About Reef Without Borders
We restore coral reefs in the Philippines, in the water, with the people who live beside them.
Reef Without Borders is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on practical coral restoration, scientific monitoring, and community partnerships in Cebu, Philippines. First mission Q4 2026.
Restore damaged reefs. Support the people connected to them.
Reef Without Borders restores coral reefs in the Philippines through science-based, community-led work. Research shows that damaged reefs can recover when coral is replanted, monitored, and protected from additional stressors. We focus on the part of the problem that responds to direct action.
We document everything we do so donors, funders, and the public can see the results. Not in an annual report filed once a year. After every dive.
Mission
Restore and protect coral reefs in the Philippines by combining field science, trained local divers, and community-led marine protection.
Vision
A Cebu coastline where living reefs sustain abundant fisheries, shelter communities from storms, and are protected by the people who live beside them.
First mission
Q4 2026 at Kontiki, Mactan, Cebu, Philippines in partnership with a local marine science institution.
Started by a diver who decided documenting was not enough.
Reef Without Borders was founded by Clarisa Strohmeyer, who has been diving Philippine reefs for over 25 years. Over that time she watched specific sites she knew well decline, with coral that was once thriving now bleached or gone. She started this organization to do something about it.
First dive in Philippine waters
Clarisa Strohmeyer dives Gilutungan Island off Cebu for the first time. A school of batfish follows her the entire dive. She does not know yet that she will spend the next two and a half decades in these waters.
25 years in Philippine reef systems
Moalboal, Malapascua, Manta Bowl, Masbate. Shark encounters, sea turtles, pygmy seahorses, whale sharks. And across those years, a slow, measurable fading. Bleaching. Broken coral structures. Fewer fish.
The decision
Returning to reefs she had dived for nearly two decades, Clarisa finds them diminished in ways that go beyond statistics. The reef is not dead. It is fading. She decides that documenting the decline is not the same as doing something about it.
Incorporated in Texas
Reef Without Borders is incorporated as a domestic nonprofit corporation in the State of Texas. Texas Secretary of State File No. 806607296.
IRS 501(c)(3) recognition received
IRS Letter 947 received, effective May 22, 2026. Reef Without Borders is a fully recognized U.S. public charity. EIN 42-2691547. All donations are tax-deductible.
First restoration mission
Reef Rescue Mission 001 scheduled at Kontiki, Mactan, Cebu, Philippines. Led by Dindo C. Paquibot. Science partner: our local science partner. Every coral fragment planted will be filmed, GPS-recorded, and tracked at 6 and 12 months.
Practical restoration, documented openly.
Three principles drive every decision we make in the field and in how we report our work to donors and funders.
Restoration in the field
Divers will plant coral fragments on damaged reef areas and return to track survival at 6 and 12 months. Every fragment is GPS-recorded and photographed at planting.
Filmed and published
Each mission will be filmed from water entry to the last coral planted. Footage is published publicly. Donors receive a full mission report after every dive, not once a year.
Measured with science
Restoration sites will be surveyed before and after planting by a local marine science institution. Recovery is measured, not assumed.
We start in Cebu, Philippines.
Our work begins in Cebu, within the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse marine region on earth. Field operations are led by Dindo C. Paquibot, our Director of Dive Operations, who has worked in Philippine waters for over 20 years.
Our science partner is a local marine science institution. Our first restoration mission is scheduled for Q4 2026 at Kontiki, Mactan, Cebu. As we establish a field record, we plan to expand to additional sites within Cebu and the broader Coral Triangle.
Phase 1 field site
Kontiki, Mactan, Cebu, Philippines
Field lead
Dindo C. Paquibot
PADI Instructor, 20+ years in Philippine waters
Science partner
Local Partner
First mission
Q4 2026
A registered nonprofit, run transparently.
Reef Without Borders is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 42-2691547, incorporated in Texas on May 18, 2026. IRS determination letter received May 22, 2026. All donations are tax-deductible under IRC Section 170.
As a newly formed nonprofit, our Form 990 filings will be published as required once our first fiscal year is complete. Governance documents including bylaws and conflict of interest policy are available upon request.
Support ongoing coral reef restoration.
Your donation funds restoration dives, scientific monitoring, and community training in Cebu, Philippines. Every dollar is traceable to a specific dive and a specific reef.
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Reef Without Borders
Houston, Texas • info@reefwithoutborders.org
501(c)(3) Nonprofit • EIN 42-2691547 • © 2026 Reef Without Borders
