For Wealth Advisors Interested in Marine and Climate Solutions

We are prepared to work closely with professional advisors from the wealth management, planned giving, legal, accounting, and insurance communities, so they can best assist their clients who are interested in marine conservation and climate solutions. You can assist your clients in their financial or testamentary goals, while we partner with you in helping them achieve their charitable goals and passion for making a difference. This can be in the context of planning for their estates, selling a business or stock options, or managing an inheritance, as well as issue expertise on marine conservation.

Whether your client is interested in giving through TOF, is considering direct gifts, or is simply exploring options to learn more, we are committed to assisting you and them.

We offer flexible, effective, and rewarding ways to accomplish your client’s philanthropic goals.


Why Work With The Ocean Foundation?

We offer specialized expertise in marine conservation philanthropy for your clients who care about the coasts and oceans. We can identify grantees and projects around the world that will match your clients’ goals. Furthermore, we handle the record keeping and reporting and provide your client with quarterly statements and acknowledgments of gifts and grants. This personalized service comes along with all the efficiency of scale and the normal philanthropic services of a community foundation including:

  • Asset transfers
  • Record keeping and reporting (including quarterly statements to your clients)
  • Acknowledgments of gifts and grants
  • Professional grantmaking
  • Investment management
  • Donor education

Types of Gifts

Gifts TOF WILL Accept:

  • Cash: Checking Account
  • Cash: Savings Accounts
  • Cash: Bequest (Gift of any amount through a will, trust, life insurance policy or IRA)
  • Real Estate
  • Money Market Accounts
  • Stock Certificates
  • Bonds
  • Certificate of Deposit (CDs)
  • Crypto Currency via Gemini Wallet (Funds are liquidated once they are received by TOF)

Gifts TOF WILL NOT Accept:

  • Charity Gift Annuities 
  • Charitable Remainder Trust

Types of Funds

  • Donor-Advised Funds
  • Designated Funds (including Friends of Funds to support a specific foreign charity)
  • Donors can establish an endowment where the principal is invested and grants are made through interest, dividends and gains. The minimum threshold for this is $2.5M. Otherwise, non-endowment funds are moneys immediately available for granting.

Investment Options

TOF works with Citibank Wealth Management and Merrill Lynch, among other investment managers. Investment fees are normally 1% to 1.25% of the first $1 million. We are flexible in working with donors as they find the best investment vehicle for them.

Infrastructure and Administrative Fee

Non-Endowed Funds

TOF charges a one-time only 10% fee upon receipt of assets from the donor for non-endowed accounts (those less than $2.5M). In addition for any non-endowed accounts we retain the interest earned, which is used to defray TOF’s administrative expenses, helping us to keep our fees low.

Endowed Funds

TOF charges a one-time set up fee of 1% upon the receipt of assets from the donor for endowed accounts (those of $2.5M or more). Endowed accounts retain their own interest earned, dividends or gains to be used for grantmaking. The annual administrative fee is the greater of: 50 basis points (1/2 of 1%) of average market value, or 2.5% of grants paid. The fee is taken quarterly and is based on the average market value of the prior quarter. If the total fee collected for the year is less than 2.5% of grants paid, then the fund will be charged the difference in the first quarter of the following year. The fee for an individual grant of $500,000 or more is 1%. The minimum annual fee is $100.


Your Due Diligence Center

Planned Giving Bequest Samples

The Ocean fOundation Tax-Exempt Status Letter

OUR GUIDESTAR LISTING

Our Charity Navigator Listing

Gift of Appreciated Stock Form

Our Annual Reports

Independent Voting Board Members

The Ocean Foundation by-laws currently allow for 15 board members on our Board of Directors. Of the current board members, 90% are fully independent with no material or pecuniary relationship with The Ocean Foundation (in the U.S., independent outsiders make up 66% of all boards). The Ocean Foundation is not a membership organization, thus our board members are elected by the board itself; they are not appointed by the Chair of the Board (i.e. this is a self-perpetuating board). One member of our board is the paid President of The Ocean Foundation.

Charity Navigator

We are proud to have earned a four-star rating on Charity Navigator, as it exemplifies our commitment to transparency, impact reporting, and fiscal health. We appreciate how thoughtful and transparent Charity Navigator has been as it actively transforms the metrics by which it measures the effectiveness of organizations. We think that better metrics help everyone ensure that they are comparing apples to apples when evaluating organizations.

In addition, since fiscal year 2016 we have maintained Platinum level on Guidestar, a result of our extensive Monitoring and Evaluation program in which we work to measure our direct impact and effectiveness. We have also maintained a Platinum Seal of Transparency since 2021.

For more information, contact:

Jason Donofrio
Chief Development Officer
[email protected]
+1 (202)-318-3178

The Ocean Foundation is a 501(c)3 — Tax ID #71-0863908. Donations are 100% tax deductible as allowed by law.

Check out the personalized donor services TOF has offered in the past:

Landscape photo of the ocean and clouds