Raising some help for museum boats

[Viejo]

Over at the LIB BBS under Misc Base Affairs, then the topic Questions, we have been discussing ways of getting help to museum boats. This includes fund raising, both large and small, and of course volunteers.  One of the members suggeste that finding the answers to a list I'll post below, might help get more help and support for our boats. Wondered what you guys thought.
Viejo.

Let me suggest a first pass list of tasks we should consider:
1.) Determine the owner and opperating athority of each museum boat.
2.) Establish a point of contact for each boat.
3.) Have (request) each POC list a support plan for their boat with the cost for each action required.
4.) Tally up the cost of each boat to determine how large this elephant is we are trying to eat.
5.) Decide whether or not our participation Is possible.
6.) If we decide to support, we have a new list to prepare:
a.) Establish a fund raising body with members and their assistants who have real fund raising experience.
b.) Let these folks generate a plan which includes things we at the member level can do to support their master plan.
c.) Once these funds begin to flow, we assign a member to each boat to laison with their POC to decide and execute each task on their priortized plan.
d.) We will certainly find ourselves fund limited, but the shortfalls can be prioritized and become candidates for ad hoc fund raising efforts.

[JTheotonio]

Being one of those guys over at LIB - what Bill wants or is looking for is a long-range plan that will help LIB support various projects.  While there is no way we can guarantee big bucks – we think it is important to have a plan that allows us to give what support we can, and to find ways to increase that support.  Lance has been over there chatting about this subject too.  It has become one of the longest single topic threads I’ve seen there – so LIB members are very serious in finding ways we can help.
The two local museum boats around me get very little discussion here.  Ling gets the most and for the last couple of years that chatter was not promising.  Now it seems like there may be life left for the old girl and she will be staying (close).
So we’d like to hear thoughts from all of you.

[Tom Bowser]

Before we go out to all the museum boats, I feel we need to get national involved with fund raising and on board for helping museum boats. We need to at least know if large scale fund raising is possible with our group. Right now there are three boats that are actively doing restoration that are requesting money from USSVI members and they do not require extreme amounts. There are a few boats that need a tremondous amount of funds but have not yet come up with a plan or requested subvet help. If we go to those boats asking what kind of money they need and say we will start raising money they will most likely ignore us because they are going to need  millions because the boats are in the water and a bunch of volunteers would not be able to work on them so the cost will be high and once they decide what and how they are going to do they will want to start right away.

We already have a committee in place, the Charitable Fund committee. We just need to establish guidelines for priorities for fund dispersement. I see these as #1 visitor safety work, #2 Hull restoration, #3 Visitor comfort, #4 information and displays, #6 other.

Most important the museum boat must have a USSVI member actively involved to insure the money goes to what it is meant for. From experience you can't just give money to the park. We have the opertunity here to show everyone what we can do but we need to have it organized before we go to the parks and try to help them unless they come to us first.
Tom

[Rick]

I am going to get on a soap box a little lso bear with me as I rant on this one.

I am starting be become skeptical about support for the museum boats.  I have had many promises both recent and existing from the time before I was here about help for the boat.  These offers have come from sivilian and veterain organizations, and subvet and non alike.   The end result is, more often then not,  a great amount of enthousiasm at the begining and then an utter dissaperance after 1 or 2 days into the project.  To compound this further being a non Submariner in a Submariner world is a little like a Civilain trying to exist in a military world.   

Another concern that I have, Like Tom, the big ships seem to get all of the attention.  I understand that enamor of a big battle ship or an Aircraft carrrier, but iit does leave us smaller vessels a little out in the cold. 

A governing body must be established before any fundraising can begin in ernest.   I also feel that decisons about the how's, when's and where's of the money distrobution must be made before the funds are distrobuted.  You must also be sure that all of the boats get equil opertunity and representation for any such money.  This body must also be willing to work with the restoration staff to complete the projects being funded.

With that said.  I am happy to make any iof our needs available  The biggest right now being a paint job,  I am also excited about the prospect that the subvets are willing to try and help out.  I have seen a lot of improvement in the amount of information being distributed and the amount of colaboration being made between the museums and the subvets over the last few years.  I hope this helps out

Rick

[Tom Bowser]

Ric
Thanks for stepping in. You basicly high lighted the point I was trying to make and that is to get the whole USSVI involved and interested. It is hard to keep enthusiasm going for a long running project and that is what the poorly funded boats are dealing with. The subvets do not have a shinning past history of helping except isolated cases. Lesley on the Drum was promised help for years and got very little. I want the sub vets to realize that if we start this for all boats we have to keep it going.

As far as your paint job. If you can get volunteers to sand blast and do it yourselves you may be able to get use of the equipment donated, we are getting ours from Sunbelt Rentals. Sherwin Williams is selling us paint at their cost. Origanily they donated about $2500 worth but with the economy down the tubes they can't donate any more. You are lucky to be sitting lower, you shouldn't need a man lift.

You guys are doing a fantastic job on the deck. I wish the park had put wood back on ours, we are going to have a hell of job replacing the steel channal in about five years.
Tom

[Viejo]

Rick, let me invite you and all others involved with our museum boats to go to LIB's BBS and read a couple of discussions that have been going on for some time. If any of you want to comment, let me know and I'll set you up with a password and ID so you can. These discussions concern a lot of what you have expressed. What we have tried to do is state what is needed, but be positive about some solutions.
It is true that not just subvets, but other groups say they want to help and then don't last long. I have one guy at the park, well he isn't at the park much, but on facebook he keeps posting how much fun it is to work there, but each time a different excuse comes up.
 But that is the bane of all non-profit groups. For the last 1 1/2 years, I have worked to get RSVP back at Freedom Park and the other day finally got the approval to have Parks and Rec sign an agreement with them.  What this gives us is a group of several hundred potential volunteers who because the park will be a RSVP site, can come and volunteer. All our subvet and other volunteers over 55 have free insurance while working at the park through RSVP. This is a national group funded through the government and it does an outstanding job of providing qualified people to help in many different types of needs. Anyone wanting more info, let me know.
The other thing we are working on at LIB is putting funding for our museum boats to a higher level. We have a museum boat fund and a chair and committee which can, when a USSVI base is involved with a museum boat contribute, in matching funds, from 1-2 thousand dollars for each project the base is working on with the boat. That of course, is often not enough to do a whole lot of good, so I am trying to educate, convince, and interest our people who work at the top to put together a group to go after large funds.  I want to get the USSVCF to  raise a couple of million, then use the interest to go help a boat that has serious needs that fall within what we can help with.
 To make this possible, I am going to be writing to each of the museum boats, not to promise anything, not to tell anyone how to do anything, just to ask, what are your needs and priorities? What could people, what could some money, what could a lot of money do for you? I hope that each boat will take the time to give me this information, then keep me updated with new needs and help that is needed.
With, I am sure without asking, Lance's help here and you guys with your help, I can get an overall picture of what the similarities and the differences are that the boats are facing. As has already been done here, we can maybe put together some information that can help others.
USSVI raised in less than a year, 600,000 for scholarship, I am really trying to put pressure to have them expend the same effort and more to raise even more for our museum boats.  I recently, on LIB, put up a copy of an ad I have been sending the AS magazine now for three years. I'll post it here. It raises millions each year for the Smithsonian; a similar one raises the same or more for the NRA.
 I hope that USSVI will start using one with their info on it and will put out the info that our former treasurer printed so that people could understand how to raise large sums. I'll also attach that. We have corporate lawyers, CPAs, tax attorneys,  in USSVI, that I want to work together to help people put up money that will not only benefit USSVI ( actually their non profit USSVCF) but will help the individual giving the money.
So while we all face the same frustrations, there also are answers that we can work together to make happen.
Thanks to all you guys and I am sorry that some subvets, usually the ones doing nothing, treat You,  our brothers, who are working with us on these boats, in a way that is not respectful and shows they really don't understand the creed they profess to believe in. Education is the only answer to get people to see that a subvet is only as good as what he does.
Thanks to all of you. I hope that in your taking a few moments to send to me what you are trying to get done and what your needs are, that it will in the long run come back and help a little.
Viejo

[Paul Farace]

Lots of good ideas and info here guys!  Nice to see that all that lead based paint Tom and others have been blasting off their hulls has not damaged too many brain cells!   

Let me say that nobody should re-invent the wheel, if there is a subvet board in charge of chariities, use it!  The problem is that there are too many subs and too few subvets to fund ALL of the projects to have any real impact.  I have in the past always suggested that USSVI National should consider directing all or most of the money to one boat at a time (DRUM for instance) so that there would be some concentration of resources. Tryiing to irrigate 100 acres of crop with 100 gallons of water means nothing grows. Use the water on 1 acre and you get results.  Sucks if you're CROAKER or SILVERSIDES, but they can wait (would have to wait anyway)...

The other problem as I see it is that USSVI national has too many charity irons in the fire to do anything for anyone... hats for sick kids in nice, don't get me wrong. But add scholarships and the many other projects and the funds get spread way too thin to have any real effect, IMHO.  Tin Can Sailors used to be capable of providing $5-10K grants yearly to about five or six DDs (they are now unable to do so, but have forever earned my respect!)... maybe in the future that will change and funds will flow again, but they gave out about a cool MILLION bucks over the years and it made a difference on the destroyer memorials! 

Local chapters can always benefit the local boat, through volunteer work parties and tourguiding... that doesn't require a national comimittee and an act of congress.   

[Rick]

Excellent discussion.  I do want to emphasise that I am not dogging on any one.  I am just expressing the frustrations that I have encountered and come to realize that we all encounter.  I am excited about any opertunity to help out our museums and think that the subvets have a good idea and with some implementation can make a real difference to the boats. 

Thank you everyone for listening..

[navywrslr]

I have been away for awhile,but wanted to update you all on the USS CLAMAGORE. I was at the Patriots Point yesterday,and they had a team from Dentens Shipyard there to make plans to tow the 343 to drydock. This action has come as a complete surprise to me. To do this,they are going to have to remove a section of pier that goes to the Yorktown,and tow the Clamagore out at High Tide,this will shut down the complex,so I guess speed is of the essence. This comes none too soon,her list to starboard has been increasing the last few weeks.
I hope this goes well, and she is saved.

[Viejo]

That is great news. It will be interesting to know who came up with the money to do this, but am glad that she will get the work needed done.
Viejo

[Tom Bowser]

That is really great news, I hope it comes through and soon. I stated once before that every museum boat is unique in its own way and history and we need to save all we have because we won't be getting any more, except maybe a russian Kilo some day.. I would be interested in finding out where the funding came from also.
Tom