- Beach cleanup activities
- Water quality improvement
- Sustainable fisheries
- Ocean conservation education
- Ocean and coastal preservation
Clean Oceans are Important: A New Ocean Fund is Launched
By Mark Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation
We are very excited to work with the Alaskan Brewing Co. to launch the new Coastal CODE Fund, housed here at The Ocean Foundation. Our ocean team will work closely with the Brew Crew to make a difference through ocean and coastal cleanup and preservation efforts.
Home to nearly half of all Americans is a place that is within 50 miles of the coast, and more of us choose to move close to the coasts every year. The coastal and nearshore waters of the United States are also home to an abundance of species of marine mammals, fish, invertebrates, and hundreds of other plants and animals most of us will never see, but which are dependent on human awareness to ensure their health and well-being, and in turn, our own. Seabirds, whales, dolphins, otters, sharks and rays, the mighty billfish, the garibaldi, and once-plentiful invertebrates such as sea urchins and abalone, are just some of the creatures whose survival depends on us and the choices we make. How we treat our coastal neighbors—where we build, how we work, how we play, how we manage our trash, how we fish, what we use to clean our houses—is not only important to their well-being and survival but to our own.
ABOUT COASTAL CODE
The Coastal CODE Fund is going to focus on the western waters and coastline of the United States, representing some 7,863 miles in California, Oregon, and Washington, and 44,000 more miles of coastline in Alaska! It will fund projects and activities that promote:
The Coastal CODE Fund is primarily funded by 1% of all proceeds from Alaskan Brewing Co.’s newest release, Alaskan IPA. Additional funding will be provided by individual donations and proceeds from the sale of Coastal CODE merchandise. In partnership with Alaskan Brewing Co., we will make philanthropic investments in organizations and activities that produce real, immediate, concrete improvements in people’s lives through protecting our coastal environment for all people, as well as the plants and animals that depend on healthy coastal lands and clean water for their survival.
ABOUT CLEAN BEACHES
According to Chapter 18 of the U.S. Ocean Commission report of 2004,
The trash and other waste that drifts around the global ocean and washes up on the nation’s shores pose a serious threat to fishery resources, wildlife, and habitat, as well as human health and safety. Marine debris is difficult to address because it comes from a wide variety of sources, both on and off the shore. While marine debris is a global problem requiring international cooperation, many of its negative impacts are experienced at the local level and require local involvement.
The Coastal CODE Fund will provide grants to foster such local involvement; for example, we intend to support the West Coast activities of the annual International Coastal Cleanup.
ABOUT CLEAN WATER
Clean water is essential to every aspect of life. From ensuring basic health and welfare to sustaining economic growth and prosperity, everyone along the West Coast has a stake in improving the water quality of the Pacific Ocean. Clean water can only be achieved through the dedication, commitment, and collective effort of the people who live and work in the Coastal CODE region.
The Coastal CODE Fund will provide grants to prevent and counteract water pollution.
ABOUT SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
Fish represent a critical source of protein. People depend on fish for food, livelihoods and recreation. In addition, fish are the most heavily traded food commodity and fastest growing international “agricultural” commodity. Sustainable fisheries play an integral role in the social, economic and environmental fabric of many communities along the West Coast of the U.S.
The Coastal CODE Fund will provide grants to address the threats from unsustainable practices and destructive gear, and to support sustainable fisheries.
ABOUT OCEAN LITERACY
Ocean education, or increasing ocean literacy is important for the future. We believe that people need to know a few key things:
The ocean dominates the planet (we are a water planet) and the ocean is the engine that makes everything work: weather/oxygen/etc.
Everything we do on land ends up in the ocean, which is not an infinite resource. What we take out and what we put in (from direct and indirect sources) has an impact on the ocean.
There is more biodiversity in the ocean than anywhere else on earth. Just because it's harder to see what's there, doesn't mean it's not important.
The Coastal CODE Fund will provide grants to deepen ocean literacy; expanding the network of future ocean leaders and helping them bring ocean awareness home; and increasing the understanding of those who depend on the ocean as to the way ocean systems work as well as the economic and environmental benefits the ocean provides.
ABOUT OCEAN AND COASTAL PRESERVATION
We all enjoy the coasts and oceans. We surf, swim, fish, dive, sail, and sometimes just walk the beach. However, public beach access, water quality, coastal erosion, shoreline structures, beach dredge and fill, erosion response and other threats can get in the way of that enjoyment. These same threats can also be bad for fishers, coastal homeowners, cruise ships, freighters and all the other ocean users.
The Coastal CODE Fund will provide grants to reverse the trend of destruction of coastal and ocean environments on the West Coast of the U.S.
ABOUT US
The Ocean Foundation (TOF) is a boutique community foundation with a specialized practice. Our niche is providing high-end philanthropic advice regarding conservation of the coast and oceans. Our mission is to support, strengthen, and promote those organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world.
TOF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, and it is the community foundation for the oceans, providing a vital philanthropic portal and the services necessary for more effective investment in promoting the health of our oceans. In other words, all the well-proven philanthropic tools of a community foundation are focused on ocean conservation.
TOF raises funds as though it were a charity; and then, like a private foundation, TOF re-grants those funds with the advice of its donors and ocean conservation experts. TOF uses a 21-point due diligence process to determine an organization’s ability, as well as site visits, proposal evaluations, and ocean conservation design and evaluation strategies that assist prospective grantees.
TOF continuously monitors the community's charitable needs and gifting opportunities and can provide the Coastal CODE Fund review committee with suggestions, information, and specific projects for which distributions from the Coastal CODE might be appropriate.
We search the globe for compelling projects, and conduct due diligence on them. We then invest in the most promising nonprofit marine projects to support conservation work in a fashion that is strategic and coordinated.
To do this, we have four full-time, and three part-time staff persons. Meanwhile, TOF’s board is comprised of individuals with significant experience in marine conservation philanthropy, complemented by a growing advisory board of scientists, policy makers, educational specialists and others with known expertise.
We are all aware that we need more investment in the health of the oceans. Increasing this investment is one reason why The Ocean Foundation was started. In fiscal year 2005-06, The Ocean Foundation raised $1.9 million, gave away $1.2 million in grants, spent $272,000 on programs, and at about $150,000, spent less than 8% on administrative and fundraising costs.
For more information Contact:
Mark J. Spalding, President
1900 M Street, N.W., Suite 250
Washington, DC 20036
Ph: 212-887-8992
Fax: 212-887-8987
Email: mspalding@oceanfdn.org
www.oceanfdn.org