A check for $45,000 will be issued by The Collins Foundation to the Maritime Center when $45,000 has been raised in matching donations from individuals and businesses. Once the matching funds have been raised, a total of $90,000 will go towards completion of the lower floor of the Maritime Center. The Collins Foundation deadline for raising the funds is December 1, 2016.

The Collins Foundation grant is for Phase II lower floor renovations of the Maritime Center. Central to the project is the Doerfler Family Theater, a multi-use venue complete with a projection system and a stage and seating for over 100 people.

This project is over halfway funded. Grants from the Meyer Memorial Trust, City of Newport, Lincoln County, the Oregon Community Foundation, Murdock Charitable Trust, Doerfler Family Trust, and countless locals have funded construction of an ADA-compliant elevator reaching all three floors of the building and numerous other significant building upgrades. Maritime Center renovations have never incurred any debt.

The Lincoln County Historical Society seeks your help for the essential donations to complete Phase II and open the lower floor in short order and making the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center a world-class museum and event center. Any amount (to be doubled by The Collins Foundation) will be gratefully accepted and is tax-deductible. The Historical Society is a 501(c)3 organization.

If you have any questions on this project or would like a behind-the-scenes tour of the work in progress, do not hesitate to contact Executive Director Steve Wyatt at the Lincoln County Historical Society, (541) 265-7509.