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National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Our Work

Grants awarded by the Foundation

The Foundation channels donor support into community-led conservation, science, and education projects across America's marine sanctuaries.

9
Grants awarded this cycle
$181,400
Distributed to projects
3
Funding programs
8
Sanctuaries supported

Funded projects

Showing 9 grants · sorted by amount

Pilot demo — directory wires to SmartSimple at launch.

  • Sanctuary Community Fund · Florida Keys · FY 2026

    Coral Restoration Network — Florida Keys

    Outplanting 2,400 staghorn and elkhorn coral fragments on Eastern Dry Rocks, with year-over-year survivorship monitoring.

    $38,000

  • Marine Conservation Mini-Grants · Greater Farallones · FY 2026

    Kelp Forest Recovery Citizen-Science Program

    Trains 60 volunteer divers to monitor kelp-forest health on a standardized REEF protocol across six dive sites.

    $14,500

  • Sanctuary Community Fund · Thunder Bay · FY 2026

    Shipwreck Documentation & Public Access

    High-resolution photogrammetry of three newly discovered Great Lakes shipwrecks, with public-facing 3D models.

    $22,000

  • Marine Conservation Mini-Grants · Hawaiian Islands · FY 2026

    Humpback Whale Photo-ID Field Season

    Winter field season for the long-running Maui humpback photo-ID catalog, supporting NOAA stock assessments.

    $18,500

  • Education Mini-Grants · Channel Islands · FY 2026

    Sanctuary Stewardship Curriculum — Title I Schools

    Place-based marine science curriculum delivered to 14 Title I schools in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

    $9,800

  • Sanctuary Community Fund · Olympic Coast · FY 2026

    Tribal Co-Stewardship Convening

    Hosts a two-day tribal co-stewardship working session bringing four coastal treaty tribes together with sanctuary staff.

    $27,000

  • Marine Conservation Mini-Grants · Florida Keys · FY 2026

    Sea Turtle Stranding Response

    Expanded stranding-response capacity during the spring cold-stun and entanglement season.

    $12,200

  • Marine Conservation Mini-Grants · Cordell Bank · FY 2026

    Deep-Sea Coral Mapping ROV Time

    Three ROV days surveying previously unmapped deep-sea coral habitat on the bank's southern flank.

    $31,000

  • Education Mini-Grants · Monitor · FY 2026

    Maritime Heritage Festival

    Annual heritage festival in Hatteras featuring Civil War-era maritime archaeology and Coast Guard rescue history.

    $8,400

Apply for a Foundation grant

The Foundation's grant cycles open quarterly. Application guidelines, eligibility, and proposal forms are managed through SmartSimple.

Talk with the grants team