Surfrider Foundation

MISSION STATEMENT The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS The Surfrider Foundation was founded in 1984 by a handful of environmentally minded surfers who were concerned about threats to their local surf break. In the years since, Surfrider Foundation has grown into one of the nation's premier grassroots environmental organizations. Surfrider Foundation's first chapters were formed in 1991. Since then, our activist network has grown to more than 100 chapters worldwide. Each of our Chapters continue to be volunteer-driven and coordinated by our Globa... read more MISSION STATEMENT The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS The Surfrider Foundation was founded in 1984 by a handful of environmentally minded surfers who were concerned about threats to their local surf break. In the years since, Surfrider Foundation has grown into one of the nation's premier grassroots environmental organizations. Surfrider Foundation's first chapters were formed in 1991. Since then, our activist network has grown to more than 100 chapters worldwide. Each of our Chapters continue to be volunteer-driven and coordinated by our Global office, with activists implementing environmental advocacy campaigns and our national programs such as Rise Above Plastics and the Clean Water Program. The Surfrider Foundation's Global Headquarters is located in San Clemente, California. There are 47 paid staff whose primary functions are to assist the grassroots chapters and membership. Our chapters are all volunteer-based as is our 15-member Board of Directors. INITIATIVES For 30 years the Surfrider Foundation has focused its core activities and campaigns on Water Quality, Beach Access, Coastal Preservation, and Special Place Protection. Water Quality Surfrider Foundation volunteers, activists and members strive to prevent further pollution of our oceans, and to restore ocean health to the baseline that existed before industrialization. Surfrider Foundation's Clean Water initiative focuses on protecting water quality in coastal watersheds and in the near-shore marine environment. The Surfrider Foundation advocates for strong water quality regulations, adequate marine recreational water quality monitoring, reporting and posting, the reduction of polluted discharges into the ocean and education regarding personal responsibility for the reduction of water pollution. Coastal Preservation Beaches are unique coastal environments that hold ecological, recreational and economic value. Over the years, human activities and development in coastal areas have increased, making the need for preservation of beaches more apparent. Surfrider Foundation's Beach Preservation initiative focuses on protecting beaches through conservation and responsible coastal management that avoids the creation of coastal hazards or erosion problems, and supports research and science-based management of coastal resources to promote sustainable, long term planning and preservation of beach environments including public access. Beach Access Beaches are one of the most popular public resources. In nearly every state, some portion of the beach is public land, which means that all members of the public have a right to use that portion of the beach. Unfortunately, the land where people park and where they enjoy the beach is privately owned, making availability questionable. The Surfrider Foundation's Beach Access initiative promotes the right to low-impact, free and open access to the world's waves and beaches for all people. It is simply not equitable for only some people to have access to the oceans and beaches, which are public resources to be enjoyed by all people. Special Place Protection Coastal environments are a maze of interconnected zones including the open ocean, near shore water, beaches, estuaries and coastal watersheds. While some of these places have been designated for permanent protection as wilderness areas, parks, reserves, preserves, conservation areas and sanctuaries, less than one percent of our marine environment has any protected status. Surfrider Foundation's Special Places initiative is designed to identify and protect ocean and coastal places through the establishment of marine protected areas. In addition, waves and surf breaks are natural recreational resources worthy of protection, and this initiative focuses on raising awareness about the importance of waves not only recreationally, but ecologically as well. THE POWER OF GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM The Surfrider Foundation is the one of the world's largest non-profit organizations dedicated to the protection and preservation of our coastlines. Surfrider Foundation members are powerful spokespeople and caretakers of the ocean environment. The Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 250,000 supporters, activists and members worldwide. Together with our network of 100 chapters and global staff, the Surfrider Foundation dedicates countless hours to raising awareness about threats facing our beaches today. In 2006, the Foundation set an ambitious goal to attain 150 coastal victories by the end of 2010. On December 1, 2010, the organization successfully achieved this milestone when the Obama administration announced that it would ban new offshore drilling in the continental United States for the next seven years. This victory, along with the 149 additional coastal victories since 2006, exemplifies the power and effectiveness of grassroots activism. OUR STRATEGIC PLAN The Surfrider Foundation's Strategic Plan paints a crisp picture of the organization's vision, which is Healthy Coasts. We believe this vision is ambitious, specific, unifying, inspirational, explanatory, measurable and - most importantly - capable of positively empowering our mission: the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. We have identified three organizational goals that support our core strategy, mission and vision: Increase the number and scale of coastal victories by at least 10% per year. Support our chapters and activists by increasing and maintaining the tools and services needed to grow our constituency, deepen the commitment to our mission, and ultimately yield more coastal victories. Scale the network by creating and maintaining many avenues to engage, educate and inspire the Surfrider Foundation network. To learn more about our organization visit www.surfrider.org, to view our Strategic Plan, watch the video at http://bit.ly/sfplan.