You make all the difference.
Donate.
Donors like you preserve, share, and celebrate Maine’s maritime history and heritage. Please consider a gift to support Maine Maritime Museum today.
Gifts of $1,000 or more in a year enroll you as a Compass Circle supporter. Compass Circle members receive special announcements from the Executive Director and exclusive invitations to unique and fun events, programs, and tours.
Donors who give each month through the recurring gift program also receive special announcements from the Executive Director and exclusive invitations to unique and fun events, programs, and tours.
Maine Maritime Museum is a registered 501(c)3 charity with an EIN of 01-0271477.
If you care about sharing Maine’s maritime culture, consider including Maine Maritime Museum in your estate plans.
Planned gifts include significant artifacts, real estate, cash, publicly traded stock, and a percentage or specified dollar amount of a life insurance policy or retirement account. Most commonly, an individual will name Maine Maritime Museum in his or her will, bequeathing a set dollar amount or set percent of the estate to benefit the museum. (e.g., I hereby give and bequeath the sum of $25,000 to Maine Maritime Museum; or I order and direct one-half of my estate to be distributed to Maine Maritime Museum.) View a sample codicil.
Maine Maritime Museum also offers charitable gift annuities (CGAs) and charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs), which provide both a gift and income. In these cases, the donor transfers assets to the museum in exchange for income payments, and also receives a tax deduction and other potential tax savings. The remaining funds transfer to the museum upon the death of the final income beneficiary. CGAs require a minimum gift of $10,000; CRUTs require a minimum gift of $100,000.
The Capt. W.J. Lewis Parker Legacy Society recognizes those who have made planned gifts benefiting the museum, including collections of significance. Join the Parker Society today by notifying the museum know of your estate plans.
Making a difference, every day. View our 2025 Impact Report
All boats donated to the museum are first considered for addition to the permanent collection. If they do not comply to our strict acquisition standards they are turned over for financial consideration. Maine Maritime Museum partners with the Maritime Funding Association of Maine (MFAM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that manages boat donations for established, marine-related nonprofits in Maine. Boat donations to the MFAM may be directed to benefit Maine Maritime Museum exclusively or may be directed to benefit all organizations within the MFAM association.
Donate Your Boat
Charlie E. Burden Collections Stewardship Fund
A founding member of Maine Maritime Museum, Dr. Charles E. Burden, for more than 50 years, discovered and contributed more artifacts, documents, and photographs to the museum's collection than anyone else. To many, the museum became synonymous with the name of the long-time Bath pediatrician, who passed away on December 26, 2020, at the age of 87. In recognition of the incredible contributions Charlie made to grow this world-class collection, we have created the Burden Collections Stewardship Fund. Your gift to this fund will ensure that artifacts will continue to be thoughtfully acquired, properly preserved, and widely shared through exhibits, research, publications, and digital resources.
Education Fund
Gifts to the Education Fund support all the outreach, in-classroom, hands-on boatbuilding and blacksmithing, and other educational work our team does to share maritime history with people of all ages.
Other Ways to Donate
By check, made out to Maine Maritime Museum
Mail to: Advancement Office
Maine Maritime Museum
243 Washington Street
Bath, ME 04530For gifts of stock, contact Rebecca Roche, Chief Advancement Officer, at (207) 443-1316 ext. 327 for transfer instructions.
If your employer has a Matching Gift Program, please consider taking advantage of it to magnify the impact of your gift. See your corporate program administrator for the proper form to initiate the process.
Questions?
Chief Advancement Officer Rebecca Roche is at the helm of our development department and is happy to answer your questions, big or small, by phone at (207) 443-1316 x327 or via email.
Maine Maritime Museum collects and uses identifying information from persons donating to the museum.By policy of the Board of Trustees, the museum does not sell, trade, or rent names, mailing and email addresses, or telephone numbers with any other entity. Annual gift reports or special reports distributed to supporters of the museum or to distinct members of the public (such as elected officials) may contain identifying donor information unless the donor indicates in writing a preference to remain anonymous. All fundraising forms provide the donor with the option to indicate this preference.Donor information collected by the museum will be used in the following ways:Creation of donation receipts and acknowledgmentsInforming donors of upcoming events and other museum activitiesInternal analysis, trending, and record keepingFuture mailings and fundraising notificationsDonor comments may be used in promotional materials with permission of the donor.
Only authorized museum personnel may access personal and financial information possessed by the museum. The museum utilizes a third-party encrypted payment processing service and credit card related information is gathered only to complete the transaction. In instances where bank account numbers or other data are submitted to us, that data is held in secure files within the museum. To accommodate requests for regular and recurring gifts, the museum will obtain written authorization from the donor to store their confidential payment information.For questions or comments on this policy, or if you wish to be removed from our postal and email contact lists, please contact support@maritimeme.org.Maine Maritime Museum endorses this Donor Bill of Rights.These are the museum’s Gift Acceptance Policies.