There’s only one thing that would make the Ocean Institute’s 30th anniversary even better,money.
The Dana Point nonprofit is trying to drum up support to raise money for a $4 million expansion project and to help grow its endowment fund during the next few years.
The Ocean Institute, founded in 1977, works to raise awareness about ocean preservation through education.
Every year the nonprofit has more than 100,000 students take part in its educational programs about ocean preservation, science, technology and maritime history.
Tours aboard the institute’s R/V Sea Explorer, Brig Pilgrim and Spirit of Dana Point ships, and educational programs such as its overnight watershed expedition, have helped it carve a niche among Orange County’s nonprofits.
The Ocean Institute generates roughly $10 million in yearly revenue from its tuition fees, gift store sales and events held at its facilities. It employs about 120 people and counts 450 volunteers.
The nonprofit is focusing its efforts on a fundraising campaign for the Seaside Learning Center it plans to build at Dana Point Harbor.
The $4 million project, which is set to break ground next fall, stands to add more space and equipment for the institute’s educational programs, according to President Dan Stetson.
The Seaside Learning Center calls for several attractions including replicas of historic maritime equipment such as anchors, windlasses,the piece that raises and drops an anchor,
and capstans, the rotating machine used to
control a ship.
The learning center also will include a boathouse where students can take boat building, navigational and woodworking classes and a discovery pool that houses and quarantines small marine animals brought ashore by its R/V Sea Explorer.
The Ocean Institute has raised half of the money so far, thanks to a $1 million donation and $1 million low-interest loan from the California Coastal Conservancy agency.
But if the institute doesn’t receive the other $2 million, construction on the learning center could be delayed, Stetson said.
Enter local businesses.
At the center of the Seaside Learning Center fundraising is Rick Taylor, president and chief executive of Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc., an Irvine-based subsidiary of Japan’s Toshiba Corp.
“We’re trying to get the word out to individuals and corporations about the Ocean Institute and its programs,” Taylor said. “This is an organization that’s focused on education, the environment and science. People should see the value in it.”
Toshiba has sponsored the Ocean Institute for the past eleven years, donating more than $1 million to the institution, Taylor said.
The company is one of several businesses and foundations the Ocean Institute has partnered with during the years.
Others include Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. and the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa and St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach.
Kathie Armstrong, executive director of the Quiksilver Foundation, said that the company donates money to the Ocean Institute because its mission fits in with Quiksilver’s overall theme.
“The ocean institute’s mission aligns with us. We’re a company that has roots in the surfing world and we’re intimately connected with the ocean and appreciate its mission to protect it,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong declined to say how much Quiksilver has given to the institute, but said the company has supported it since the Quiksilver Foundation was started in 2004.
Chief Executive Bob McKnight supported the Ocean Institute several years before the company’s foundation was founded, she said.
McKnight is one of many local businessmen who sits on the nonprofit’s board. Others include Jens Von Gierke of Newport Beach’s Makar Properties LLC and Rick Ohl of Orange-based Young’s Market Co.
William Steel, partner at law firm Samuels, Green, Steel & Adams LLP, is chair of the institute’s executive committee.
Steel said that while the Ocean Institute is trying to attract donations for its expansion project, it’s also trying to grow its meager endowment fund, which stands at less than a $1 million.
The institute’s goal is to grow the fund to $20 million in the next few years, Steel said.
A sizable endowment fund would help the nonprofit offer more scholarships to students and attract qualified instructors, Steel said.
“There’s real value in giving to the organization,” he said.
Over the years, the Ocean Institute has used fundraising events such as golf tournaments and home giveaways to generate money.
The Ocean Institute plans to launch a capital campaign for its endowment fund some time next year.
“We’re doing everything we can to establish a legacy here and individuals can be a part of it by giving back,” Stetson said. n
