NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY FOUNDATION CELEBRATES ROBUST SECOND ROUND OF SANCTUARY COMMUNITY FUND GRANTEES

More than $1 million has been granted to community-led projects in Chumash Heritage, Lake Ontario, and Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuaries in the second round of awards

SILVER SPRING, Md., April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is proud to announce the 16 community-led projects awarded funding in the second round of the Sanctuary Community Fund. Funding will support marine sanctuary communities through stewardship projects in Chumash Heritage, Lake Ontario, and Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuaries.

As the official nonprofit partner of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), the Foundation's Sanctuary Community Fund invests directly in marine sanctuaries to help wavemakers spark change and lead economic development in their communities.

"I am truly inspired by this cohort and I'm deeply proud that the Sanctuary Community Fund will support the people and partners who are bringing these special places to life for their communities," said Joel Johnson, President & CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. "Congratulations to each of the grantees — your work reflects the heart of what it means to care for these waters together."

"Congratulations to all the community leaders in our newest national marine sanctuaries whose work will be supported through this round of Sanctuary Community Fund grants," said John Armor, Director of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. "We are proud to continue our partnership with the Foundation to support local communities that rely on healthy national marine sanctuaries to thrive."

Both rounds of Sanctuary Community Fund grants supported community partners located in marine sanctuaries that have recently completed the marine sanctuary designation process and could benefit from additional resources to support the discovery, testing, piloting, nurturing, capacity, and spread of the best ideas to protect our ocean and Great Lakes. The Foundation and its partners conducted widespread outreach to encourage the participation of all stakeholders in sanctuary communities and underrepresented groups who are intrinsically linked to and dependent on our waters.

A total of 24 Sanctuary Community Fund grantees were awarded a total of nearly $2 million to fund their projects over both funding rounds. The first round of awardees began their work in March 2025 and most will conclude this month. The second round of awardees below will begin their work as early as this month and funded work will conclude by January 2027.

To learn more about the awardees and how to support their work through the Sanctuary Community Fund, visit marinesanctuary.org/sanctuary-community-fund. 

Sanctuary Community Fund Second Round Grantees

Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS)

• California Habitat for Indigenous Arts
  Project Name: Chumash Marine Stewardship & Science Leadership Program
• Creek Lands Conservation
  Project Name: From Data to Stories: LiMPETS Community Science for the Chumash Heritage NMS
• Momoy Arts & Education Circle
  Project Name: Tomol Culture Ambassadors

Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary (LONMS)

• H. Lee White Maritime Museum
  Project Name: Depth & Discovery: Access, Awareness, and Collaboration in the LONMS
• Oswego City School District (OHS Outdoor Adventure Club)
  Project Name: OAC: Aquatic Expeditions
• Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation (CITI BOCES)
  Project Name: Sanctuary Scholars: Education & Exploration on Lake Ontario
• Oswego City School District
  Project Name: Our Great Lake, Our Sanctuary
• Weston T. Hyde Education Foundation
  Project Name: Next Gen Sanctuary Underwater ROV Lab
• Upstate Freshwater Institute, Inc.
  Project Name: Seeing Below the Surface: Real Time Science and Underwater Exploration in Lake Ontario
• Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
  Project Name: Connecting Communities to Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Through Digital Presence

Papahānaumokuākea NMS (PNMS)

• Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, Inc.
  Project Names: Papahānaumokuākea: Bringing the Place to the People - Community Talk Story Sessions Across the Paeʻāina; and Papahānaumokuākea: Bringing the Place to the People - 10-20-Minute Documentary Film
• Polynesian Voyaging Society
  Project Name: Perpetuating the Art of Traditional Wayfinding for Future Generations
• University of Hawai'i
  Project Name: Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary: A Year of Hoʻolauleʻa

Multiple Sanctuaries

• FORCE BLUE (Chumash Heritage and Lake Ontario NMS)
  Project Name: "FORCE BLUE'S 2026 National Marine Sanctuaries Tour of Duty"
• Marine Technology Society, Inc (Lake Ontario and Papahānaumokuākea NMS)
  Project Name: Building Community and Capacity for Workforce Development through Sanctuary Science and Technical Exploration

About the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, established in 2000, is the official non-profit partner of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, supporting its system of 18 marine environments from Massachusetts to American Samoa and the Great Lakes to the Florida Keys. We protect these iconic places, care for marine wildlife and habitats, honor our nation's maritime history and cultural traditions, and promote the enjoyment of these public waters through a combination of coalition-building, private fundraising and federal support. Learn more and read our 2025 Impact Report at www.marinesanctuary.org.

Contact: Eliza Booth
301-219-0645
[email protected]

SOURCE National Marine Sanctuary Foundation