Make a Gift to the NHA
The Nantucket Historical Association relies on contributions from members and friends to fulfill its important mission of education and preservation through educational programs, the Whaling Museum and historic properties, the collections, changing exhibitions, and special projects. Donations to the NHA are recognized in the Annual Report.
Please consider one of the many ways to support the NHA:
For questions and more information, please contact:
Development Department
Nantucket Historical Association
PO Box 1016
Nantucket, MA 02554
508-228-1894, Ext. 114
.
Become a Member
JOIN OR RENEW ONLINE:
For more information, please contact:
Membership Department
Nantucket Historical Association
PO Box 1016
Nantucket, MA 02554
508-228-1894, Ext. 116
.
The Nantucket Historical Association receives no operating support from federal, state, or local agencies and relies on membership and contributions to fulfill its mission.
Ways to Give
Help Us Continue to Exceed Expectations with Your Annual Fund Gift
In everything we do, the Nantucket Historical Association strives to engage people in new and unexpected ways—to exceed expectations—through memorable and transformative experiences.
Over the past year, we premiered the gateway film Nantucket; presented Nantucket's Cabinet of Curiosities: A to Z and Eastman Johnson and His Contemporaries; opened the historic property Greater Light; and offered an inspiring array of concerts, tours, lectures, plays, classes, interpretive programs, and family activities.
The Annual Fund provides the vital unrestricted operating funds that enable us to exceed expectations as we carry out our mission of education and preservation. We are grateful for your commitment to the NHA and hopeful that you will generously support us with a gift to the Annual Fund by December 31.
To make an Annual Fund gift:
A tribute gift—a gift in honor or in memory of an individual—is a meaningful way to recognize friends and family while supporting the NHA’s mission to preserve and interpret Nantucket's history.
Support Greater Light—
A Gateway to Nantucket 's Art Colony & Resort Era
Greater Light—its very name elicits the spirit of the summer colony of artists that arose on Nantucket in the 1920s. Sisters Gertrude and Hanna Monaghan were among them, drawn from Philadelphia to this “faraway island in the sea.” With their Quaker belief in Inner Light guiding them, the Monaghans lovingly transformed a livestock barn at 8 Howard Street into a whimsical residence and salon for the arts, calling it Greater Light.
Through the generosity of many individuals, foundations, organizations, and a grant from the Nantucket Community Preservation Committee, the Nantucket Historical Association completed the major restoration of Greater Light and its charming garden and reopened the property for tours and special events in July 2011. Visitors may now glimpse the lives of the Monaghans through vivid historic imagery, intimate anecdotes, and oral histories presented in Meet the Monaghans, an interactive touch-screen tour. Hanna’s bedroom, the sitting room, and the studio—replete with their original furnishings, artwork, and personal objects—are open as exhibits and spaces for quiet reflection, as will the beautiful garden.
With the $1.5 million restoration complete, the NHA is now focusing on fundraising for the conservation of the furnishings, addition of an audio-video/multimedia system, development of interpretive programs, and endowment for the property. Naming opportunities are available, and gifts of all sizes are encouraged and will help us accomplish our goal of having Greater Light become a community venue for lifelong learning in the arts and for small gatherings that extol the arts and culture—exhibitions, poetry readings, plays, musical performances, art classes, and garden parties—much as the Monaghans enjoyed it.
Available Naming Opportunities
For more information about Greater Light, to schedule a tour, or to make a contribution, please contact Cristin Merck, Director of Development, PO Box 1016, Nantucket, MA 02554; phone 508-228-1894, ext. 114; or email us at
.
To ensure its future, the Nantucket Historical Association must continue to build its endowment to provide additional investment income that will help offset ever-increasing operating costs. Your donations of cash or appreciated securities are most welcome. The NHA operates with a balanced budget every year.
Read more about donating securities
In 2005, the Nantucket Historical Association restored its historic 1800 House as a dedicated site for lifelong-learning programs in early American arts and crafts. Each year more than fifty classes and workshops are offered in a wide range of decorative arts. Contributions will be directed to the Nancee Erickson Memorial Fund to support the sustainability of the 1800 House programs. The fund recognizes the efforts of Nancee Erickson, who worked tirelessly to establish the programs and to raise funds for the restoration and for scholarships for Nantucket youth.
Read more about the 1800 House Programs
The Heritage Society honors those individuals who have invested in the NHA’s future by including the association in their wills or estate plans. You receive the satisfaction of knowing that your interest in Nantucket's history will be preserved for future generations. Heritage Society members are honored in perpetuity or may choose to remain anonymous. For more information about planned giving and the Heritage Society, please contact the Development Department; or email us at .
You can build the NHA's permanent collections by donating your maritime artifacts, paintings, textiles, letters, diaries, logbooks, and books on Nantucket history during your lifetime or through your will. Donated artifacts and books will help islanders and visitors to expand their knowledge of Nantucket's cultural, social, political, religious, economic, and artistic development.
Read more about donating to the NHA
