Why Create a Foundation?

The harbor has been central to the very fabric of the Nantucket community from the time it was first settled. It is now our turn to be good stewards and help ensure that, on our watch, we leave a fertile marine habitat for future generations.

Because Nantucket is the last surviving commercial scalloping fishery in New England, it is a goal of the Foundation that the work we support preserves a traditional way of life unique to our island culture. We may not be able to rewind the clock to the way things were in centuries past, but we can make a meaningful and measurable difference over the long term in preventing the permanent disappearance of this culture, this ecosystem, and this way of life.