After years, if not decades, of hard work to develop the juniors sailing program at CYC, the results during the last few years have been astounding. This year CYC has hosted over 370 participants at summer camps and managed a racing team with 60 members, representing more than 10 area schools. These achievements have also brought challenges. The resources that serve these programs have been stretched to their limits and beyond. In order to meet these challenges, at its September meeting, the CYC Board of Directors unanimously approved an action that has long been discussed: the creation of a 501(c)(3) charitable organization to house the juniors program. This organization, which will be known as CYC Community Sailing Center ("CYC CSC"), will provide a more effective means of meeting capital and operational needs of the program by expanding fundraising opportunities including tax-deductible donations and access to employee matching programs and charitable grants. The initial focus of CYC CSC will be on the Juniors Program but we anticipate expanding into other opportunities over time.

This is an exciting milestone for the club in its mission to "promote, advance and encourage the sport of Corinthian (amateur) sailing". The club's 2021 Strategic Plan called out the need for "establishing a tax advantaged foundation under the auspices of CYC to maximize outside funding". In March, a working group was formed by the CYC board to explore this goal and, along with the input of past commodores, board members, and professional consultation, created the proposal that the Board has approved. We aim to have CYC CSC ready by the end of year, in time to raise funds for the 2024 Spring and Summer programs.

Thank you to the members of the 501(c)(3) Working Group who have spent countless hours over the past 6 months researching and preparing this plan, including Michael Dougherty, Mark Bradner, Charlie Macaulay, John Hoag, and Remmert Wolters.

All club members are encouraged to read the full Proposal presented to the board. Questions, concerns, and sage advice are welcome, but most importantly, this is just the next leg of CYC's journey, we still have much to do, and we are always looking for crew!

– CYC Board of Directors