NMTA awards $17,300 to eight organizations via Grow Boating grants

SEATTLE –  The Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA) is pleased to announce that it has awarded $17,300 to eight boating programs in the Northwest as part of the association’s Grow Boating Grant Program. The program exists to assist non-profit groups or organizations that help serve NMTA’s core purpose – increasing the number of boaters in the Northwest, and encouraging boaters to boat more often.

“We’re fortunate to have an abundance of great organizations in the Northwest that exist to get people out on the water and introduced to boating of all kinds,” said Brian Kaloper, Harbormaster, Elliott Bay Marina and NMTA’s Grow Boating Committee Chair. “And thanks to the NMTA’s industry-leading Grow Boating program, we are able to help many of them. In fact we received so many applications from worthy organizations that we increased the amount of available grant money for 2015 from $9,000 to $17,300.”

The 2015 grantees are:

• Center for Wooden Boats (Seattle) to help expand its Public Sail Program which provides free boat rides on Lake Union.
• Community Boating Center(Bellingham, Wash.) to purchase supplies for leadership training and navigation education at its summer youth camps.
• Lake Washington Rowing Club (Seattle) to help fund scholarships for its youth program and retrofit equipment.
• Olympia Yacht Club Foundation(Olympia, Wash.) for the purchase PFDs and spray tops and pants for their 11-week summer “Learn to Sail” program for youth.
• Puget Sound Anglers of LakeWashington to support adding a youth division to their annual Trout Derby in June.
• Sea Scouts Ship 926(Post Falls, Idaho) to support recruitment and program expenses for their newly-chartered program.
• Tacoma Youth Marine Center (Tacoma, Wash.) to help fund the 2015 “Sails & Trails” Summer Camp which introduces youth ages 11-15 to a wide variety of boating and boating skills.
• Whatcom Community Sailing (Bellingham, Wash.) to help establish Community Free Sailing Days in Bellingham and provide scholarships for kids to learn to sail or participate in racing programs.

Organizations interested in applying for a grant for 2016 can find the application online at: http://www.nmta.net/grow-boating/2794.asp. Applications are due by February 8, 2016.