Media Contact: Daniela Huson, OCR Communications Director: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
10 Small, But Mighty Ocean Groups School Together to Create a New Funding Model
Ten 4 Ocean (T4O) offers unique collective approach
SAN FRANCISCO, 3 November 2021
A recent study, “Our Shared Seas,” found that only 2 percent of U.S. philanthropic grant-making is earmarked for the environment with only 7 percent of that going to ocean work.
About a dozen large groups, including marine science research centers, received 88% - about $525 million out of $600 million - in total private U.S. ocean conservation funding.
Recognizing that many small, solution-oriented ocean advocacy groups are forced to do more with less, Michael Stocker – founder of one such group, Ocean Conservation Research,
that has been on the forefront of documenting marine noise pollution – reached out to nine other small, nimble, marine conservation organizations to launch a collaborative fundraising arm called Ten 4 Ocean.
“We are very excited about this collective model,” says Stocker. “There are so many ocean issues we need to confront, and now donors can simplify their giving and know that
their donations will be leveraged across 10 of the most highly effective small ocean action organizations.”
The range of subject expertise, global leadership, and real-world successes of these ten groups includes; ocean policy, oyster bed restoration, noise pollution,
surfer equity, the psychological benefits of healthy oceans, youth leadership, sea turtle, marine mammal and shark conservation, endangered ocean wildlife rescue, marine education,
plastic pollution reduction, climate change solutions, and community organizing.
“Our Ten 4 Ocean groups rival most major ocean organizations and government agencies in terms of impact, depth and experience, operating on a fraction of their budgets,”
says Stocker. “If Ten 4 Ocean succeeds, we hope it can become a model for collaborative bottom-up funding for the approximately 1,500 ocean and coastal organizations
in the United States and for all who care about the health of our blue planet.”
Actress and science communicator Christina Ochoa introduces Ten 4 Ocean in this short introductory video.
OCR Communications Director Daniela Huson has put together ten short videos featuring each of the groups.
For more information:
www.ten4ocean.org
#ten4ocean
@ten4ocean on social media