MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The ocean sustains all life on our planet. From the air we breathe to the seafood we eat, our very survival depends on a healthy ocean. Today, more than 7 billion of us compete to share the ocean's bounty. At the same time, escalating impacts on ocean health threaten the long-term sustainability of ocean resources and the human communities that depend on them in California, across the United States, and beyond. Like never before, we are at a critical moment in time--a pivotal point when our decisions to address the threats of pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, and the climate change will shape the future of the ocean. The good news is when we do the right thing, the ocean has an extraordinary capacity to recover. For 37 years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has helped lead this recovery by inspiring conservation of the ocean.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Conservation & Science
The Aquarium’s Conservation and Science programs tackle some of the most critical issues affecting ocean health. We bring decades of expertise and relationships in ocean science, policy and markets to the task. Our priorities include ensuring ocean health, thriving ocean wildlife and sustainable fisheries & aquaculture. Our programs include conservation research, policy initiatives and Seafood Watch.
Education
Since we opened in 1984, more than 2.6 million schoolchildren and teachers have come through our doors—for free. Each year, we offer in-depth programs for school children, teens and teachers that reach thousands more. The goal of our education programming is to develop young adults who are inspired future leaders, science and ocean literate, confident and ready to act on behalf of the future of our planet. Our programs serve a diverse group of youth and teachers and are staffed by a dedicated team of educators to ensure each program meets high standards of quality. In 2019, we opened the new Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education & Leadership. The 25,500 square foot facility offers state-of-the-art learning environments and technology to inspire the next wave of ocean stewards.
Aquarium Experience
The Aquarium showcases the habitats and sea life of the Monterey Bay and beyond, from coastal wetlands to the open sea, from kelp forests to a mile-deep submarine canyon. Today, more than 80,000 animals and plants, representing over 1,700 fishes, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, birds and plants fill nearly 200 exhibits.
Where we work
Awards
Best Aquarium in the World 2014
TripAdvisor
25 Year Award 2016
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Significant Achievement Award to our Sea Otter Program 2013
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Significant Achievment Award to our WATCH education program 2013
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
#3 in 20 Best Places to Take the Kids 2014
Parenting Magazine
William G. Conway International Conservation Award for Seafood Watch 2019
Association of Zoos and Aquarium
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of paid admissions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Related Program
Aquarium Experience
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Paid admissions include general admissions, member visits, group visits and private events.
Total number of free admissions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth
Related Program
Aquarium Experience
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Free admissions include community week, Free to Learn and Shelf to Shore programs for low-income families, and free field trip visits for schoolchildren and their chaperones.
Number of free participants on field trips
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Education
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our free Field Trip programs allow students to learn, have fun and discover their connections to the ocean while exploring the Aquarium's exhibits and programs.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
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?
The Monterey Bay Aquarium's mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean. To achieve our mission, we provide an outstanding aquarium experience, conduct cutting-edge ocean conservation research, promote seafood sustainability through our Seafood Watch program, and offer an innovative suite of science-based education programs for schoolchildren and their teachers. Based on the urgent need to safeguard threatened ocean resources, we leverage our reputation as a trusted ocean conservation leader to reach beyond our walls to inspire the public, the business community and policymakers to act on behalf of the global ocean.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We established three impact areas to allow our programs and staff to collectively and cooperatively achieve our mission: 1) Inspire and Engage, 2) Act for the Ocean and 3) Build Our Capacity for the Future.
1) Inspire and Engage: We create inspiring experiences for Aquarium visitors, build a constituency for the ocean, and develop and empower young conservation leaders.
2) Act for the Ocean: We improve the sustainability of global fisheries and aquaculture, advance policy for ocean conservation, and generate scientific information to guide conservation decisions.
3) Build Our Capacity for the Future: We ensure financial sustainability, invest in our people, take care of our physical assets, model best practices in environmental sustainability and advance our work through technology and innovation.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Monterey Bay Aquarium's capabilities include a successful track record that spans 37 years, an active and effective board of 20 trustees, nearly 400 highly skilled and dedicated staff members, more than 1,100 committed and knowledgeable volunteers, long-term partnerships with other respected conservation organizations, and the largest membership base of any aquarium in the world.
Our staff includes respected experts in the fields of animal care, conservation and science, education, exhibits, public programming, finance, marketing and development. As an institution and as individuals, we believe in core values which direct our day-to-day activities, influence our interactions with others and guide our future plans. These values include service, inclusion, respect, teamwork, leadership, integrity, quality, innovation, collaboration, sustainability and fun.
Our founders gave us a great gift when they provided financial support to open the Aquarium free of debt. They charted a course for our future operations—one that balances a deep commitment to the best business practices of the for-profit world and the loftiest goals of a mission-driven nonprofit. Philanthropy continues to make possible our ambitious programs aimed at ensuring a healthy future for the global ocean. We follow our founders’ vision by engaging in a rigorous planning and budgeting process each year that fits within a five-year financial model developed by the board and senior management team. The primary objectives for our planning process include strategic planning, financial planning, project planning and organizational planning.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has made a major contribution to ocean conservation since opening our doors in October 1984. By showcasing our local habitats and the importance of conservation, the Aquarium helped inspire designation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 1999 and advocated for the network of marine protected areas that now spans the length of the California Coast. We have also accomplished cutting-edge research that is helping protect key species and ocean ecosystems. We have contributed to the increased population of the threatened sea otter by raising orphaned sea otter pups through our innovative surrogacy program and then releasing them into the wild. Since we established Seafood Watch in 1999 to address inadequate fisheries management, overfishing, destruction of marine habitats and skyrocketing demand for seafood, it has become one of the most respected sources of science-based information used by business and consumers to find and purchase seafood from ocean-friendly sources. The Aquarium has also played a leading role in the fight for marine protection by backing state and federal actions and helped establish the Aquarium Conservation Partnership to amplify the collective impact of aquariums in the United States on ocean conservation policy. For more information about our conservation work, please visit our webpage "Act for the Ocean" at https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/act-for-the-ocean.
Other accomplishments include: welcoming over 65 million guests and providing free admission and education programs for more than 2.6 million school children, teens and teachers since we opened our doors; hosting Big Blue Live in 2015, a live television event that celebrated Monterey Bay as an ocean conservation success story of global significance; being named “Best Aquarium in the World" in 2014 by TripAdvisor® Travelers' Choice™; having Executive Director Julie Packard awarded the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 for her commitment to ocean sustainability and leadership; receiving the Silicon Valley Business Journal's Community Impact Award in 2015 for our education programs; and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums 2019 William G. Conway International Conservation Award for our Seafood Watch program. We encourage you to review our Annual Reviews for further details.
Although we are proud of our accomplishments and encouraged by positive actions by the public and government in addressing threats to the ocean, the amazing recovery of Monterey Bay and surrounding areas, and the ability of marine protected areas to help address the serious impacts of climate change on the ocean, we understand that much work remains. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is committed to building on our past accomplishments to address existing and future threats to the ocean. We will continue to be innovative in our actions and solutions though our exhibits, education programs, conservation and science programs,
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?
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
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.
MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 06/26/2023
Tegan Acton
President and Co-Chair, Sunlight Giving
Julie Packard
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Tegan Acton
Co-Founder and President, Sunlight Giving
Caroline Getty
Conservationist
M.R.C. Greenwood
President Emerita, University of Hawaii
Mike Gupta
CFO, Calm
Michael Mantell
Founding President and Senior Advisor, Resources Legacy Fund
Susan Orr
Co-Founder and Chairman, Arreva LLC
Chris Scholin
President and CEO, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Greg Silverman
CEO and founder of Stampede Ventures
Louise Stephens
Director of Strategy, Kennebunkport Climate Initiative
Mark Wan
Co-Founding Partner, Causeway Media Partners
Gideon Yu
Co-owner and former President of the San Francisco 49ers
Eric Jensen
Partner, Cooley LLP
Martha Martinez
Co-Executive Director of the California Assoc of Latino Superintendents and Administrators
Lisa White
Director of Education and Outreach at the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California, Berkeley
Ben Jealous
Executive Director, Sierra Club
Stephen Neal
Chairman Emeritus, Cooley LLP
Julie Packard
Executive Director, Monterey Bay Aquarium
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? Yes
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:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/10/2021GuideStar 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 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 use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- 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.