The Port Chalmers Historical Society was among 34 groups to receive funding from a pool of about $300,000 this month.
Port Chalmers Historical Society maritime museum curator Norman Ledgerwood said the trust had given the society $50,000 towards the construction of a collections room to be built at the back of the maritime museum in Port Chalmers.
The ''fantastic grant'' was the third the society had been given by the trust in the past five years, Mr Ledgerwood said.
''We are in desperate need of somewhere to keep our archives that is humidity and light-controlled.''
The storage unit would mean the appearance of displays in the museum would significantly change, he said.
The society had about $60,000 in other grants and hoped to start construction of the collections room early next year.
The Dunedin BMX Club was given $18,000 to asphalt a berm and community ramp at the club's Forrester Park track, and Cromwell Kindergarten was given $15,000 for playground development.
Otago Community Trust chairman Ross McRobie said the trust aimed to give as much as possible to the Otago community while preserving the capital of the fund to allow equity between generations of beneficiaries.
This financial year the trust's investment portfolio returned $22.5 million, a return of 9.2%.
