Give the gift of impact

Time for action

I am donating

Start a fundraiser

Empower your network to rid the oceans of plastic with you.

Start a birthday fundraiser, a business fundraiser, a bake sale, challenge yourself to an activity goal, or start your own clean up initiative – the options are endless!

Start a fundraiser

Give the
gift of impact

For this holiday season or any special occasion, make a gift of impact by donating towards cleaner oceans on behalf of your loved ones or employees.

Once you have donated, you will find a gift certificate that you can download and share with friends, family, employees, and/or clients.

FUNDRAISE TO CLEAN THE OCEANS

Would you like to raise funds for The Ocean Cleanup?

With our dedicated fundraising platform, you can play a vital role in ridding the oceans of plastic while empowering others to join you.

Start a birthday fundraiser, a business fundraiser, a bake sale, challenge yourself to an activity goal, or start your own clean up initiative – the options are endless!

FUNDRAISE

We aim to put ourselves out of business

With your help, we can work towards a future where plastic no longer pollutes our oceans. This is possible by cleaning up what is already out there, and stopping plastic on its way to the ocean via rivers. We are currently cleaning up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as well as working on more river Interceptor deployments in some of the world’s most polluted rivers.

Cleaning up plastic in oceans and rivers

Highlights resulted from donor support

Confirmed proof-of-technology for our ocean cleanup technology in October 2021, and cleaning the Great Pacific Garbage Patch since
Deployed 17 river Interceptors in 8 countries, with many more in the pipeline
Published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, leading in the field of ocean and river plastic pollution science
Grew from a team of volunteers to over 130 employees – building on a strong foundation for scale-up in oceans and rivers around the world
Removed over 20 million kilograms (44 million pounds) of trash from the environment

Boyan Founder and CEO

"The power of the crowd is what got The Ocean Cleanup off the ground in the beginning and has been essential to the success of our project ever since – thank you for sharing our goal of clean oceans. "
Stella Catch Management Director

"My team works on ensuring that the plastic removed from oceans and rivers does not go back into the ocean, either by creating durable new products or processing it otherwise. Thank you for supporting this important pillar of our mission."
Fedde Project Engineer

"From insolvable problems to a working solution and proven technology! I'm very proud to have been a part of the full development of our ocean cleanup systems. We are now fine-tuning and upgrading System 03 to further increase the amount of plastics we remove from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. "
Linda HR Coordinator

"Thanks to your support, we can attract and take care of the best people with the right skills to solve the challenge. Glad to play a role in this meaningful mission."

FAQs and Other Ways To Help

Give By Bank Transfer Or Check

We also accept donations via check or wire/bank transfer.
- Our focus is currently only on the five oceanic gyres, where floating plastic accumulates and our cleanup system cannot be adapted to work for other areas. For more details on how our system works, please see our technology page.
  
  We deployed our first beta cleanup system from San Francisco Bay into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on September 8, 2018. After months of testing and documenting, we returned back to port for repair and upgrade as of January 3, 2019. We learned that the system to a large extent works as is intended, but is not always moving faster than the plastic, and thus not retaining it long enough for efficient cleanup. The engineering teams in now going through the test data, inspecting the system and working on solutions. To follow this progress, see our dedicated System 001 page. Once we have made alterations and feel confident to put the system to the test again, we will relaunch the system into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
  
  After we have reached proof of technology, we will start scaling up more rapidly. We have calculated that we would need a fleet of 60 cleanup systems in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to reach a 50 % plastic reduction in 5 years’ time.
  
  When our technology has been proven for the ocean, and we are well on our way to reaching a full fleet of cleanup systems in the North Pacific, we could potentially devote time and resources to spin-off projects. If you have an interest in buying a system for other areas than the gyres, feel free to send us an email through our contact form, detailing your interest, so we can keep your details on file for the future.
- As our HQ is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 99% of our positions are based here. Some of our positions can require traveling to other places for long periods of time, but your base will most likely be in Rotterdam.
  
  Occasionally, we are looking for volunteers or project related helpers in other parts of the world. If you would like to be considered, please submit a volunteer application. Please also keep an eye on our Career page and LinkedIn page for new opportunities that might be of interest to you.
Tax Deductability Of Your Donation

Donors can give to two different charities, one in the Netherlands and the other in US.
- We have a registered foundation in the Netherlands and in the US, and donations from within these countries can be tax deductible.
  If you donate through our website form, you will receive an automated receipt.
  
  If you donated by making a manual bank/wire transfer and would like a receipt, we can make one for you manually. You can contact us via our contact form specifying the following details:
  
  Full name
  
  Date of donation
  
  Full postal address
  
  Donation method (ie. Visa, PayPal, Bank Transfer)
  
  After verifying your donation with this information, we will create a receipt for you. Please note that is a manual process, and therefore we ask for your patience in advance.