I believed that Oceana is committed to saving and restoring our planet's oceans, which to me is a worthy cause.
So last December (2014) as I was looking online for Christmas presents, I received an email from Oceana stating that for a $15 donation, I would receive a winter hat. As a senior citizen on a very limited budget, I sent $18 with the intention of giving the hat to my son as a Christmas present.
I sent my donation the first week of December, and it posted immediately to my bank account, but more than two weeks later when no hat had arrived, I called the contact number to ask if the hat would arrive by Christmas. The person who took my call could not have cared less that the hat had not arrived; she said they all went out on the 11th, and if mine wasn't among them, it probably wasn't coming. There were no apologies or effort to look into the matter. She didn't even ask my name to trace my donation - nothing.
There are always poor employees, so I unsubscribed from the website, stating that the reason was the situation I have described. I got no response from them either. Needless to say, no hat ever came, and I was out looking for a present for my son just days before Christmas, in the Christmas rush taking the bus as I don't have a vehicle of my own. I could not afford the $18 I lost to an organization that is so badly manged it clearly cannot be trusted with donations.
To me, this smells of fraud. I wonder if they do anything to "save" the oceans, or just line the pockets of the organizers. There are many other charities that DO honor their word to send a gift with a donation. It helps to advertise their organization, and they still have $$ left over for their good works.
I advise others to take heed and be wary of this "nonprofit".
Review from Guidestar
Excellent and efficient non-prof. World-wide work on preserving oceanic life. Thoroughly deserving.
Review from CharityNavigator