Navigators Circle

We invite you to join Our Navigators Circle for 2023/24.

The Navigators Circle is a distinguished group of philanthropic individuals, organizations, businesses, foundations, and civic leaders working together to support SBMM, including its youth education programs, lectures, exhibits, outreach, and research. We invite you to read our 2021-2026 Strategic Plan to learn more about our vision and goals for membership, volunteers, programs, exhibits and collections, and community engagement. With your contribution of $1,000 or more, we look forward to welcoming you to our exclusive, uniquely curated Navigators Circle experiences on land and sea. Enjoy reading our 2023-2024 Annual Giving Campaign. Download PDF.

Navigators Circle Tribute Levels

Become a member of the Navigators Circle for 2023/24 by making a contribution in one of eight tribute categories:

  • Mark V  $100,000 or more
  • Admiral  $50,000 to $99,999
  • Ranger   $25,000 to $49,999
  • Ironsides  $10,000 - $24,999
  • Tomol   $5,000 - $9,999
  • Islands  $2,500 - $4,999
  • Marina   $1,500 - $2,499
  • Explorer  $1,000 - $1,499

How to Join

You may pledge your commitment of $1,000 or more by:

  • Donating online via our secure website
  • Mailing a check to SBMM at 113 Harbor Way, Suite 190, Santa Barbara, CA  93109
  • Downloading and returning our membership form
  • Contacting Greg Gorga at (805) 456-8742 or by emailing him at ggorga@sbmm.org.

For FY 23-24, we would appreciate receiving full payments on pledges no later than June 30, 2024. Gifts may be paid by check, credit card or securities.

Tour SBMM with our Executive Director, Greg Gorga

You can expect to learn a lot! While on tour with SBMM’s Executive Director Greg Gorga, you will journey through 13,000 years of human history in the Santa Barbara Channel. Your tour experience will cover two floors of uniquely curated exhibits and artifacts that explore Early Explorers, the Chumash, Whaling, History of the Waterfront, Richard Henry Dana Jr., Commercial Diving, Fishing, & Technology, Channel Island Ranching, Brooks Models, The History of Oil in the Santa Barbara Channel, Surfing, Santa Barbara Lighthouse Keepers, Navigation, Shipwrecks, and Military History. You’ll stop to learn more about the 165-year-old First Order Fresnel Lens from Point Conception Lighthouse, which many believe to be the most important maritime artifact along the Channel. If the weather permits, your tour will conclude with a visit to the Outdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center for the best view of the Harbor where you will learn more about the Museum’s interactive educational programming.

Your Impact

Navigators Circle members contribute vital funding to ensure SBMM provides educational programming for all ages online and in-person. Together, we will continue our important work over the next year by:

  • Bringing maritime education and history to life for thousands students annually
  • Expanding youth educational programming to online platforms and formats, including Maritime on the Move, Marine Science, Girls in Ocean Science, Ocean Connections, Tall Ship Program, Love Letters to the Sea and SBMM at Home
  • Offering our renowned monthly lecture series exploring topics such as great white sharks, the history of the Santa Barbara Harbor and the Channel Islands, plus recordings of past lectures
  • Developing an online Docent training module
  • Achieving AAM accreditation, demonstrating best practices for museums nationally
  • Preserving, displaying and celebrating the First- Order Fresnel Lens from Point Conception Lighthouse
  • Cataloging, preserving, and presenting important local maritime artifacts through physical and online collections like the Dwight Brooks Model Collection
  • Bringing traveling shows like Arthur Beaumont’s the Art of the Sea exhibits
  • Installing new exhibits, and upgrading and repairing existing exhibits
  • And much, much more!

* Sponsorship gifts for new exhibits and special events will be recognized separately.

Navigators Circle Benefits

$1,000  – $2,499 Tribute Levels
  • Navigators Circle members can rent the Museum, 4th Floor, Front Patio, and Munger Theater for private events. This applies Navigators Circle members only! For more information, visit our events page here or contact Heather Behrens at hbehrens@sbmm.org
  • Invitations to attend exclusive, unique educational events and appreciation receptions.
  • Receive free admission for family and friends to the Museum’s monthly lectures and select film screenings.
  • Receive 10 free guest passes and a one-year family membership to the Museum.
  • Receive an annual membership to Sea History Magazine and Council of American Maritime Museums.
  • Reciprocal admission privileges to more than 90 maritime museums in the U.S. and Canada
  • Name(s) printed on special Navigators Circle tribute wall prominently displayed inside the Museum.
  • Listed as Navigators Circle members in SBMM’s Currents newsletter, website, and annual report for the year of giving
$2,500  – $9,999 Tribute Levels

All benefits listed above plus

  • Invited to special excursions on land and at sea.
  • Invited to cruise aboard SBMM’s 103-year-old flagship Ranger
$10,000 + Tribute Levels

All benefits listed above plus:

  • Invited to the Santa Barbara Outdoor Visitor Center Soirées
  • Name(s) inscribed on a plaque under the First-Order Fresnel Lens from Point Conception Lighthouse