Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute

What Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute does

Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in June 2006 and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, with operational facilities on a 2.81-acre property along the Gaviota Coast. CIMWI is the sole organization authorized by NOAA Fisheries to respond to live and dead pinnipeds, sea turtles, and live cetaceans, and to rehabilitate live pinnipeds and triage live cetaceans and sea turtles across Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, covering approximately 153-155 miles of coastline and 106 beaches. The organization operates as an essentially all-volunteer entity, delivering marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation, research, and education services through a 24-hour rescue hotline, online rescue intake form, and a dedicated rehabilitation facility.

CIMWI's core technical infrastructure is a specialized rehabilitation facility featuring a Hospital/Quarantine Room, Laboratory/Pharmacy, Fish Kitchen, Surgery/Treatment Room, four indoor animal quarantine pens with dry and wet areas, eight outdoor dry pens with wet areas, and two outdoor pens with pools for pre-release conditioning. The organization uses identification tags on released animals for longitudinal research and partners with Island Packers excursion company to release rehabilitated animals near Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. CIMWI is a member of NOAA's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Network, the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, and the Marine Mammal Disentanglement Team, and contributed to response during the 2013-declared Unusual Mortality Event that drove a 7x surge in sea lion intake (3,340 strandings reported in 2015).

The business model is donation-driven: CIMWI generates no commercial revenue from its services, providing all rescue and rehabilitation free of charge to the public. Revenue streams include tax-deductible individual donations (via mail, credit card, debit card, or PayPal), AmazonSmile referral commissions (0.5% of eligible purchases), Amazon Wishlist purchases of rescue equipment and medical supplies, and in-kind donations of equipment and services. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors with over 165 years of cumulative marine mammal experience, led by Dr. Sam Dover as President, Executive Director and Chief Veterinarian, and Ruth Dover as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Customer segments include the general public (reporting via hotline), local schools and educational institutions, and government agencies (NOAA Fisheries and state partners).

Name

Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute

Legal name

Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute

Website

https://cimwi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2006 that provides marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation, research, and education services across Santa Barbara and Ventura counties as the sole NOAA Fisheries-authorized stranding responder in the region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAGAE

Marine & Freshwater Conservation

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Environmental & Conservation Organizations

Keywords

• Marine mammal rescue
• Wildlife rehabilitation
• Marine conservation
• Stranding response
• Environmental education

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Barbara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation mission. Donors can contribute via mail, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. CIMWI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax I.D. 77-0648677).
2. AmazonSmile and Wishlist Donations: AmazonSmile program donates 0.5% of eligible purchases to CIMWI. Donors can also purchase items directly from Amazon Wishlist including rescue equipment, rehabilitation supplies, medical supplies, cleaning/facility supplies, and gift cards.
3. In-Kind Donations: Physical goods donations including rescue equipment (nets, catch poles, dog kennels), rehabilitation supplies (fish, weather gear, exam gloves), facility equipment (freezers, refrigerators), and services (vehicle/boat maintenance, construction, refrigeration repair).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation, research, and education services across 153-155 miles of coastline in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. It is the only NOAA Fisheries-authorized organization to respond to live and dead pinnipeds, sea turtles, and live cetaceans, rehabilitate live pinnipeds, and triage live cetaceans and sea turtles in this region. The organization operates a rehabilitation facility in Gaviota and returns healthy animals to the wild with identification tags for research.

Product overview

Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) is a nonprofit organization offering marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation, research, and education services for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. CIMWI's core programs include a 24-hour rescue hotline (805-567-1505) and online rescue form for reporting stranded animals, a rehabilitation facility in Gaviota with medical care capabilities, scientific research on marine mammal health trends, and public education through school programs, community presentations, and the Surfing Ducky children's educational partnership. Supporting services include volunteer recruitment/training and donation/fundraising operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marine Mammal Rescue Services NOAA-authorized response to sick, injured, malnourished, orphaned, entangled, and oiled marine mammals across 153-155 miles of coastline in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, including a 24-hour rescue hotline and online reporting form.
• Rehabilitation & Return to the Wild Medical care and rehabilitation of rescued marine mammals at the Gaviota facility, with the goal of releasing healthy animals back to their natural habitat with identification tags for research tracking.
• Marine Mammal Research Scientific research program gathering data from living and deceased marine mammals, performing clinical research on treatment techniques, and assessing trends in marine mammal population health correlated with environmental variables.
• Marine Mammal Education Public education program delivering marine mammal and environmental conservation lessons through beachgoer education, school lessons, festival booths, presentations, and resource materials.
• Online Rescue Form Digital intake form allowing the public to report stranded marine mammals online, capturing location details, animal condition, and contact information for the rescue team.
• Volunteer Program Volunteer engagement program recruiting and training individuals for hotline response, animal assessment, field data collection, rescue efforts, rehabilitation shifts, education delivery, and facility maintenance.
• Donation Services Multiple donation mechanisms supporting CIMWI's mission, including tax-deductible financial contributions via mail, credit card, debit card, and PayPal, AmazonSmile contributions, Amazon Wishlist item purchases, and in-kind donations of supplies and services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully rehabilitated and returned thousands of marine mammals to the wild
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Network (NOAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIMWI is a member of this NOAA-directed network, providing authorized marine mammal stranding response in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties under the direction of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
• Oiled Wildlife Care NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIMWI is a member of this network, participating in oiled wildlife response and rehabilitation efforts
• Marine Mammal Disentanglement TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIMWI is a member of the NOAA West Coast disentanglement network, responding to marine mammals entangled in marine debris or fishing gear
• Island PackersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouthern California's premier excursion company to the Channel Islands assists CIMWI with releasing rehabilitated marine mammals near Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
• Surfing DuckyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEducational content partnership featuring animated 'California Sea Lion' episode with CIMWI educational activities in English and Spanish for children and families
• KCSB-FM (UC Santa Barbara)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerUniversity radio station visited CIMWI to produce story about nonprofit organization and marine mammal rescue activities, providing media coverage and awareness

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ocean Conservancy: Large national marine conservation advocacy nonprofit with significant fundraising scale and research programs. Comparable thematically through ocean-health mission alignment, though fundamentally different in scale, scope, and rehabilitation vs. advocacy positioning.
• Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN): UC Davis-administered network of wildlife care facilities across California that CIMWI is a member of. Comparable as a coordinating umbrella for oiled wildlife response, directly relevant to CIMWI's preparedness for spill events.
• NOAA Fisheries West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network: The federal program that authorizes CIMWI and other regional stranding response organizations. Comparable as the strategic counterpart that governs CIMWI's authorization and coordinates multi-state response activity.
• SeaWorld San Diego (Rescue & Rehabilitation): Corporate zoological organization historically involved in marine mammal stranding response on the Southern California coast. Comparable as a regional responder with deeper financial and clinical resources, though not a donation-dependent nonprofit like CIMWI.

Regional players

• Heal the Bay: Santa Monica-based marine conservation nonprofit focused on Southern California coastal ecosystem advocacy, education, and volunteer engagement. Comparable as a regional ocean-health nonprofit using donations, volunteers, and education programming, though focused on advocacy rather than direct animal rehabilitation.

Others

• Surfrider Foundation: National nonprofit focused on beach and ocean protection with strong volunteer and chapter-based engagement model on the California coast. Comparable as a Southern California coastal nonprofit leveraging volunteer networks and donor support, with overlapping education/outreach missions for beachgoers.

Direct peers

• Sea Turtle Inc. South Padre Island, TX nonprofit dedicated to sea turtle rescue, rehabilitation, and education. Comparable as a NOAA-affiliated marine reptile/mammal rehabilitation nonprofit with education programming, volunteer model, and donation-based funding.
• California Wildlife Center: Calabasas, CA native wildlife hospital handling marine mammal strandings and rehabilitation alongside terrestrial wildlife. Comparable as a small-staffed, donation-funded, volunteer-driven Southern California wildlife rehabilitation nonprofit with overlapping marine mammal responsibilities.
• Pacific Marine Mammal Center: Laguna Beach, CA nonprofit similarly focused on pinniped and cetacean rescue, rehabilitation, and education in Orange County under NOAA authorization. Closest regional functional peer to CIMWI, with overlapping programs (rescue hotline, volunteer model, education programs) on the Southern California coast.
• The Marine Mammal Center: The largest nonprofit marine mammal hospital on the West Coast (Sausalito, CA), authorized by NOAA for stranding response across a multi-county Bay Area region. Directly comparable as a NOAA-authorized marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation, research, and education nonprofit reliant on donations and volunteers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cimwi
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://cimwi.org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute