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Washington lighthouses receive grants funded by lighthouse license plates
Sales of Washington Lighthouse license plates have funded more than $350,000 in restoration projects since 2009. Current to 2023.
| AMOUNT | WASHINGTON LIGHTHOUSE | ||||
| $ 48,400 | Admiralty Head | ||||
| $ 47,470 | New Dungeness Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 61,527 | Point No Point Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 35,300 | Browns Point Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 32,280 | Grays Harbor Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 29,740 | Turn Point Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 24,570 | Swiftsure Lightship | ||||
| $ 19,867 | Mukilteo Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 18,913 | Burrows Island Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 14,300 | Lime Kiln Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 10,550 | Patos Island Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 8,039 | North Head Lighthouse | ||||
| $ 7,367 | Point Wilson | ||||
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$ 358,324 | TOTAL | |||
Take note that LEP License Plate Funds only go to those lighthouses that have a non-profit citizen group keeping them open to the public.
Currently projects the License Plate funds are put on this website at the lighthouse itself where the work was done versus on this specific page. Refer to the lighthouse of your interest listed on the RESTORATION page.
SOME PAST STORIES OF WORK FUNDED VIA THE LICENSE PLATE
Coupeville, Wash. June 11, 2016 – Lighthouse Environmental Programs announced today $21,600 in grants awarded to six Washington state lighthouses for restoration projects. The grants are funded by the sales of Washington Lighthouse License Plates, which have provided more than $220,000 in grant funding since 2009.
The Washington lighthouses receiving grants this year are: Mukilteo, $4,800 to replace windows; Patos Island in the San Juan Islands, $4,000 for an educational exhibit; Swiftsure Lightship in Seattle $3,300 for a cooks galley restoration; Burrows Island near Anacortes, $3,000 for a duplex restoration; Turn Point on Stuart Island in the San Juan Islands, $2,900 for floors and counters in the lighthouse keepers unit; and, Point No Point on the Kitsap Peninsula, $3,600 for a workroom exterior door. vWashington Lighthouse specialty license plates can be used on cars, motorcycles, trailers or RVs. For each license plate sold and renewed, LEP, which manages the license plate funds, receives $28, an amount that is tax-deductible for the driver. Restoration projects also benefit from the time, services and products donated by local businesses and performed by teams of dedicated volunteers, devoting hundreds of hours every year to help keep lighthouses shining.
The 12 nonprofit lighthouses and one lightship eligible for grants attract thousands of maritime enthusiasts and cultural visitors every year. Many visitors are from within the state, but log books show that the majority of visitors are from other states, as well as Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. While admission to lighthouses is often free, these visitors will spend money on lodging, food and shopping, helping small businesses thrive.
Four Washington lighthouses receive grants funded by lighthouse license plates
Since 2009, Lighthouse license plates have funded nearly $200,000 in restoration projects.
Coupeville, Wash. June 8, 2015 – Lighthouse Environmental Programs announced today $22,500 in grants awarded to four Washington state lighthouses for restoration projects. The grants are funded by the sales of Washington Lighthouse License Plates, which have provided nearly $175,000 in grants since 2009. The lighthouses receiving grants this year are Browns Point in Tacoma, Grays Harbor in Westport, New Dungeness in Sequim, and Turn Point on Stuart Island in the San Juan Islands.
The 2015 grants total $22,500. Browns Point received $6,450 to restore the original oil house, which was originally used to store kerosene for the navigational lamp. Grays Harbor was awarded $6,800 to fabricate, finish and install a new watch room exterior door. New Dungeness received $4,250 to clean and paint the lighthouse tower. And Turn Point was granted $5,000 to restore three doors on the fog signal building. Labor is often donated by local businesses or performed by teams of dedicated volunteers, whom devote hundreds of hours every year to help keep lighthouses shining.
Washington Lighthouse specialty license plates can be used on cars, motorcycles, trailers or RVs.
For each license plate sold and renewed, LEP, which manages the license plate funds, receives $28, an amount that is tax-deductible for the driver. The 12 nonprofit lighthouses and one lightship eligible for grants attract thousands of maritime enthusiasts and cultural visitors every year. Many visitors are from within the state, but log books show that the majority of visitors are from other states, as well as Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. While admission to lighthouses is often free, these visitors will spend money on lodging, food and shopping, helping small businesses thrive.
National Lighthouse Day is August 7th
Washington lighthouses plan weekend of celebrations
Designated lighthouse day an opportunity for hundreds of volunteers to showcase the state’s maritime history, as well as recent restoration projects that will Keep Washington Shining for generations.
Coupeville, Wash. July 15, 2014 – If history buffs and lighthouse fans actually need a single day to celebrate their favorite lighthouse, then it’s National Lighthouse Day on Thursday, August 7th. However, as most volunteers will tell you, a passion for lighthouses, history and preservation is a lifetime endeavor.
Hundreds of volunteers spend thousands of hours every year keeping Washington’s 13 non-profit lighthouses restored and open to the public. It’s a labor of love that not only preserves the state’s unique maritime history, it also benefits the economies of communities and businesses, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to western Washington. And lighthouse visitors will be out in big numbers for National Lighthouse Day and the weekend of August 8-10 to enjoy special activities and tours.
While many of the state’s iconic lighthouses keep shining thanks to the generous efforts of donors and other funding sources, much of the funding for restoration, preservation and interpretive projects come from grants supported by proceeds from the Washington Lighthouse specialty license plate.
Administered by Lighthouse Environmental Programs (LEP), a Whidbey Island-based organization, nearly $150,000 in grants have been made possible by the sales of Washington lighthouse license plates since 2008. Drivers are encouraged to choose a Washington Lighthouse specialty license plate for their car, motorcycle, trailer or RV. The Keep Washington Shining campaign helps to make drivers aware of the direct impact they have on ensuring Washington’s coastal treasures for generations to come.
"The $28 LEP receives from the sale of each plate is a tax-deductible donation for the driver, one that many Washington employers will match," said Julie Pigott, license plate grant administrator for LEP and the WSU Extension of Island County Lighthouse Program Coordinator in Coupeville. "We want our state drivers to know that the simple act of purchasing a Washington Lighthouse license plate makes all the difference in whether a lantern house or leaky roof can be repaired."
To find the nearest lighthouse to your community or while traveling, visit the Lighthouse Loop page on the LEP website. You’ll find directions, visitor information, history and restoration efforts. These lighthouses include Admiralty Head (Coupeville, Whidbey Island), Browns Point (Tacoma), Burrows Island (near Anacortes), Grays Harbor (Westport), Lime Kiln (San Juan Islands), Mukilteo (Mukilteo), New Dungeness (Sequim), North Head (Ilwaco), Patos Island (San Juan Islands), Point No Point (Hansville, Kitsap Peninsula), Point Robinson (Vashon Island), Turn Point (San Juan Islands) and the Swiftsure Lightship (Seattle).
For more information about LEP and the Keep Washington Shining campaign, visit washingtonlighthouses.org or follow on Facebook at Washington Lighthouses.
About Lighthouse Environmental Programs
LEP is established as a Washington Non-Profit Corporation to provide advisory support and fiduciary services for specified educational programs in Island County Washington. When you purchase a Washington Lighthouse license plate, your contribution funds restoration and preservation of the Admiralty Head Lighthouse and 12 other Washington State Lighthouses. Funds also go toward three Washington State University (WSU) Extension of Island County programs holding membership in LEP: WSU Beach Watchers, WSU Lighthouse Docents and WSU Waste Wise Volunteers. LEP also provides fiduciary functions supporting Keepers of Admiralty Head Lighthouse, a fund raising membership group focused on restoration and enhancement of the interpretive displays at Admiralty Head Lighthouse.
Lighthouse Environmental Programs announces restoration grants to six Washington lighthouses, made possible from sale of lighthouse specialty license plates.
Since 2009, Lighthouse license plates have funded nearly $150,000 in restoration projects; for just $40, drivers can help keep Keep Washington Shining and get a $28 tax deduction.
Coupeville, Wash. June 10, 2014 – Lighthouse Environmental Programs (LEP), a Whidbey Island- based non-profit organization, announced today it has awarded a total of $24,900 in grants to six Washington non-profit lighthouses for various restoration and preservation projects. Funds for the grants come from the sale of Washington Lighthouse license plates.
Lighthouses receiving the 2014 grants include: Browns Point, Tacoma – $2,100 for restoring a 5th Order Fresnel Lens Burrows Island, Anacortes – $5,000 for roof repair on the Keepers’ Quarters New Dungeness, Sequim – $6,000 for repair and reconstruction of the Keepers’ House porch North Head, Long Beach – $2,200 for a historically accurate interior door replacement Point No Point, Hansville – $4,760 for restoration of eight windows Turn Point, San Juan Islands – $4,840 for asbestos tile removal and restoration of original flooring in the Head Keepers’ Quarters
Most of the grant monies are used for materials costs or historic expertise; labor is often donated by local businesses or performed by teams of dedicated volunteers.
In February this year, the LEP launched the Keep Washington Shining campaign to encourage drivers to choose a Washington Lighthouse specialty license plate for their car, motorcycle, trailer or RV. The campaign is designed to make drivers aware of the direct impact they have on ensuring Washington’s coastal treasures for generations to come.
For each license plate sold and renewed, LEP, which manages the license plate funds, receives $28. To date, license plate sales have funded nearly $150,000 in grants to help fund various projects for lighthouses all along Washington’s coastline.
"The $28 LEP receives is a tax-deductible donation for the driver, one that many Washington employers will match," said Julie Pigott, license plate grant administrator for LEP and the WSU Extension of Island County Lighthouse Program Coordinator in Coupeville. "We want our state drivers to know that the simple act of purchasing a Washington Lighthouse license plate makes all the difference in whether a lantern house or leaky roof can be repaired."
The 12 nonprofit lighthouses and one lightship eligible for grants attract thousands of maritime enthusiasts and cultural visitors every year. Many visitors are from within the state, but log books show that the majority of visitors are from other states, as well as Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. While admission to lighthouses is often free, these visitors will spend money on lodging, food and shopping, helping small businesses thrive.
The LEP website, washingtonlighthouses.org, features the history, stories, restoration efforts and visitor information about the lighthouses that benefit from LEP funds. In addition to the six lighthouses receiving 2014 grants, other eligible lighthouses include Admiralty Head (Coupeville, Whidbey Island), Grays Harbor (Westport), Lime Kiln (San Juan Islands), Mukilteo (Mukilteo), Patos Island (San Juan Islands), Point Robinson (Vashon Island), Turn Point (San Juan Islands) and the Swiftsure Lightship (Seattle).
License plate funds also go toward three WSU Extension of Island County programs supported by LEP: WSU Beach Watchers, WSU Lighthouse Docents and WSU Waste Wise Volunteers. v
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