SYLVIA EARLE ALLIANCE MISSION BLUE
Protect the ocean as if your life depends on it, because it does.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Climate change, pollution, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, and overfishing are just some of the major threats facing our ocean. The ocean is clearly being harmed, both by what people have been putting into it and by what we have been taking out, especially since the mid-20th century. Trouble for the ocean means trouble for all of life on Earth, birds, and humans very much included. And the pace of this trouble is accelerating. The human population has more than doubled since the 1950s, and while people are living longer and generally better than ever before, this apparent prosperity has come at a cost. On the land, natural systems and the diverse forms of life they contain have declined precipitously. In the sea, about half of the coral reefs, kelp forests, and sea-grass meadows have disappeared along with 90 percent of many kinds of fish, squid, and other ocean wildlife. Only 7% of the ocean has any protection at all, and it is Mission Blue's goal to change this.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Hope Spots
Mission Blues Hope Spot program continues to expand, not only through the work of community groups and NGOs, but also within the global ocean science community. Hope Spots represent the first step in the process towards protection for many cases. At present, the Mission Blue Hope Spot Council has designated 160 Hope Spots and counting.
Communication & Outreach
We recently set best-ever records for two of our three key performance indicators: online donations and followers. For our third Key Performance Indicator, engagements, 2023 was our best year on record after 2020, a year that cross-industry saw a massive engagement spike due to worldwide lockdowns.
Beyond our core work of promoting Hope Spots, running fundraising campaigns, and supporting partnerships, we have seen the completion of two major projects. We completed the Hope Spot Information Platform, and it is now live on our website. Hundreds of hours of work went into this from several team members, and we are very excited about what we have achieved and the firm footing we have to grow the platform into the future. Also, all of Mission Blues digital data is now housed on four redundant servers and optimized for data security.
Mission Blue Expeditions
Mission Blue Expeditions are short duration trips, typically two weeks or less, that vary in size and scope. They are designed to create awareness, foster partnerships, and build public support for the creation of Hope Spots and Ocean protection across the globe.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
IUCN 2010
United Nations 2017
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
With a total of 160 Hope Spots launched, Mission Blue added 13 Hope Spots in 2023.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Hope Spots
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Mission Blue, the nonprofit founded by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, is on a mission to inspire action to explore and protect the ocean. At the heart of Mission Blue's work is the conviction that the ocean is essential to all life on Earth - it provides the oxygen we breathe, regulates our climate, and so much more. The ocean faces unprecedented threats from overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change. Mission Blue recognizes that to secure a healthy future for our blue planet, we must take urgent action now to safeguard marine ecosystems.
The overarching goal of Mission Blue is to protect 30% of the global ocean by 2030 through a network of highly protected marine areas, incubated by "Hope Spots." These are special places, scientifically identified as critical to the health of the ocean. Some Hope Spots are already protected, while others still need defined protection. By shining a light on these places through exploration, scientific research, and creative communication, Mission Blue aims to galvanize support for marine conservation efforts worldwide.
Working in 65 countries, Mission Blue collaborates with local communities, NGOs, scientists, business leaders, and governments to accelerate ocean protection and achieve the 30x30 target. This ambitious goal aligns with targets set at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference, where nations agreed to protect a third of Earth's lands and oceans by 2030 to address the interconnected biodiversity and climate crises.
To advance conservation in key areas, Mission Blue partners with organizations like The Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy, Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, Blue Marine Foundation, and many others. By leveraging their expertise and resources, Mission Blue helps catalyze the creation and expansion of marine protected areas in places like the Arctic, Mexico, Panama, Chile, South Africa, Antarctica, and the High Seas.
Mission Blue also supports the work of "Hope Spot Champions" - local conservation leaders spearheading protection efforts for each Hope Spot. Through capacity development workshops, community exchanges, supporting grants, and spotlighting their stories, Mission Blue builds a global wave of public and political support.
Creative media and expeditions are another way Mission Blue builds wonder and drives action. Expeditions to Hope Spots capture cinema-quality footage of underwater marvels and threats like plastic pollution. The images and stories shared through films, books, exhibits, and online platforms, put a face to the biodiversity crisis and inspire the public to care.
By uniting grassroots and global efforts, Mission Blue aims to catalyze transformative ocean conservation. With a proven model of community-driven protection through Hope Spots, an unwavering commitment to science, and a message of hope, Mission Blue is driving progress toward a thriving ocean for all. Because as Dr. Earle wisely says, "No ocean, no life. No ocean, no us."
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Mission Blue supports the Hope Spot Initiative in the following ways:
1. Hope Spots- We have created 160 Hope Spots and Mission Blue along with our Hope Spot Champions are working to create awareness and push for protection in these areas.
2. Outreach/Education- Dr. Earle attends more than 250 speaking engagements annually. She is invited to nearly 500 meetings or speaking events and continues to meet with presidents and governments to address the need for protection of the ocean. Dr. Earle's outreach is leveraged through social and traditional media; building momentum on a mass scale; which is invaluable to the larger conservation community.
3. Expeditions- Mission Blue conducts expeditions to Hope Spots and documents what we find. These short-duration trips create global awareness, foster meaningful partnerships, and build community support for marine conservation and Hope Spots.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Dr.Sylvia Earle is the worlds most powerful voice for communicating the urgent need for ocean protection and in support of her work, MissionBlue continues to rally action. Over the past several years MissionBlue has grown significantly with over 225 respected ocean conservation groups and like-minded organizations signed on as partners.
We are also witnessing a global validation for Hope Spots. To date, MissionBlue has designated 160 Hope Spots and counting. Mission Blue will launch a new Hope Spot Information Platform this year which aims to accelerate ocean protection in the Hope Spot global community using the latest in mapping technology.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Referring to the same results as the above questions, we have seen progress in all of our programs. Over the past several years MissionBlue has grown significantly with over 250 respected ocean conservation groups and like-minded organizations signed on as partners. MissionBlues social media has reached an important milestone. 2023 was one of Mission Blue's strongest years with the number of new Hope Spots designated and with action from champions and partners in these Hope Spots. The Champions and Partners are engaged and actively working
on a variety of actions to expand ocean protection and conservation in each Hope Spot. With all of the threats facing the ocean, our work is now more important than ever; we are inspiring community action in Hope Spots around the world. Interest in Hope Spots continued to expand, not only with local groups and NGOs but also within the ocean science community globally.
Hope Spots represent the first step in the process towards protection for many cases. In others, it is helping to push for a management plan for a protected area already designated by a government or doubling down with support for protected areas in light of regular changes in government administrations that inevitably take place over time. The flow of nominations is steady, and the Hope Spot Advisory Council, designated 13 new Hope Spots in 2023.
We will work with these communities over the upcoming year to develop local protection efforts including outreach, policy, science programs and ultimately government action. In 2024, Mission Blue will continue to scale up community engagement.
Our goals for 2024 and beyond are:
Continue to work towards protection in Hope Spots
Increase Hope Spots
Recruit Hope Spot Champions and create boundaries
for early designated Hope Spots
Develop effective methods to support Hope Spots,
individually and collectively, and raise awareness
and support communities directly
Leverage Dr. Earles's voice via videos and social media
to support local efforts
Monitor and report success for all Hope Spots
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
SYLVIA EARLE ALLIANCE MISSION BLUE
Board of directorsas of 03/13/2024
Sylvia Earle
Mission Blue
Mr. John Vermilye
Gallifrey Foundation
Term: 2019 - 2024
Sylvia Earle
National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence
Linda Glover
Marine Scientist
Shari Sant Plummer
Code Blue Foundation
Shannon O�Leary
EarthSense Foundation
Robert Nixon
True Blue Films
Sharon Kwok
AquaMeridian Foundation
Will Travis
Elevation Barn
John Vermilye
Gallifrey Foundation
Dona Bertarelli
Bertarelli Foundation
Vasser Seydel
Turner Foundation
Gabrielle McGee
Tory Burch Foundation
Hussain Aga Khan
FocusedonNature
Philippe Prufer
SKP Investimentos and AIEP
Nicola Esposito
Real Estate Investments
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/01/2024GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.