information from Northwest Maritime Center
Northwest Maritime Center announces two major gifts from notable families and foundations in Washington state in support of education: The McCaw Family (Bruce, Craig, John and Mary Kay) and the Bezos Family Foundation. Collectively, the McCaw Family gift is $2 million, and the Bezos Family Foundation gift is $750,000.
The support and gifts provide a solid foothold towards the Northwest Maritime Center’s aggressive campaign goals to launch Maritime High School in Seattle (a $7.5 million startup campaign), provide inspirational maritime youth programs on the waters of Puget Sound (a $6.5 million program engagement campaign), and expand the footprint of Northwest Maritime campus in Port Townsend, WA ($4.6 million capital campaign).
The Northwest Maritime Center has partnered with Highline Public Schools, the Port of Seattle, and the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition to raise sufficient start-up funds for the first four years of Maritime High School. Doors opened to 35 students this September and will grow to 400 students by 2025.
The $2 million McCaw Family Foundation gift will support all three critical active efforts currently underway for the Northwest Maritime Center. “We are pleased to be in a position to support the Northwest Maritime Center,” said Bruce McCaw. “Their work to provide hands-on learning experiences that connect youth to the water surrounding us is powerful. We see this as a strong opportunity to support our maritime industry and its future.”
“We’re especially pleased to honor the legacy of Keith McCaw through the establishment of the Keith W. McCaw Boatshop,” said Jake Beattie, Executive Director for the Northwest Maritime Center. “The Boatshop at the Northwest Maritime Center is hallowed space. It’s host to maritime trades work of the highest caliber, boat building classes, youth learning through the school programs, engagement and empowerment of middle school girls being mentored by female shipwrights through the Girls Boat Project. It’s a source of skill-building, employment readiness, and a second chance for adjudicated youth through a program called Real World Readiness.” Specifically, the gifts from the McCaw family members support the following:
- • $1 million to enable the Northwest Maritime Center to secure expansion opportunities through the purchase of an adjacent property to the organization’s 18,000 square foot waterfront campus.
- • $500,000 to support maritime project-based learning opportunities for students at the Maritime High School.
- • $500,000 to support youth programming and establish the Keith W McCaw Boatshop at the Northwest Maritime Center.
The $750,000 gift from the Bezos Family Foundation will support Maritime High School, specifically, funds will be allocated to support operations of the school over the next four years. These funds will support the school’s growth over the next years and ensure that students have access to maritime experiences.
Jody Rosentswieg, Director of Grants with the Bezos Family Foundation stated, “As an education funder who believes that students from all communities deserve opportunities for meaningful, rigorous hands-on academic learning where they develop not only the skills, habits and mindsets for success but also their sense of purpose and contribution, we see that potential in Maritime High School. The Bezos Family Foundation is proud to support the Northwest Maritime Center and help their vision become a reality.”
“These gifts are substantial and will, without a doubt, support the educational growth and opportunities of Washington states’ youth. We are very humbled by the generous support provided to us by the McCaw Family and Bezos Family Foundation,” said Jake Beattie, Executive Director of the Northwest Maritime Center. “We are making great headway towards our campaign goals, and these gifts acknowledge the powerful learning opportunities provided by maritime experiences, including those at the new Maritime High School.”
