Wrangell projects could qualify for grants from Norwegian cruise line foundation

Because the hybrid cruise ship Roald Amundsen started coming to Wrangell this summer, projects based in town are now eligible for grant funds through the cruise line parent company’s nonprofit foundation.

Norway-based Hurtigruten Group has been awarding grants through its foundation to projects in communities its cruise ships visit since 2015. It awards projects focused on preserving wildlife, battling plastic waste and marine litter, and supporting the communities Hurtigruten stops in.

“Everywhere we operate, we see the negative effects that a lack of engagement has had, and we want to change that,” the foundation website reads. “As a group and as a foundation, we care and we want to make sure that every place we are … (is) a little bit better off because we are there.”

The Roald Amundsen, launched in 2019, is the first of the cruise line’s hybrid ships that can operate off diesel or electric power. It is scheduled to return to Wrangell next summer.

There are two grant cycles per year, one in May and one in November. Applications for the current cycle must be submitted to the foundation by Nov. 1. Applications can be found at hurtigruten.com/group/foundation/application. The foundation has supported 50 projects in 12 different countries with funds totaling almost $500,000.

Of the 50 projects, 26 of those were funded in the past year, according to a press release issued by the foundation.

Funds for the grants come from a combination of donations from its passengers, percentages of merchandise sales aboard its ships and money raised through Hurtigruten’s Green Stay Program in which passengers can help save the company money by choosing not to have their cabins cleaned while staying in them.

One example of past projects the Hurtigruten Foundation has funded was helping to protect endangered sea turtles in Cabo Verde off the northwestern coast of the African continent. The Turtle Foundation was able to save enough of the animals with grant funds to protect 4,000 nests producing about 160,000 hatchlings.

“I am impressed with the real impact on the local nature, environment and communities from the Turtle Foundation and the many other projects we have supported in the last year,” Henrik Lund, managing director of the Hurtigruten Foundation, said in a statement. Lund encouraged all eligible projects to apply to the funds.