I have been fortunate in my 20+ years in coral reef research to have received funding from a number of entities in both the public (e.g., National Science Foundation of the United States) and private (e.g., Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation) sectors. Working at remote field sites is inherently expensive, and none of this work would have been possible without these generous contributions. Thanks also to JMP, who despite not having ever paid my salary, has supported my research as much as anyone.
Check out this document I’ve been working on on who’s funding coral reef research, conservation, and restoration, as well as who are the major players in this sphere. It’s far from complete, so feel free to email me for updates.