News Blog

Steamship Historical Society of America Awarded $250,000 Challenge Grant

The Warwick-based Steamship Historical Society of America is in line to receive its
largest grant ever after being selected by the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh for a
$250,000 matching gift. Once achieved, the grant will be used to help fund program
enhancements at the Ship History Center on Post Road, and to share more of the
organization’s unique maritime collection online.
For more than a decade, the Posner family, through its foundation, has supported
SSHSA with strategic investments designed to advance its mission, reach, scope and
capabilities. New gifts and pledges made to the campaign through the end of 2022, or
until the challenge is fully funded, will qualify for the match.
“We are fortunate to be in this position because of the Posner Family’s thoughtfulness,
and genuine generosity,” SSHSA Executive Director Matthew Schulte said. “There’s good
reason as to why our campaign is called Full Ahead!, and we intend to remain on course
with our bold fundraising efforts.”
The challenge came with an additional $100,000 contribution to support other Full
Ahead! enrichments. These funds will bolster SSHSA’s digital capabilities and increase
capacity of the cloud-based virtual archives currently available on www.shiphistory.org .
Home of the group’s STEAMing into the Future educational program, the website is
growing in prominence as an online interactive experience aimed at educating students
about the country’s extensive maritime heritage.
The Full Ahead! campaign seeks to raise $3.5 million overall to properly archive and
interpret SSHSA’s impressive collection, which comprises hundreds of thousands of
images, objects, artifacts, periodicals, artwork, official records and memorabilia that help
tell an extensive history of powerful ships, their passengers and their crews. The Ship
History Center is currently open to researchers by appointment.