Sailors’ Snug Harbor of Boston was founded in 1852 by a group of Boston civic leaders and businessmen to provide a safe and comfortable retirement home for elderly sailors. The founders established the institution to ensure these retired mariners had a dignified and secure place to live out their final years. The organization operated in this manner until 1970, at which point the trustees sold the property in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and used the proceeds to form a grantmaking foundation.
Today, in the spirit of its founding purpose, Sailors’ Snug Harbor of Boston supports 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that serve low-income elders in Greater Boston and social services providers more broadly in maritime communities of Massachusetts, with a focus on Cape Cod, Gloucester, and New Bedford.
Please see Guidelines for information regarding the foundation’s current interests.