NEWBURYPORT — The Custom House Maritime Museum (CHMM) will be receiving $150,000 over three years after it was elected as one of 150 nonprofits to receive funding through the Cummings Foundation’s annual grant program.
“The board is enormously grateful to receive this prestigious award. Cummings Foundation imprimatur encourages us to deepen our educational and programmatic focus with a goal of providing relevant and meaningful experiences for the community”, CHMM Board Chair Bob Cronin said.
CHMM Executive Director James Russell said the funds will help museum initiatives that has seen “significant strides” since 2024 continue to flourish.
“These initiatives, like the kids’ Discovery Center, need time to mature and will strengthen the fabric of this community,” Russell said.
Russell went on to say the grant will also give breathing space for the museum’s board to “build up a robust major-donor support structure.”
The Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, which awarded $35 million in grants this year, recently shifted to fully unrestricted funding, allowing recipients to direct grant dollars where they are needed most.
Foundation executive director and trustee Joyce Vyriotes said the changes reflect growing concerns among nonprofits about rising costs, increased demand for services, and sustainability.
“Nonprofit professionals are closest to the challenges facing their communities, making them best positioned to determine where and how new funds will drive the greatest impact,” said Vyriotes. “By providing increased, flexible funding, we hope to strengthen organizations’ long-term stability and help them respond to evolving community needs.”
According to Cronin, children and youth accounted for 5-10% of museum attendees back in 2023.
“The CHMM pivoted from its traditional focus of adult programming and moved into a space that increasingly serves younger audiences.”
Today, rapid implementation of new initiatives increased children and youth participation to 35%.
“Importantly, today our attendees represent a broad span of ages, race and ethnicities, plus a much broader socioeconomic spectrum. The driving factor in this shift was a major renovation and build-out of a children’s Discovery Center, which will soon be full handicap accessible.”
The Discovery Center now commands 33% of the total museum space, thus underscoring its importance, according to museum officials.
Since the center’s opening, it has expanded “beyond the walls” and now operates outdoors during the summer. The outdoor module underscores the popularity and attractiveness of kid-themed programming which is held on the lawn abutting the river walk.
As a largely volunteer-run museum (only two full-time staff), volunteers contributed 7,700 hours in 2025. In 2026, the paid summer internship program attracted six Newburyport High School students and six college students from the area, according to museum officials.
Dave Rogers is the editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.