FUNDRAISING
Be the reason someone else gives.
A gaming community raised $14,000. A teenager took on plastic. Dive centres turned their house reefs into fundraisers. Every one of them started by asking their own people.
Choose your region to start your page
pieces of marine debris logged by 100,000 divers in 120 countries
marine animals freed from entanglement
to 80+ community-led projects in 28 countries
shark and ray species with increased protection measures
A cleanup is finite. The infrastructure is not.
Every dollar you raise powers the work divers see the need for on every dive. One-off gifts fund projects. Fundraisers bring new people with them. Here is where it lands.
Citizen science that holds up
Every logged dive feeds the world's largest underwater citizen science database, and that data reaches IUCN, CITES and the UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations.
Grants where the reef is
In Kenya, a Community Grant trained ten community members as Reef Rangers. Eight are now employed, and the work established the first Community-Managed Area in the Diani-Chale Reserve. A second grant is running now in the 47-hectare Mkwiro Community Managed Area
Dive sites protected
Adopt the Blue turns registered dive sites into monitored places, and entanglement response has freed 44,000+ marine animals so far.
HOW IT WORKS
Three steps and you are live.
Pick your challenge
A conservation dive, a marathon, a birthday. Anything you were going to do anyway works harder with a goal attached to it.
Build your page
Set a target, add a photo, and write why this matters to you. $10,000 funds one PADI AWARE Community Grant, which makes a useful goal to aim at.
Ask your people
Share the link and make the first donation yourself. Pages that open with a self-donation raise noticeably more than pages that start at zero.
Ten minutes, start to finish. Choose your region to begin.
Pick a goal that means something.
These are the sizes fundraisers tend to aim for, and the work your total goes toward. Not price tags. Everything raised goes into the same programmes.
Most people start smaller and raise their goal when they get there.
Choose your region and set yours.
Back someone who already started.
Every page below belongs to a real person who decided the ocean was worth asking their friends about. Find one and give, or search for someone you know.
None of them were asked to.
These pages exist because someone decided to make one.
No campaign, no deadline, no one chasing them.
A gaming community
BlackFish Empire turned an online event into the highest raising fundraiser on this site. Not one of them had to be a diver to care.
One person, one idea
Youth Against Plastic started as a single fundraising page and raised more than most organisations manage in a year.
A dive centre
White Seal PADI 5 Star Eco Diving Center put their house reef behind a page and brought their whole community with them.
Everything you need, in one place.
You do not have to work this out on your own. A guide, an asset pack, our logos, and five ready-made designs you can open and edit in your own Canva account. All free to use.
The fundraising guide
Everything we have learned about running a fundraiser that works, from setting your page up to what to do with cash on the day.
Read the guideThe asset pack
Five ready-made designs for posters, counter cards and social posts, plus our logo files, the programme marks, and the pack that explains how to use them.
Get the assetsPlanning something now? Email community@padiaware.org and someone will help you get started.
Questions people ask before they start.
If yours is not here, email community@padiaware.org and we will answer it.
How do I start a fundraiser for PADI AWARE?
Choose your region using the buttons on this page, then set up your fundraiser with a goal and a photo. It takes about ten minutes. We are here if you get stuck.
What kind of fundraiser can I do?
Almost anything. Beach cleanups, dive challenges, birthdays, bake sales, fitness goals. The best fundraisers are usually something you were going to do anyway, with a page attached to it.
Can young people fundraise?
Yes, and some of our best fundraisers have been. If we get in touch about featuring a fundraiser under 18, we will send a waiver form through for a parent or guardian to sign first, and we only ever publish a first name.
Where does the money I raise go?
All funds support PADI AWARE's global conservation programs: marine debris removal through Dive Against Debris, the Global Shark and Ray Census, community grants to locally led projects in 17 countries, and the policy work that carries diver-gathered data to international negotiations.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
PADI AWARE Foundation is a registered charity in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and EMEA, and donations are tax-deductible in many countries. Tax treatment depends on where you are, so please check the rules in your country or speak to a tax advisor.
Can I fundraise as part of a group or dive centre?
Yes. Fundraising as a team or a dive centre brings more people in and usually raises more than going it alone.
How can I promote my fundraiser?
Social media, email, and your own community. Tell people why this matters to you rather than describing the organisation. That is what people give to.
How long should my fundraiser run?
Up to you. Some run for a weekend, others over several weeks. Pick a timeline that suits your goal and your schedule.
Can I set a fundraising goal?
Yes, and you should. A goal motivates supporters and shows progress. $10,000 funds one PADI AWARE Community Grant, which makes a useful target to aim at. Raise it if you get there early.
Who can I contact if I have more questions?
Use the contact form below or email community@padiaware.org and we will help.
Your people are one message away.
Every fundraiser on this page started with someone deciding to ask.
Ten minutes to set up, and the ocean gets a few hundred more people paying attention.
