For Thursday, February 12, 1998 Drummer Column, Gibbs, 720 words

Fun raising

The rain has been heavy, and I sure feel sorry for those who have suffered property damage, but 1998 is going to be one heck of a good year for river rafting. The snow pack is high and the reservoirs are full.

We called the first meeting of the POD Team the other day (Paddle or Die). POD is a privatized spin-off of the high school Backpacking Club. Let me reiterate: POD is in no way affiliated with the high school; BUSD’s insurance carrier long ago told us that it considers river rafting too dangerous to approve as a regular school function. We don’t mind.

We go as private citizens at our own risk. We’re a group of teens and adults who have pooled our money together over the years to buy a flotilla of rafts and a mountain of lifejackets, straps, wetsuits, paddles, patch, and other rafting paraphernalia. We have about $7,000 worth of equipment so far.

We called the meeting together because the annual Friends of the River Festival and swap meet is coming up at Fort Mason on February 20-22. We want to buy another boat, and this is the place to find a good one cheap.

Every year the commercial rafting companies sell off a few of their older boats to make room for new ones. The used boats are in great condition. They’re sold because customers who pay $100 for a day of rafting expect to climb into a new boat.

Independent rafters also sell boats, perhaps because they’ve bought new ones, or because they’ve tired of the sport. Whatever the reason, this swap meet is a buyers’ market. Lifejackets that sell for $80 new go for $20 simply because they’re sun bleached. Most everything is at least half-price or better. We’re hoping to collect $2,000 before the event.

Fund raising for this club has been a big pain in the patutti, and not because members have been unwilling to contribute. Let me reiterate: POD members are generous and eager to contribute to equipment purchases and maintenance. The pain comes from the politics of the rafting industry. Let me explain.

Commerical rafting companies pay taxes and buy insurance policies. They bring in big-spending tourists from around the country. They contribute to the welfare of counties in rafting country. Independent rafters pay small parking and launch fees to access the free state rivers, then go home. That is fine by everyone.

The problem is caused by river pirates. Pirates are independent boat owners who charge people, under the table, to go rafting. They collect money to pay for their boats, but they pay no taxes, and they have no insurance. Not only are they running a business without a license, but they are cutting into the business of the commercial companies, whose higher fees must cover a tremendous amount of overhead.

Most independent rafters own one boat, maybe two. Most legitimate rafting clubs consist of a dozen or so members who chip in hundreds of dollars apiece on the purchase of boats, then use them again and again and again over many years.

Our club isn’t like that. There is no niche in the rafting politic for our club. Team POD is dedicated to taking as many teenagers as possible for their first rafting experiences. Most POD members leave for college after a few years, and we get new members constantly. These kids don’t raft often enough to chip in hundreds of dollars, and I don’t have the personal funds to purchase a flotilla of boats.

What would make sense for our club would be to have people donate, say, 20 bucks each time they go rafting. That’s fair. That’s reasonable. That’s inexpensive. And, to the river police, it smacks of piracy. They could confiscate our boats. We’re stuck between a rock and a whirlpool.

Instead, we must do convoluted fundraising that is unrelated to rafting trips, and we’re not too good at it. The four parents who started this club are still out over $2,800. Our new plan is to offer lifetime club memberships for a donation of $100. If we get 20 members, we’ll buy another boat. That should be the last boat we’ll need, and the hunger for funding will slowly fade away. Then we can get back to the business at hand – WHITEWATER!!