded Ocean Conservation
Ocean Conservancy was founded in 1972 and it tackles a variety of ocean conservation issues, including climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution, and marine debris. It’s a large-scale organization that works alongside many communities, industries, and even governments to generate change.
What it does
Ocean Conservancy conducts research and cooperates with governments, businesses, and other organizations to come up with and implement policies and practices that promote the health and sustainability of the world’s oceans. It also engages in education and outreach efforts to raise awareness about ocean conservation.
An example of such efforts is a program called Advancing Ocean Justice that is responsible for several deeds, of which one was to create a course (in partnership with Unity College) to educate participants on ocean justice and its connection to climate change, race, indigeneity, gender, sexuality and more.
In that same program, they’ve also worked alongside government entities to come up with climate policies, such as decarbonizing shipping and supporting clean ports, reducing single-use plastics, and encouraging offshore wind, as well as pushing for other renewable energies. Many other initiatives are available on Ocean Conservancy’s website if you wish to read more about them.
What it has achieved
Ocean Conservancy has accomplished a lot throughout the years. In fact, the achievements are too many to number given that the organization has been around since 1972.
However, a major event that has been taking place since 1986 is the International Coastal Cleanup, which has led to the removal of over 344 million pounds (or 159 million kilograms) of trash from the world’s beaches by over 16 million volunteers, much of it being plastic. This event even has a cleanup report for every year it has taken place.
Ocean Conservancy has also contributed to natural habitat protection by working alongside partners to establish over 1 million square miles (2.6 million square meters) of marine protected areas in the Atlantic Ocean and the Artic— an achievement that protects endangered animals such as whales, dolphins, and seals. It’s also been equally persistent in restoring damaged habits, having been able to successfully restore 30,000 acres of oyster reefs.
Their 2021 impact report speaks on dozens of achievements, and many of them are climate change efforts that have occurred in partnership with the government, and a lot of it can be boiled down to raising awareness and detailing what actions need to be taken in order to tackle the issues associated with climate change.
Transparency rating
Ocean Conservancy is a transparent charity. They have delineated a revenue and expenses summary in their annual report, so you know how much of the donations are actually being spent on what’s de facto important. Charity Navigator gives the Ocean Conservancy a 94% rating. They also have a gold seal of transparency from Guidestar.
How to donate
The easiest way to donate to Ocean Conservancy is via its official website. You can opt for a one-off or a monthly donation. Another way you can contribute is by hosting a fundraiser event, whether it’s a dinner among friends, or a 5K run in the city.
Surfrider Foundation: Saving The Ocean From Plastic
The Surfrider Foundation was founded in 1984 by a group of surfers from California who were concerned about the pollution of local beaches and the decline of surf breaks, which are essentially permanent obstructions (coral reefs, rocks, shoals, or headlands) that lead to the formation of “surfable” waves.
What it does
Over the years, the Surfrider Foundation has grown into a global network of volunteers, activists, and experts working to defend the coast and protect the oceans.
One of the key ways it works to protect the coasts is by campaigning for policies and regulations, like the Beach Act, to support coastal conservation and health. This involves working with government agencies, local organizations, and other stakeholders to make sure coastal developments occur in a sustainable way and that ocean resources are used in a responsible fashion.
They’re also deeply involved in research and monitoring projects that study the health of the coast and the ocean, a practice that allows them to identify areas where conservation efforts must be allocated. It’s a fundamental part of developing programs and initiatives that make a difference.
Apart from its involvement in policy-making, the Surfrider Foundation is still very much engaged in grassroots activism and public education, such as beach cleanups, workshops, and events, as well as working with local communities to raise awareness about coastal and ocean issues.
What it has achieved
The Surfrider Foundation does a lot of campaigning all around the United States to push state and local-level government agencies to change policies and implement solutions that protect coastal places and the oceans. These campaigns can be observed on their official website, where they have a record of 833 total victories.
Most of the campaigns fight for policies that promote change at a local level, but given that campaigning is done nationwide, it’s quite impactful.
For instance, an idyllic lagoon called Biscayne Bay in Miami experienced a fishkill due to pollution and neglect. This led the Surfrider Foundation and other nonprofits to organize meetings, roundtable discussions, and public rallies to bring immediate and long-lasting changes to save what wildlife was left in the bay. In that same year, Governor DeSantis (state of Florida) and County Mayor Levine-Cava (Miami Dade county) announced that $20 million would be invested in protecting Biscayne Bay.
This is just an example of the dozens and hundreds of projects and initiatives that non-profits like the Surfrider Foundation start and manage to see through in a single year.
Transparency rating
Charity Navigator has given the Surfrider Foundation a 94% impact & transparency rating, while Guidestar has given them a platinum seal of transparency.
They also have a webpage where they share annual reports and audited financial statements, however, those records are only available from 2008 until 2013.
How to donate
You can support the Surfrider Foundation with a one-off or recurring donation (via its official website), or you can also buy the organization’s merchandise through its online store. If you wish to donate your time and effort, you can also become a volunteer by registering here.
Oceana: Restoring The World’s Oceans
Oceana was established in 2001 — not by a group of individuals but by a group of foundations such as The Pew Charitable Trusts, Oak Foundation, Marisla Foundation (formerly Homeland Foundation), Sandler Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund — after a 1999 study found that less than 0.5 percent of all resources spent by environmental nonprofit groups in the United States went to ocean advocacy.
What it does
Its mission is to protect and restore damaged marine ecosystems by advocating for policies in countries that have the most impact on the oceans. In other words, Oceania conducts research to find solutions to major issues and uses this research to form campaigns and influence policy-makers.
They also work to educate the public about the importance of protecting the oceans, as well as teach those who are willing to take active steps toward the preservation of marine ecosystems.
Generally, they tend to focus on macro issues such as climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, and overfishing, rather than for example, changing laws on a local level (like the Surfrider Foundation does). In fact, they advocate for policy change across different countries, so they work on a significantly different level than the former.
What it has achieved
They’ve successfully campaigned along with other partners for the creation of a law in California that requires producers to cut their single-use plastic packaging and foodware by at least 25% by 2032, implementing the first-ever statewide reuse and refill directives in the nation.
On a similar note, they’ve also guaranteed (in a concerted effort) that U.S National Parks phase out single-use plastic products and packaging in 423 national parks, including 88 ocean and coastal parks.
Through their campaigning, they’ve also secured the expansion of critical habitats that protect Southern Resident orcas that live along the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California with success. This new expansion covers nearly 16,000 square miles (more than 41,000 square kilometers) in the Pacific Ocean.
However, as we’ve mentioned, Oceana doesn’t campaign solely in the United States. As a result of their direct campaigning, leading European-based marine insurance companies AXA XL, British Marine, DUPI Underwriting Agencies BV, Generali Group, and the Shipowners’ Club introduced improved measures to avoid insuring vessels engaged in Ilegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Another campaign co-lead by Oceana and the United Nations Environment Program’s Clean Seas Campaign demanded food delivery services in Brazil to reduce plastic usage in their products— which resulted in the largest food delivery service in Brazil publicly pledging to deliver 80% of orders free from plastic cutlery, plates, cups, napkins, and straws by 2025. These are just 4 triumphs from a year in which they had 225 other victories.
Transparency rating
Oceana is a transparent company. Not only do they have annual reports (where they also publish their financial results), but they also have high impact and transparency scores from reputed third-party agencies like Charity Navigator and Guidestar.
How to donate
Like every other charitable organization, the simplest way to help them is by providing them with funds— which you can do through a one-off or a recurring monthly donation. However, there’s also a way to help if you don’t want to spend money, and that is to sign or partake in petitions created by Oceana.
Coral Reef Alliance: Defending Coral Reefs
As the name suggests, the Coral Reef Alliance (known as CORAL) works to protect and restore coral reefs from around the world. It was founded in 1994 by a group of conservationists and scientists that were shocked by the declining health of coral reefs which urged them to establish CORAL.
What it does
Since its founding, CORAL has worked alongside local communities, governments, and other non-profit organizations to research and implement solutions to help preserve existing coral reefs, as well as restore damaged ones.
They focus primarily on data collection, in other words, much of their effort goes into researching coral reefs to better understand how they adapt to climate change and then apply that understanding to give the reefs the best chance to thrive for generations to come.
CORAL has an extensive network of coral-bleaching researchers that monitor global bleaching events via satellite, which are then deployed to further validate the issue.
Some of their work also goes into enforcing fishing regulations in order to prevent overfishing, so they’re also vested in patrolling against illegal fishing.
What it has achieved
Speaking of enforcing fishing regulations— in 2021, by working alongside five other organizations, CORAL patrolled a highly coveted lagoon and popular fish breeding ground, a concerted effort that resulted in increased fish biomass in the lagoon by an impressive 483%. They also confiscated over 10km of illegal fishing nets. These efforts set boundaries around fishing rights and made a significant positive impact on the lagoon’s ecosystem.
CORAL also launched the Ocean Sewage Alliance, a global partnership of organizations and scientists that are committed to reducing the impact of sewage and other wastewater pollution in the oceans. The long-term goal is to share wastewater treatment education and teach communities how to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle.
Before they created the OSA, they launched a regional water testing program in Mexico, Belize, and Honduras to collect data in order to be able to tackle sewage pollution. In this program, they managed to collect roughly 6,000 water quality samples in over 90 testing sites., spanning the coastlines of the three countries.
Transparency rating
CORAL publishes annual reports summarizing the organization’s accomplishments each year, and they also have audited financial statements that provide the public with a transparent and in-depth coverage of how CORAL has spent its resources.
How to donate
CORAL accepts simple donations as well as planned gifts, such as retirement plans (i.e: 401k, IRA, 403B), and even real estate. You can also contribute by purchasing CORAL merchandise. CORAL also accepts other forms of donation, such as cryptocurrency and even airline miles.
Marine Conservation Institute: Focus On MPAs
The Marine Conservation Institute was founded in 1996 by Dr. Lance Morgan and Dr. Elliott Norse, both marine scientists and conservationists with an extensive number of published papers and articles on marine conservation topics.
What it does
The MCI’s priority is to create a worldwide system of Blue Parks, which are either fully or highly marine protected areas (MPAs) that allow minimal or no extractive or other damaging practices, such as fishing, mining, and oil and gas development.
Their scientific approach to ocean conservation has allowed them to discover that fully-and-highly-protected MPAs can allow depleted fish populations to recover, serve as refuges for endangered species, and increase resilience to climate change.
For that reason, they’ve got the goal of designating 30% of the world’s oceans as an MPA, and to achieve that MCI adopted a variety of initiatives, such as scientific research, policy development, and advocacy practices that involve the creation of educational resources and raising awareness about the importance of marine conservation.
What it has achieved
One of the MCI’s major achievements was the creation of the Global Ocean Refuge System, an initiative that aims to identify and recognize a global network of MPAs that meet specific criteria.
It allowed for a transformative advancement in marine conservation by:
- Using a scientifically sound biogeographic framework to identify and protect networks of marine ecosystems in each biogeographic region;
- Establishing clear, transparent criteria for the location, strong protection, management, and enforcement of MPAs to maximize that marine life in these areas can survive increasing stresses;
- Aiming to foster improved cooperation among NGOs involved in marine conservation;
- Incentivizing the competition among countries and international governmental organizations for the prestige and economic benefits of earning Global Ocean Refuge Status for their MPAs;
- Using advances in science and technology to create a new conservation framework, building on existing efforts to protect individual places or species.
This has ultimately allowed NGOs to provide stronger protection for marine biodiversity and the ecological integrity of the oceans by guaranteeing that MPAs are properly managed and each principle is strictly enforced.
Transparency rating
The MCI has an 87% transparency score on Charity Navigator and a platinum seal of transparency on Guidestar. They also have annual reports and financial statements available on their official website, however, their website doesn’t seem to be as well organized as other entities’ websites.
How to donate
There are several ways in which you can contribute, with the primary one being a simple one-off or recurring donation. You can also make a donation with a planned gift (i.e: real estate), and you can also use cryptocurrency. Another way to contribute is by selecting the MCI as the charity of choice when you purchase through Amazon’s Smile program. This ensures that 1% of the total value of your purchases is given to MCI.
How To Select The Best Charities To Support
If you’re considering donating to an ocean conservation charity (or any other charity), you have to do your due diligence to make sure your contribution has the most impact. Although we’ve included 5 trustworthy charities that are both impactful and transparent, you might want to donate to other charities with different missions.
Here are some tips to help you find the best charities to donate to:
- Start by visiting the charity’s website. Look for information about its history, mission, and values. A transparent and reputable organization will be open about its goals and progress.
- Charities have to be clear about their mission. If a charity doesn’t have a clear and specific goal, it’s unlikely that it will be able to achieve meaningful change. Also, look for a charity with realistic and attainable goals. Ambitious but not impossible.
- Track record of success. Look for charities that have achieved their past goals. They should have quarterly or annual impact reports that lay out their progress and accomplishments. If they’re consistently coming short, look for a different charity.
- Review the charity’s financial statements. On top of impact reports, charities should also have financial reports, preferably audited by an independent auditor. You need to be able to determine if your money is being well-spent or just going into someone’s pocket.
- Talk to people who worked for or benefited from the charity. Talking to someone that has personally benefited or has had first-hand experience with the charity will give you a far great insight than just researching online.
Most people donate to charities without first doing research, but that’s not making a difference. If you want to make sure your donation truly moves the needle forward, you have to help charities that ACTUALLY make a difference. Much like the government and businesses must have accountability, charities are no different.
How To Best Support These Charities
There are many ways to support your favorite charities, but in the end, it will come down to how many resources you have, and how much time you can dedicate to the cause.
Here are a few ways you can help your favorite charity:
- Donate money. What most people tend to do is make a financial contribution. This can be a one-time or recurring donation. Some also give away their own belongings (say, food, clothes, among other things).
- Volunteer your time. Most charities can’t afford labor but they still have to make things happen — this is where volunteers come in! Consider donating your time and skills to a cause that aligns with your values and interests.
- Shop with a purpose. Look for opportunities to support charities when you shop. Some companies donate a portion of their profits to charities, or you can choose to buy products from charities that want to raise money by selling merchandise. Shirts, caps, pencils, mugs, you name it. If you frequently buy from Amazon, consider their Amazon Smile program. If you set this up, your charity of choice will receive a fraction of your online purchases.
- Host a fundraising event. If you’ve got a solid network of friends, family, or social media followers, consider mobilizing everyone to take part in a fun event — this could be a dinner, a marathon (or hike), a raffle, a trivia tournament, a golf tournament… anything you can think of! There are many ideas you could implement.
- Raise awareness. Seems simple, but it’s really powerful. Sharing the message with friends, family, or your social media followers can also make a difference. The more people know about the great work that’s been done, the more they’ll be willing to contribute. Never stop sharing!
So many ways to support your favorite causes, so choose the one that is best suited for you.
Claim A Tax Deduction From Your Charitable Donations
Better than donating to your favorite charity is being able to donate to your favorite charity and save some money on taxes. Yes, if you live in the United States, your donations may be tax deductible.
To claim a tax deduction, you need to itemize your deductions on your federal income tax return using Schedule A (Form 1040 or 1040-SR).
Follow these instructions to claim a tax deduction for your charitable donation:
- Make sure you’re donating to a qualified charitable organization. The IRS website has a list of qualified organizations on its official website.
- Keep records of your donations. This includes things such as receipts, bank statements, or other documents that show the name of the organization, the date of the donation, and the amount donated.
- Use Schedule A (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) to claim your charitable donations. You will need to enter the total amount of your donations on the form.
- Deliver your filled-out Schedule A alongside your federal income tax return form.
Important note: There are limits on the amount of charitable donations you can deduct from taxes, and this amount can also be more limited based on your income. If you want to learn more information about your own specific situation, we’d advise you to consult with a tax professional or refer to IRS guidelines on the government’s official website.
The video below is also a useful resource if you want to learn more about tax-deductible donations.
Bottom Line
Our oceans are vast and vital ecosystems that support a wide variety of animal and plant life, and their long-term survival is dependent on our efforts, as a collective, to protect and preserve them.
Fortunately, there are many legitimate charities dedicated to the conservation of the oceans and their ecosystems, and supporting these organizations is a crucial step in guaranteeing that our oceans can heal and prosper.
Take some time to research some of the previous charities and pick the one that resonates with you the most.
Every contribution makes a difference, so don’t hesitate to help in any way you can. Act now and support the work of these incredible organizations to make sure we can all save the oceans and the incredible marine life that inhabits them.
