The recent announcement of a $1 million gift to the planned Community Maritime Park once again underscores the importance of private philanthropy.

Major donations from private families and/or businesses are crucial to so many endeavors.

And so are the thousands of smaller contributions from individuals to agencies like United Way, local churches and individual charities.

But certainly, million-dollar gifts like the one to the Community Maritime Park are both rare and astonishing. And all the better when donated to a project like the park, which through its association with the University of West Florida qualifies it for a matching state grant.

Turning $1 million into $2 million makes the gift that much better.

UWF President John Cavanaugh said it is one of the largest donations in the university's history.

The gifting partners responsible for the donation include Charles W. Lamar III, Charles Switzer, Bobby Switzer, John Switzer, Kevin Reilly Sr., Kevin Reilly Jr., Sean Reilly, Wendell Reilly, Anna Cullinan and the Lamar Advertising Company.

Founded in Pensacola in 1902, the company has long and deep community roots. The donation deepens those roots, and will be reflected in naming the park's aquarium the C.W. Lamar Sr. Ocean Aquarium in honor of Charles W. Lamar Sr., who founded the company.

The family/company gift is to the Vice Admiral John H. Fetterman State of Florida Maritime Museum and Research Center, which will come under UWF's portion of the park project.

The donation brings the total of private donations to the museum, with state matching dollars, to about $10 million, demonstrating the importance of community support.

This project depends in large part on community fundraising for the UWF portion, primarily the state museum, aquarium and research center. That will boost UWF's presence downtown in a major way.

In the current state budget situation, with universities facing funding cuts stemming from falling state revenues, it seems clear that a project of this sort simply would not get done without the private fundraising.

It has been a long time since Florida's university system has been talked about as a national leader, and the cuts will hurt it even more. But projects like this one can raise the profile of UWF, especially since it is tied to an archeological program that has developed national prominence.

Future exploration of the plethora of shipwrecks on the floor of Pensacola Bay will operate out of the research center, an exciting prospect that can keep UWF on the cutting edge of marine archaeology.

Those wrecks — including at least two already identified as 16th century vintage — are a unique asset for UWF and the community.

Private fundraising helps make it possible to exploit that asset.