CAMPAIGN PRIORITY
Advance ocean science for people and planet.
Join the Campaign for Our Ocean Planet with a gift to Drive Discovery by igniting bold ideas, scaling breakthrough science, building the tools of discovery, and powering the mission that keeps WHOI at the forefront of ocean research.
Ignite new ideas
Support one of WHOI's most successful innovation engines with a gift to the Catalyst Program, which provides seed grants to spark promising new lines of research and technology development. The Catalyst Program has yielded exceptional results in the form of leveraged funding and the seeding of large, multidisciplinary research
programs, such as the six-year, $34 million Ocean Twilight Zone project and the long-running Reef Rx initiative.
| Named Catalyst Program funds | $100,000+ (current use) |
| or $250,000* (endowed) |
*A dollar-for-dollar match is available to double the impact of endowed gifts to the Catalyst Program, up to a total of $5 million.
Provide critical resources that WHOI leadership can strategically deploy to unlock additional support from external funders. Investments in research acceleration provide extraordinary returns, yielding an average of 4x or more in new funding within the first two years.
| Named research acceleration funds | $100,000+ (current use) |
| or $250,000 (endowed) |
Scale Breakthrough Science
Advance a major research program focused on topics that are personally meaningful to you, the donor, through the establishment of an endowed center or time-bound, current-use initiative. Examples of potential focus areas include climate solutions, plastics and pollution, urban oceanography, marine mammals, coral studies, polar oceans, and policy and public engagement.
| Endowed centers | $15 million+ |
| (minimum $10 million endowed plus $5 million current use) | |
| Initiatives | $5 million+ (current use) |
Power the Mission
Preserve and propel WHOI's leadership position at the cutting edge of ocean observation by supporting advanced research instrumentation and facilities. Examples include tools that reveal hidden clues to ocean health, instruments sensitive enough to detect the chemical traces of passing nuclear submarines, equipment that simulates the crushing pressures of the deep sea, and facilities that demonstrate how plastics break down in seawater, to name just a few.
| Endowed Facilities | $12 million+ |
| (minimum $10 million endowed plus $2 million current use) | |
| Major Instrumentation and Equipment | $500,000 (current use) |
Provide flexible resources that WHOI leadership can rapidly deploy in response to emerging opportunities and threats.