With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, we have entered the season for charitable giving. In America alone, there are thousands of ocean conservation organization that rely on donations and grants for their continued operation. Rather than list out our favorites, which tend to get quite a bit of promotion through Southern Fried Science’s various platforms, this year, I am inviting representatives from any ocean conservation organization to promote themselves in the comment thread. So, if your NGO is doing an end of the year fund raiser, if you have an “adopt-a-critter” programs going for the holidays, or if you just want to get the word out about your organization, feel free to leave a comment and let us know a bit about you organization and its goals.
Southern Fried Science has a large, dedicated, and ocean literate audience. Let us know what you’re up to. I promise it will be worth your time.
A few pesky ground rules:
- This is a judgement-free thread. This is not the place to lob criticism at organizations you disagree with. It’s fine to post questions to organizations posting their work (i.e. where are you based, what percentage of funds go to overhead, etc.) but this is a thread for self-promotion, not an invitation for criticism.
- Please keep posts under 500 words. This makes it easier for readers to browse the comments.
- Please provide a link to your organization’s Charity Navigator listing, if one is available.
- Be kind to the little guys. I’m not going to lay down any hard rules about who can and can’t post, but if you’re operating budget is more than $2 million per year, please consider holding off on posting to give smaller organizations a chance to get the word out. Not every ocean conservation organization has an advertising budget.
- Please read the comment policy, particularly the parts pertaining to how we moderate comments. Remember, first time commenters are always held for moderation as are comments with more than 3 links. If your comment doesn’t show up immediately, don’t worry, we’ll set it free as soon as we can.
- We define ocean conservation in the broadest possible sense. If you think your Idaho-based agricultural NGO will have a positive impact on the ocean, we welcome you, too.
Regular readers are also invited to share their favorite ocean conservation organizations.
This thread will remain sticky through the end of the year (after all, there’s always someone waiting for the very last moment to make their annual, tax-deductible donations).
I’d also like to remind readers that Southern Fried Science is supported by donations from our readers, so please consider kicking a dollar or two our way to help with the server costs.
Thanks for the opportunity to introduce folks to SkyTruth! We are a small 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in West Virginia. We use satellite images, remote sensing, maps and data to investigate and illustrate environmental issues. During the BP oil spill we used satellite images to determine, within the first week, that the spill was at least 20 times larger than BP and Coast Guard estimates. We formed the Gulf Monitoring Consortium to collaborate with other orgs to investigate and publicize pollution incidents in the Gulf region. We routinely analyze satellite imagery around the world to uncover oil spills and bilge dumping, and are developing satellite data techniques for tackling the global problem of illegal commercial fishing. Read all about us in the Washington Post (http://wapo.st/1kbPrBi), at our website (http://skytruth.org/), our blog (http://blog.skytruth.org/), and via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SkyTruth) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/skytruth). And feel free to contact us at info@skytruth.org — thanks for your tax-deductible donations to keep us on the job in 2014!
Better late than never! With 1.5 days left in the 2013 giving year, I’m grateful for this opportunity to offer a plug for Shark Advocates International (SAI), a non-profit (501c3) project of The Ocean Foundation dedicated to securing sound conservation policies for sharks and rays. Our primary goals include fishing and trade limits to ensure sustainability, special protections for endangered species, and enforceable bans on shark finning.
I founded SAI in 2010 based on my twenty+ years of experience in the shark conservation field. We put a premium on perseverance, accuracy, and productive collaboration. We benefit from solid working relationships with the world’s leading shark scientists, and – to date, as far as I know – we have never been characterized by David Shiffman as “whack-a-doodles.” : ) We also work closely with a wide variety of representatives from other conservation groups, governments, diving clubs, animal rights organizations, aquariums, and fishing/seafood associations.
SAI prides itself on braving tough policy arenas to secure meaningful, science-based measures for elasmobranchs of all shapes and sizes. Despite our name, we give special attention to the plight of batoids (skates, rays, sawfish, guitarfish, etc). To get a better sense of SAI’s activities in 2013 and priorities for 2014, please see our end of year review at http://www.sharkadvocates.org/2013_review.html. You can also find us — thanks to David Shiffman — on Facebook and Twitter.
SAI is a small-scale (one might even say artisanal) operation. Our work depends on the generosity of a community of donors. Tax-deductible contributions can be made through our website: http://www.sharkadvocates.org. Thank you for your consideration.