2026 Maritime Washington Grant Program Supports Maritime Heritage Projects

Ten organizations across Washington State are receiving a total of $100,000 in funding for projects that share and interpret our region’s maritime heritage. These grants, provided by the Maritime Washington Grant Program, will expand opportunities for residents and visitors to engage with the diverse water-based stories of our region through exhibits, educational programs, oral histories, podcasts, documentaries, digital storytelling, and interpretive signage.

Since time immemorial, people have settled along the saltwater shores of what is today Washington State, supported by the rich maritime resources for food, shelter, inspiration, trade, and transportation. Today, Washington’s shores continue to serve as home to many vibrant water-based cultures. With these grants, the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area supports projects that strengthen, maintain, and share this rich maritime heritage—enabling organizations, governments, and Tribes to better steward and connect residents with Washington’s maritime world.

Maritime Washington has awarded $100,000 in total funding to 10 organizations, including museums, community groups, Indigenous-led organizations, maritime organizations, and others, for a wide range of interpretive projects.

Clallam Bay Slip Point Lighthouse Keepers: $847 for Maritime Historical Signage and Brochures

Clallam Bay Slip Point Lighthouse Keepers will receive $847 to create interpretive signage and brochures highlighting the maritime history of Clallam Bay County Park and Slip Point Lighthouse.

Coastal Interpretive Center: $12,100 for Sparking Coastal Curiosity: CIC Interactive Outdoor Storywalk

The Coastal Interpretive Center will receive $12,100 to create a trilingual outdoor storywalk connecting maritime artifacts and coastal ecosystems through interpretive signage.

Community Boating Center: $6,500 for 20 Years on the Bay: A Community-Centered Maritime Heritage Interpretation Project

The Community Boating Center will receive $6,500 to support educational programming, interpretive signage, and storytelling focused on Indigenous maritime history, local maritime industry, and Salish Sea ecology.

Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society dba Harbor History Museum: $3,000 for Shenandoah: The Transformation of an Old Boat into a Museum Masterpiece

Harbor History Museum will receive $3,000 to create a photo book documenting the 22-year restoration of the Shenandoah.

Glory of the Seas Foundation: $12,500 for Living Libraries

The Glory of the Seas Foundation will receive $12,500 to support oral histories, community archiving, and artistic interpretation documenting Lopez Island’s maritime workers, knowledge keepers, and traditions.

Historic Whidbey: $15,000 for History of Penn Cove video project

Historic Whidbey will receive $15,000 to produce a short documentary exploring the history of Penn Cove and its transformation from a Coast Salish hub through British and American settlement.

Marine Exchange of Puget Sound (MXPS): $15,000 for Voices of the Working Waterfront: Maritime Morning Brief Special Episodes

The Marine Exchange of Puget Sound will receive $15,000 to produce a podcast series sharing stories of Washington’s working waterfront, maritime industry, vessels, and maritime operations in Puget Sound.

Steilacoom Historical Museum Association: $5,500 for Steilacoom’s Maritime Heritage

The Steilacoom Historical Museum Association will receive $5,500 to create a brochure, exhibit, and video highlighting Steilacoom’s maritime connections to Puget Sound from Indigenous use to present-day waterfront recreation.

Whatcom Maritime Heritage Museum: $15,000 for Whatcom Maritime Atlas: Stories, Data & Place

The Whatcom Maritime Heritage Museum will receive $15,000 to create a digital atlas, StoryMaps, waterfront markers, and a museum kiosk exploring Bellingham’s maritime history, environmental change, and waterfront restoration.

Whiteswan Environmental (WE): $15,000 for Honoring the Saltwater Salmon People’s 10th Year Storyboard Commemoration of Reef Net Maritime Heritage

Whiteswan Environmental will receive $15,000 to support Indigenous storytelling, descendant voices, and youth documentation commemorating the Saltwater Salmon People story poles at San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Maritime Washington will share updates about these grant-funded projects on our social media and encourages all those engaged in celebrating, maintaining, and sharing our state’s maritime heritage to subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter to stay informed of upcoming opportunities.