106 Monterey County GIVES! 2024 mcgives.com Environment & Sustainability DONate online mcgives.com talk to folks walking by who want to learn more about what we’re seeing—it’s truly a community event.” -Catherine Webb, outreach volunteer Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust Year Founded: 2014 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 3 paid, 20 volunteers Budget: $675,187 233-3101 montereybayfisheriestrust.org Big Idea: Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust is nearly one year into its updated five-year strategic plan, with a vision of Monterey Bay as a home to a thriving fishing community, supported by local consumers and contributing to a resilient regional food system. This nonprofit is working toward its goals with its popular Get Hooked dinners, in which diners eat locally inspired seafood dishes and meet area fishermen. The MBFT also donated nearly 14,000 nutritious seafood meals through its Community Seafood Program. “As long as the Trust is here, we will have additional groundfish quota for my operation when I need it, and at a discounted rate. Given so many uncertainties with fishing nowadays, having that dependability is golden.” -Jiri Nozicka Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Year Founded: 2017 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 3 paid, 8 volunteers Budget: $520,000 359-7071 montereybayfoundation.org Big Idea: The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation serves as the primary nonprofit partner and chief advocate for the federally designated sanctuary. This Big Idea secures critical funding for our sanctuary’s wildlife protection and education programs and raises public awareness about the sanctuary’s vital role in ocean conservation. This foundation influences a wide range of ocean needs, from protecting majestic whales through programs to reduce entanglements and ship strikes to college internships for future marine conservation champions. “Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is not just a local treasure, but a national legacy. Supporting the sanctuary means investing in the future of our planet.” -Foundation Co-chair Leon Panetta, retired Secretary of Defense and U.S. Congressman, and architect of the legislation designating MBNMS O’Neill Sea Odyssey Year Founded: 1996 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 12 paid, 18 volunteers Budget: $1,157,000 475-1561 oneillseaodyssey.org Big Idea: You can help students climb aboard a 65-foot catamaran as they set sail for this unique educational adventure. O’Neill Sea Odyssey’s Big Idea invites four groups of South County students to explore the ocean ecosystem through this multi-sensory experience on the nonprofit’s outdoor classroom. Students then apply what they learned about the ocean’s role through a community service project, supported by the organization. Funds raised through MCGives! remove barriers between students and the sea, including transportation and ocean access. “The team that we worked with were some of the best educators out there. They took complex concepts like navigation, marine biology and enviLandWatch Monterey County Year Founded: 1997 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 3 paid, 50 volunteers Budget: $470,000 759-2824 landwatch.org Big Idea: While once considered Monterey County’s “land use watchdog,” this nonprofit has a much larger mission today: to create a sustainable future addressing the critical connection between climate, housing, transportation and sustainable groundwater. LandWatch Monterey County steps in to oppose (and sometimes litigate against) unsustainable development that threatens sensitive species, results in construction of unaffordable housing and/or overlooks the constraints of our local water supply. Its Big Idea is to advocate and organize support to conserve and redevelop areas on the former Fort Ord that are both environmentally sustainable and equitable. “Where would we be without LandWatch? As a former Monterey County supervisor, I know how effective LandWatch has been as our advocate for sustainable development. For the past 25 years, LandWatch has served as our watchdog over constantly threatened natural resources, farmlands, coast and water supplies. Tirelessly, LandWatch advocates for city-centered, climate-friendly growth and affordable housing. It has alerted us to bad projects, like the Monterey Downs horse track and Armstrong Ranch subdivision—and stopped them. But needed projects like Pebble Beach’s workforce housing and Tanimura & Antle’s farmworker housing get LandWatch’s support. Because of that, Monterey County hasn’t yet lost its soul to urban sprawl. Rather, much of the County is now charting a more sustainable future.” - Karin Strasser Kaufman spotlight “They honored the excitement and wonder that each child experienced aboard the boat.” -Cristin, O’Neill Sea Odyssey
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