Star Island: A NH Treasure Worth Preserving

Who We Are and Why Star Island Matters

Just six miles off the New Hampshire coast, Star Island is far more than a conference center. It is a living historic site, a model of environmental stewardship, an educational resource, a seasonal employer, and a place where people of all ages experience the increasingly rare opportunity to disconnect from technology and engage with intentional community, nature, and themselves.

For more than 100 years, Star Island has welcomed families, children, young adults, artists, educators, spiritual seekers, and lifelong learners. Every summer, thousands of people gather here to learn, reflect, build relationships, and experience life in a close-knit community shaped by values of inclusion, curiosity, service, and respect.

Your support helps preserve an extraordinary piece of New Hampshire history. The landmark Oceanic Hotel is one of the few remaining grand seaside hotels of its kind, and the island itself is recognized for its historic significance. Donations help maintain and protect these irreplaceable buildings and the stories they hold for future generations.

Your gift also supports innovative environmental stewardship. Operating as an off-grid island community requires careful management of water, energy, waste, and natural resources. Through decades of sustainability efforts, Star Island has dramatically reduced fossil fuel use and developed one of New England's largest off-grid solar installations, demonstrating what responsible stewardship can look like in practice.

Star Island is committed to ensuring that meaningful educational and community experiences remain accessible to all. Contributions to the Annual Fund help keep programs affordable and provide financial assistance so that children, families, young adults, and individuals with limited financial means can participate fully in island life.

The impact extends beyond our guests. Each season, Star Island employs and mentors a diverse staff of young adults who live and work together in community. Many describe the experience as transformational, gaining leadership skills, lifelong friendships, confidence, and a deeper understanding of collaboration and service.

At a time when loneliness is increasing, historic places are disappearing, and opportunities for authentic intergenerational connection are becoming harder to find, Star Island offers something both timeless and urgently needed.

Your NH Gives donation helps preserve a unique New Hampshire treasure while supporting environmental sustainability, historic preservation, youth development, lifelong learning, and inclusive community-building for generations to come.

Thank you for helping ensure that this remarkable island continues to serve as a place of learning, belonging, stewardship, and inspiration.

Star Island: Historic Landmark and Leader in Sustainability: 

Star Island, one of the nine islands that make up the Isles of Shoals, is owned and managed by a nonprofit organization called Star Island Corporation. For over a century, Star Island has provided a welcoming community where people come to have fun, find inspiration, enjoy nature, and connect with each other. The 43 acre island was named Star by sailors for its point stretching in all directions like the flashes of a distant star. There are 34 buildings on the island campus, which operates much like a small off-the-grid town - we must carefully manage our own resources including water, power, and sanitation. The landmark Oceanic Hotel, which is one of the few remaining of its kind, has been listed to the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance Seven to Save list. Preservation and restoration efforts are a priority, in addition to a program called the Green Gosport Initiative, our sustainability program, which has helped us reduce our diesel fuel consumption by nearly 80% each year since 2012. Star has the largest off-grid solar array in New England. Star Island is expanding our educational programming and outreach, building collaborative partnerships throughout the Seacoast and NH, and broadening our impact both on and off island through our Students on Star Program and Beloved Community Project. As a site on the National and State Trust for Historic Places, and as part of the Rye Historic District, Star has a rich culture and history, along with its unique programming and island recreational activities, and draws over 18,000 people to the Seacoast each year.

Thank you for your generosity!