Sloop Clearwater seeks new funding to stay afloat; plans to tap HV business execs’ expertise

The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which was conceived in 1966 by folk singer Pete Seeger and a group of activists as a way to attract attention and save the Hudson River, is facing what’s described as a “short-term funding crisis putting the organization’s continued operations in jeopardy.”

The nonprofit organization based in Beacon that operates the sloop, which often is seen sailing on the Hudson, is trying to raise $250,000 to maintain operations through the rest of the year. David Toman, Clearwater’s executive director, told the Business Journal that they already have reached the $150,000 mark but must continue the momentum.

“If we get this money it will help us bridge the time comfortably to pull together a task group that’s going to address our business model plan,” Toman said. “A previous strategic plan did a really good job of identifying our core values. What it did not address was the business model.”

Toman said that he hopes to bring together businesspeople, leaders from other nonprofits and others in the Hudson Valley to devise a plan that will move the organization forward.

“I’m very committed to bringing in an external task group,” Toman said “Our reach-out is executives in the business community, finance community but also the nonprofit and foundation world and actually I’m getting some input at a higher level on public relations, how to message and share ourselves with the public.”

Toman said that his experience in the nonprofit world for 25 years has underscored the importance of an organization having an endowment. He said that the process of establishing a new business model plan will help establish confidence in the organization among those who might come forward and help create an endowment.

“We need to have on the horizon a capital campaign to try to raise and build an endowment,” Towman said. “If we have a $10 million endowment like many other nonprofits … that’s a $400,000-a-year spinoff in operations. If we had that type of influx on an annual basis to make sure the sloop keeps sailing that would be a major problem solver.”

Towman said that he had a contributor tell him last December that the quality of life in the Hudson Valley today would not be what it is if the Clearwater did not do what it has done. He added that there are many organizations that have been part of the river cleanup story and the Clearwater continues to play a role in pushing for a continued cleanup of the PCBs dumped into the river by GE and the responsible handling of radioactive waste during decommissioning of the former Indian Point nuclear power station.

“Pete Seeger … drew the community in to say ‘this river needs to be cleaned up’ back in the late 60s and early 70s,” said Towman. “He was instrumental with our Congress, with the Clearwater. He sailed the Clearwater on the Potomac in Washington, D.C., on the first Earth Day in 1970 and was instrumental in pushing Congress to get the Clean Water Act passed in 1972.”

Towman pointed out that an important function of the sloop is to introduce the river to children and make sure that they have an appreciation of its importance.

According to Samantha Hicks, president of the nonprofit’s board of directors and former captain of the sloop, “Clearwater is back on the river educating students from across the region and serves as a reminder of our collective commitment to protect and steward the Hudson. We have made great progress repositioning the organization coming out of the challenges of the pandemic; however, this spring, we are grappling with a critical need for short-term bridge funding to allow programs to continue uninterrupted, while we focus on mid-term fundraising and building a sustainable business model.”

The vessel has carried more than half a million people in its 55 years of operation. The Clearwater organization has more information about programming, becoming a member and making a donation on its website at clearwater.org.