About this Project

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and its Ocean Twilight Zone project is among an inaugural class of five visionary non-profit organizations and entrepreneurs to receive funding from the Audacious Project. The Audacious Project is a collaborative approach to funding ideas with the potential to create change at a thrilling scale. Housed at TED, which has a long track record of surfacing ideas worth spreading, the project is a partnership between some of the most respected organizations in philanthropy and the public.


Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is the world’s largest non-profit focused on ocean exploration, discovery, and understanding. The ocean is at the heart of what we do. Our over 500 scientists, engineers, and technicians work from pole to pole, from the coast to the open ocean, and from the wave tops to the seafloor and below—pushing the boundaries of knowledge about the ocean to reveal its impacts on our planet and our lives.  At a time of unparalleled change and difficult decisions, WHOI is a source of reliable knowledge and insight for scientists, legislators, businesses, and the public.

Audacious Project

The Audacious Project

The Audacious Project is attempting to address a major frustration faced by the world’s change-makers: Without access to venture capital or stock markets, social entrepreneurs have to pitch donors one-by-one, often a deeply inefficient process for all involved. The Audacious Project aims to:

  1. Encourage the world’s greatest change-agents to dream bigger
  2. Shape the best ideas into viable multi-year plans
  3. Present those ideas in a compelling way to potential supporters.

The goal is to make philanthropy more collaborative, more inspiring—and more effective.

With this new model, The Audacious Project is bringing together some of the most trusted names in philanthropy to commit more than $250 million to seven bold ideas for global change.