Community Grants 2023

Olympia Yacht Club Awards 2023 Community Grants

The Olympia Yacht Club (OYC) is pleased to announce the awarding grants to 5 local non-profits. These grants are intended to support organizations that share the club’s interest in educating seniors and youth in the stewardship of marine ecology, boating recreation, safety, and maritime history. The OYC grant program was founded 5 years ago. The 2023 grants will fund the following organizations:

1. Puget Sound’s Estuarium to partially support three of their programs:

Pier Peer Program in Thurston County, a hands-on program that helps children explore Puget Sound marine life at night on the OYC docks and at other marinas in Mason and Thurston Counties.

The Neutral Buoyancy Experiment in which the campers explore the buoyancy of building materials and make model plankton that remain neutrally buoyant. This project is in collaboration with Olympia Community Sailing ‘s summer camp.

On the Water – for support of the boat charters for field trips around Budd Inlet where the campers collect water samples, take secchi disk readings for water transparency, and look for wildlife.

2. Capital Lakefair Inc. to support a pre-Lakefair parade BBQ event to feed 200 or more out of town visitors and members of local organizations whose members help sponsor and support the Capital city premier summer festival.

3. Olympia Area Rowing (OAR) for two projects :

Learn to Row Day (1st Saturday in June)for enhancements to the event, and coach support. This popular free event which attracts more than 100 novice rowers serves to draw community youth and adults into the sport and the boating opportunities in Budd Inlet.

Lifejackets -the underwriting of some high-quality life jackets for non-confident swimmers who wish to enjoy rowing.

4. Olympia Hands On Children’s Museum to provide materials for the building of toy sailboats at its Outdoor Discovery Center for the summer Sailboat Regatta. The event is offered at least 10 days during the summer and will serve an estimated 1200 children during the museum’s Summer Splash activities. This popular festival has drawn an estimated 12,120 children in past years. Hands On Museum is the most visited children’s museum in the Pacific northwest, serving 328,000 annual visitors pre-pandemic.

5. Grays Harbor Historical Seaport to support scholarship funding for low income Thurston County students to participate in the Voyages of the Explorers Program aboard the historical tall ship – Lady Washington. On board the students will set and douse sails, learn our maritime heritage and experience the waters of Puget Sound - all in line with Common Core Standards.