After two months of difficult decisions and pouring over all 33 noteworthy applicants, the Northwest Marine Trade Association’s (NMTA) Grow Boating Program awarded a total of $27,083 in funding or loan opportunities to 21 boating programs in the Pacific Northwest. The 21 recipients support a diverse marine community covering everything from power and sail boats to personal watercrafts (PWC) such as kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, and more as well as a learn-to-sail guide publication, equipment and gear, promotional and marketing funding, and education-focused youth events and outreach programs.
The NMTA represents more than 700 companies in the marine world including dealers, brokers, boatyards, marinas, retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers of boating accessories and services. It is the largest regional marine association in the nation. They’re the proud producers of the Seattle Boat Show, the Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show, and the Northwest Paddling Festival. Their Grow Boating Program assists nonprofits with funding to boost the number of boaters and watercraft users and to encourage boaters to get out on the water as often as they can. Twenty one of the 33 applying organizations received a total of $27,083 this year.
Congratulations are offered to the following winning organizations:
- Anacortes Waterfront Alliance: $1,000 for week-long sailing programs for youth and loans for dinghies.
- Bellingham Yacht Club: $500 for youth sailing and boating instruction, marketing, and scholarships.
- Clam Island Rowing: $400 for Boater Education Card fees as well as gear, instruction, maintenance, and marketing.
- Gig Harbor Boat Shop: $900 for equipment, materials, and supplies, as well as to help fund free summer boat rental days to engage with a new audience.
- Lopez Island Family Resource: $1,500 for scholarships and maintenance for smaller communities with little to no access to structured youth sailboat programs.
- Maple Bay Yacht Club Junior Program: $1,000 to expand the junior program that offers a free community boating event in June.
- Metro Park Tacoma, Point Defiance Park: $2,000 to offset boat rental rates as well as support education instruction for Free Fishing Weekend in June.
- Multihull Youth Sail Foundation “My Sail”: $2,000 to assist with youth programs as well as a loan offer to purchase a Hobie 16.
- Oregon Women’s Sailing Association: $750 for safety gear, meeting fees, and education materials for their women’s sailing classes.
- PNW Chapter of Antique Classic Boat Show in Renton: $600 for lifejackets and launch fees for a free boat show to accompany Renton River Days on July 27.
- Northwest Maritime Center, Port Townsend: $5,000 pilot project to create 20,000 printed “Learn to Sail” guides and post it online.
- Port Angeles Yacht Club Sailing Program: $1,000 to get adults/youth on the water and improve free boating day events as well as for marketing purposes.
- Renton Sailing Center: $1,000 for sailboat maintenance to an all-volunteer program that promotes and grows sailing.
- Sail Sand Point: $2,500 for youth scholarships at camps and to build an outreach program for at-risk kids.
- Schooner Martha Foundation: $833 for moorage, staff time and overhead, and maintenance toward a spring public school youth sailing series.
- Sea Scout Ship 100 Charles N. Curtis: $1,000 to replace their outdated GPS with the Furuno GPS.
- Shaw Island Youth Sailing Program: $500 for a first aid kit, PFDs, and instructing materials for their youth boating and sailing programs.
- Sound Experience: $2,000 to assist 143 students including underserved students interested in on-water experience programs.
- Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club: $500 to take care of insurance, fees, and marketing for their summer “Paddle, Splash, and Play” event.
- Tidewater Cover Marina: $100 for new signage for their “Wear It” lifejacket station.
- The Center for Wooden Boats: $2,000 for maintenance and to pay for 8,000 brochures to encourage engagement through new opportunities.
The Grow Boating committee “has gone through another successful grant process for 2019, putting members’ funds to good use to increase boating activity, education and excitement around the Pacific Northwest,” explains the NMTA’s Grow Boating chairman Joe Cline. Congratulations to 2019’s winners!
