$10 Million Granted to Living Oceans by American Foundations, Since 2000

Living Oceans Society, based in the small, remote B.C. town of Sointula, has been paid more than $US10 million since 2000 by American charitable foundations, according to my analysis of U.S. tax returns and the on-line databases of these foundations. U.S. grants to LOS increased from $8,000 in 1999 to a high of $2.9 million in 2008.

By far, most of this U.S. money has gone towards Living Ocean's campaign against salmon farming. Living Oceans was also granted U.S. funds for a campaign "to retain the current prohibition on offshore oil and gas development in British Columbia." That was a grant from the Seattle-based Bullitt-foundation for $20,000 in 2005.

Living Oceans Society is a federally registered charity in the U.S. but as far as I can tell, it is not federally registered in Canada. According to information provided by staff at the Canada Revenue Agency, Living Oceans began the process of becoming a federally registered Canadian charity but did not complete it. In a 2001 report contained in the U.S. tax returns of the Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation, LOS says, "Living Oceans Society is currently applying for charitable tax status. We have been advised to refrain from posting action items on our web-page until this application has been approved as it could be interpreted as 'political.'  In the meantime, we have met with a web-page designer and we are prepared to add this to our web page when the timing is more appropriate." This excerpt from Living Ocean's own report, is shown below.

Of the $10 million, $6.5 million was from the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, $2.3 million was from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation,$789,698 was from the Oak Foundation and $260,000 was from the Marisla Foundation. 

Living Oceans Society was contacted by phone and by e-mail and asked to confirm these numbers. No reply was received. (For my previous letter to Living Oceans Society, sent in March of 2010, click here).

Grants from the Marisla Foundation and several of the grants from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation were made through the Redmond, Washington-based Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI).  The $260,000 from the Marisla foundation includes a grant for $130,000 which may not have been passed on to the Living Oceans Society in its entirety.  Other grants from Marisla to MCBI may have been passed on in whole or in part to LOS but are not included in the list below as the stated purpose of the grant did not specifically mention LOS. 

Below, here are links to the grants from American foundations to Living Oceans Society, for a total of $10 million.

Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation: $6,508,141

• $453,400 in 2003 NOTE: This is one of the grants for the salmon farming campaign that was quietly re-written by the Moore foundation after concerns were raised.
•  $1,125,000 in 2005 for the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform.  NOTE: This is one of the grants for the salmon farming campaign that was quietly re-written by the Moore foundation after concerns were raised.
•  $500,000 in 2006 for Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform – Framework for Dialogue
• $578,098 in 2006 for Increasing stakeholder participation in Area-Based Management
• $600,000 in 2007 Joint Research on Salmon Farming (with Marine Harvest)
• $1,843,531 in 2008 for the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform in BC
• $239,835 in 2008 for Securing deep sea coral protection
• $880,500 in 2010 for the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform in BC
• $287,777 in 2010 for Technical Analyses for Marine Spatial Planning

David & Lucile Packard Foundation: $2,358,000

Directly to the Living Oceans Society:

• $175,000 in 2003 “for the farmed salmon markets campaign of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform.”
• $50,000 in 2003 “for Living Ocean’s marine protected area campaign.”
• $50,000 in 2004 “for a campaign to establish a network of marine protected areas on the Pacific coast of Canada”
• $33,000 in 2005 "for fund development planning"
• $225,000 in 2006 "For Farmed and Dangerous, the farmed salmon markets campaign of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform."
• $225,000 in 2007  "for continued support of Farmed and Dangerous, the farmed salmon markets campaign of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform."
• $225,000 in 2008 "For continued support of the farmed salmon markets campaign of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform."
• $225,000 in 2009 "For phase-out support of the farmed salmon markets campaign of the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform."
• $225,000 in 2010 "To strengthen social media strategies and build a senior management team to lead the implementation of the new strategic plan."

Through the Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI), Redmond WA:

• $200,000 in 2000, granted to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, based in Redmond WA, for “support for the Living Ocean Society Marine Protected Area Program.”
• $50,000 in 2001, granted to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, based in Redmond WA, for “support for the Living Ocean Society Marine Protected Area Program.”
• $125,000 in 2002, granted to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, based in Redmond WA, for “support for the Living Ocean Society Marine Protected Area Program.”
• $125,000 in 2006, granted to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, based in Redmond WA, "for Living Oceans Society's Sustainable Fisheries Campaign and for general operating expenses"
• $125,000 in 2007, granted to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, based in Redmond WA, "for Living Ocean Society's general operating expenses."

Bullitt Foundation:  $178,000

• Click here and search for the Marine Conservation Biology Institute.

This included three grants that specifically refer to the offshore moratorium on oil and gas development in B.C.:

• $25,000 in 2001 to support "a project to promote continuing an existing moratorium on oil and gas development off the British Columbia coast, including public and government outreach and education." For this grant, the "fiscal sponsor" was the Sierra Legal Defence Council.
• $20,000 in 2003 to support "the Living Oceans Society's offshore oil and gas public outreach campaign."  This grant went through the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Redmond Washington.
• $20,000 in 2005 to support "Living Oceans Society's campaign to retain the current prohibition on offshore oil and gas development in British Columbia." This grant went through the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Redmond Washington.

Over the years, the stated purposes of grants made by the Bullitt Foundation to Living Oceans Society became more vague.  In 2010, the stated purpose of the grant is simply "For general support."

Marisla Foundation: $260,000

• $130,000 in 2003 to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Redmond Washington for "General Support/Living Oceans Society."
• $30,000 in 2004 to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Redmond Washington for the Living Oceans Society
• $50,000 in 2008 to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Redmond Washington for the Living Oceans Society
• $50,000 in 2009 to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Redmond Washington for the Living Oceans Society
• $50,000 in 2009, approved for future payment to the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Redmond Washington for the Living Oceans Society.
  

Oak Foundation: $789,698

• $200,000 in 2005 for Developing Sustainable Fisheries on B.C.'s Coast. The stated purpose of this grant is, "To support coordinated efforts with the Canadian government to design an effective process for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area."
• $485,057 in 2008 for Establishing a network of marine protected areas and ecosystem based management in British Columbia and the Arctic.  The stated purpose of this grant is, "To secure the Canadian government's political and financial support of the Oceans Action Plan to ensure the long-term health of the ocean and coastal communities on the Pacific Coast of Canada. LOS will work to make certain that the structure of the integrated oceans management process is designed to engage stakeholders and includes ecosystem-based management measures and a network of marine protected areas in British Columbia and the Arctic. It will conduct analyses that illustrate the environmental impacts of ecosystem-based management practices and work to link the marine protected areas with international efforts for a system ranging from Mexico to the Arctic."
• $104,641 in 2011 for an Environmental Plan for B.C.'s PNCIMA. The stated purpose of this grant is "To ensure that the Pacific North Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA) Marine Spatial Planning Initiative achieves strong conservation objectives for this region which covers two thirdsof British Columbia. The conservation objectives will include: an ecosystem-based management framework to guide the management of all industries; spatial application of the EBM framework; and a network of marine protected areas including core no take zones."

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