Closing the Ocean's $150B Funding Gap through Donor Advised Funds: Laura Francis, Sea Forward
Sep 30, 2026 · 27 min · 9 segments
Less than 1% of philanthropic capital goes to ocean causes, and the funding gap for a healthy ocean runs at least $150 billion. Laura Francis, Founder of Sea Forward Fund, is closing that gap with a…
Less than 1% of philanthropic capital goes to ocean causes, and the funding gap for a healthy ocean runs at least $150 billion. Laura Francis, Founder of Sea Forward Fund, is closing that gap with a collaborative multi donor fund now invested in 12 ocean health funds that span roughly 200 companies across 53 countries. After 27 years at NOAA and a career as a kelp forest ecologist, she built a model where a $250 donation and a $2 million donation both matter, returns cycle back through a donor advised fund, and everyday people learn how ocean impact investing works. Chapters: 00:03 Welcome to Green Shoots and Big Shifts 00:53 Falling in love with the ocean at 11 years olf 02:26 From UC Santa Barbara to 27 years at NOAA 03:53 Move into impact investing 06:12 The ocean funding gap and SDG 14 08:41 Inside Sea Forward Fund: 12 funds, 200 companies, 53 countries 09:26 Choosing science based fund managers and measuring impact 11:40 Why a $250 donation matters as much as $2 million 13:12 Impact Investing without a donor advised fund through CataCap 14:46 The living laboratory and the Ever Blue model 16:22 Ripple: community, webinars and newsletters 17:53 California Ocean Summit in Santa Barbara, December 2026 19:27 Lessons on mobilizing small donors for big impact 21:44 The ocean as a financial ecosystem 22:28 What's next: new platforms, field trips and growing to 15 funds 24:43 A science to finance pathway for students 25:35 Closing on resilience and hope You can follow Laura Francis here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraannfrancis/ Learn more about Sea Forward Fund: \- Sea Forward Fund Website - https://seaforwardfund.org \- Sea Forward Fund on Catacap: https://catacap.org/investments/seaforward \- California Ocean Summit: https://calocean.org/ DAF Commons: https://www.dafcommons.com/ Follow the host, Reetu Gupta here: \- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guptareetu/ \- https://www.linkedin.com/company/green-shoots-big-shifts/?viewAsMember=true
Less than 1% of philanthropic capital goes to ocean causes, and the funding gap for a healthy ocean runs at least $150 billion. Laura Francis, Founder of Sea Forward Fund, is closing that gap with a…
