Your gift can catalyze a sea change!
Join OST as we launch the SeaChange Scholars Fund—an initiative to empower California’s next generation of ocean science leaders. This fund supports graduate students as they tackle the urgent, management-relevant research questions our state needs answered to protect and sustain California’s ocean and coastal resources for the future.
Our goal is to raise $200,000 by the end of the year, to accelerate us toward our goal of $500,000 by the end of 2026. With the generous support of founding donors we can respond quickly to this moment of need and be ready to support students with research opportunities in the school year that has just begun.
Your generosity today will allow OST to establish the fund to:
- Support student research directly tied to real-world ocean management needs.
- Connect scholars with state policymakers, resource managers, and other key stakeholders to ensure their work can inform meaningful decisions.
- Provide mentorship and professional development opportunities that prepare students to successfully design policy-relevant research.
- Build lasting capacity for applied ocean science that benefits California’s people, ecosystems, and economy.
Together, we can create a true sea change—by investing in the students who will shape the future of California’s coast and ocean stewardship.
Thank you!
To donate by check, please mail to:
California Ocean Science Trust
1017 L Street
#293
Sacramento, CA 95814
Please make all checks payable to “California Ocean Science Trust”
Gifts of stock or distributions from your IRA account are a smart and easy way to support OST. You can designate your gift to a specific program or choose to support all of our work, enabling OST to use your gift towards our priority needs.
You can put OST into your Estate Plan or will. We appreciate being included in the causes and charities you care about, thank you!
Bequests via Trust or Will
Create a legacy by leaving a charitable bequest to California Ocean Science Trust. Through a simple process with tangible tax advantages, this option involves working with your estate planner to include a bequest in your will or trust. Gifts can be specified in several forms:
- Specific dollar amount or asset
- Percentage of the estate
- Balance or residual amount of the estate
Retirement Plan Funds
Retirement accounts are increasingly becoming the resource of choice for individuals who wish to make charitable bequests.
By naming California Ocean Science Trust as a beneficiary of one or more of your retirement accounts, you can make a legacy gift while reducing income tax liability to your heirs or your estate. Because charitable organizations do not pay income taxes, 100% of your gift will benefit our work.
Stocks
Stock donations are another pathway for leaving a legacy to California Ocean Science Trust. The advantages of this approach are that donating stock that has appreciated in value can help to avoid capital gains tax and potentially increase your tax deduction.
IRA Charitable Transfer
If you are required to take IRA distributions (you have an IRA and you are 70 ½), and you don’t need or want the income, you can benefit California Ocean Science Trust by directing your distribution to the organization and decreasing your taxable income.
Establish your legacy by donating up to $108k per year and satisfying your required minimum distribution (RMD).
Join us in launching the SeaChange Scholars Fund as a Founding Donor!
Ocean Science Trust is committed to bringing the weight of our aligned mission and our organizational assets to bear. Our Board of Trustees have unanimously approved the use of institutional funds to fully cover all administrative and start-up costs to establish and maintain the endowment—meaning that 100% of contributed funds will go directly to support students.
California Ocean Science Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our tax identification number is 65-1261006. Your entire donation is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution as allowed by law. California Ocean Science Trust has not provided any goods or services to your for contributions received. OST does not rent, sell, or trade your contact information.
To donate by phone, please contact us at 510.251.8320 or information@oceansciencetrust.org
