MATTHEW SHULTE is the executive director of the Steamship Historical Society of America, a Warwick-based nonprofit that offers ship education, which was recently selected by the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh to receive a $250,000 matching challenge grant. The society said new gifts and pledges made to the campaign through the end of 2022, or when the challenge is fully funded, will qualify for the matching grant. The grant will be used to help fund program enhancements at the organization’s ship history center on Post Road.
What is your reaction to getting this grant? We are extremely grateful to the Posner Foundation for investing in SSHSA. Its confidence is a validation of decades of hard work carving out a spot in Rhode Island’s rich cultural landscape. We came into 2020 at a crossroad. The organization needed a plan to secure our future here in Warwick physically and financially. When the opportunity came to purchase the building, we were leasing from the New England Institute of Technology. There were several longtime members who made timely donations to aid the acquisition.
What will the grant be used for? In the immediate future, Posner Foundation funds will boost our digital capabilities and increase the number of items and activities available on our virtual museum at sshsa.org and our STEAMing into the Future educational program at shiphistory.org. As we look toward the future, the grant will also be used for interior and exterior improvements on our building, as well as to help create a reserve fund to ensure we can maintain the positive financial position we are in.
Describe the Full Ahead! initiative and the organization’s goal for it. The Full Ahead! campaign is a $3.5 million comprehensive initiative that will fund the future of SSHSA. For nearly 80 years, our unique archive of images, artifacts, ephemera, memorabilia and artwork has lived a nomadic existence spread out in warehouses throughout the country. With the establishment of our Ship History Center, we now have the capability to share that archive with Rhode Island and the world. Full Ahead! … is designed to make sure we have the proper staffing, infrastructure and financial security to be here … for decades to come.
How has the society survived the pandemic up to this point and what does the future hold for the organization? We feel fortunate to be in such a positive position at this point in the pandemic. The Full Ahead! initiative began in January 2020, which means that we had to change our approach without losing our focus. We reached out to our membership through phone calls, email and Zoom, and expanded the activities available on shiphistory.org. Those efforts enabled us to acquire our building last August and provided the momentum to continue fundraising. We have secured more than $1.2 million in donations and pledges toward the campaign, and our staff, board and volunteers are energized to raise the remainder of the funds and reach the next generation of maritime enthusiasts.