The Community Foundation for Nantucket is pleased to announce the establishment of the
Offshore Wind Community Fund, the first of its kind in the nation. Pursuant to the Good
Neighbor Agreement between Vineyard Wind and the Town of Nantucket, the Maria Mitchell
Association, and the Nantucket Preservation Trust, more than $2.5 million will be available
initially to support community projects and initiatives related to protecting, restoring, and
preserving cultural and historic resources, coastal resiliency, climate adaptation, and renewable
energy. Vineyard Wind will make additional payments totaling $12 million in the next 6-8 years.
Applications for grants will be available on November 17, 2023, on the Community Foundation
for Nantucket’s website, www.cfnan.org. Applications are due January 31, 2024. For the first
granting cycle, the maximum award is anticipated to be $50,000 per project.
Of the initial $2.53 million payment provided by Vineyard Wind, $1.25 million is committed to
projects by the Town of Nantucket and $600,000 is committed to projects by the Nantucket
Preservation Trust. The remaining approximately $600,000 is available for Nantucket
community grant applications from non-profits and other qualified community groups. The Town
of Nantucket and Nantucket Preservation Trust will go through the same application and review
process as community organizations applying for future funding from the Offshore Wind
Community Fund.
The Town of Nantucket, Nantucket Preservation Trust, and the Community Foundation for
Nantucket established the Offshore Wind Community Fund to hold and invest funds and to
administer grants of those funds to support projects and initiatives consistent with the Fund’s
purpose. A seven-member voting Advisory Committee of Nantucket community members with
expertise in historic preservation, coastal resiliency, and renewable energy, including
representatives from Town of Nantucket and Nantucket Preservation Trust, will review grant
requests and make grant funding decisions with support from CFN. Vineyard Wind has
appointed Rachel Pachter, Chief Development Officer, as their ex-officio, non-voting member.
“The Community Foundation for Nantucket is excited to bring our expertise in grant review and
impact monitoring to the process to help launch projects which address climate change impacts,”
said Sunny Daily, Executive Director of the Community Foundation for Nantucket.
“The Town of Nantucket is pleased to help launch the Offshore Wind Community Fund. We
have consistently advocated for the need to avoid and minimize adverse effects from offshore
wind developments and to mitigate adverse effects that cannot be avoided. The Fund is the first
of its kind in the nation and provides a model for future offshore wind projects and for historic
communities nationally. Mitigation funds administered directly by communities themselves are
an important tool in helping achieve balance between large offshore energy developments and
adverse effects communities will realize over the development’s lifespan,” said Libby Gibson,
Town Manager of the Town of Nantucket
“Historic preservation has long been part of what draws people to Nantucket and this fund is an
opportunity to help protect Nantucket’s cultural and historic resources. We are looking forward
to seeing what projects the community puts forth and watching these initiatives come to life,”
said Mary Bergman, Executive Director of the Nantucket Preservation Trust.
For more information, please contact Sunny Daily sdaily@cfnan.org.