Adopt a Coral

Raise a coral. We'll do the diving.

Your adoption carries one nursery-grown coral the whole way: from a finger-sized fragment on a nursery table to a living colony on the sanctuary reef, with you named as the one who made it happen.

Choose your adoption How it works

Choose Your Adoption

Our biologists choose where every coral goes; the reef decides what it needs. You choose how much of it you carry.

The Fragment

$40 one-time

One coral, the whole journey.

  • Funds one fragment, nursery to reef
  • Adoption certificate by email
  • Outplanting notice with reef coordinates
Most adopted

The Cluster

$120 one-time

Five corals planted together, the way reefs actually grow.

  • Funds five fragments planted as one cluster
  • Adoption certificate by email
  • Outplanting notice with reef coordinates
  • Annual photo update from the survey dive

The Nursery Table

$400 one-time

A full table of twenty-five fragments under your wing.

  • Funds a full nursery table of 25 fragments
  • Adoption certificate by email
  • Outplanting notice with reef coordinates
  • Annual photo update from the survey dive
  • Named acknowledgment in the annual report
We'll send the certificate and every update to them, with a note naming you as the giver.

Rather give without adopting? Donate to the general fund

What You Receive

An adoption certificate

Issued the day you adopt, naming the cohort your coral joins on the nursery table.

The outplanting notice

When your cohort is returned to the reef, you get the date and the coordinates of the site.

A yearly reef update

Each survey season, a report on how the outplanted generations are growing.

A Coral's Journey

Month 0

Fragmented

A finger-sized piece is taken from a heat-resilient parent colony and fixed to a nursery table.

Months 1–12

Raised

Divers clean, measure, and tend the fragment weekly while it grows in protected water.

Month ~14

Outplanted

The cohort is cemented onto degraded reef structure at a site our biologists choose.

Every year after

Monitored

Survey dives track survival and growth, and the results go into the annual report you receive.

Adoptions count toward 50,000

Every adopted coral is part of our 2026 goal of 50,000 corals across the sanctuary reef. The count below is the whole program; adoptions are how individuals move it.

28,400 of 50,000 corals
57% complete21,600 to go by Dec 31

Questions

Do I get to pick which coral is mine?
No. The reef decides what it needs, and our biologists decide what goes where. Your adoption is attached to a cohort: the group of fragments raised and planted together with your support.
Is my adoption tax-deductible?
Yes. La Isla Zulueta is a registered 501(c)(3) in the United States. You receive a receipt suitable for tax purposes with your certificate.
What's the difference between one-time and monthly?
A one-time adoption funds a fixed number of corals. A monthly adoption keeps funding new fragments as cohorts cycle through the nursery, and you receive an outplanting notice for each one. Cancel any time.
What happens if my coral doesn't survive?
Some fragments don't make it; that's the arithmetic of restoration. We plant with survival margins built in, and your yearly update reports the cohort's outcome either way.
How do gift adoptions work?
Check the gift box when you adopt. The certificate, the outplanting notice, and every update go to your recipient, with a note naming you as the giver.
How is this different from donating?
A donation goes wherever the sanctuary needs it most. An adoption is earmarked for the nursery and outplanting program, and it reports back to you. If you'd rather give broadly, the general fund is always open.

Help us cultivate a thriving future

Stand with the sanctuary. Your support helps us protect and restore the reef, the ocean, and the island we call home. (We promise not to be boring.)