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Anthony Van Vugt, B.Ec (ANU); FASA; ACIS;
AFAIM
Financial and Economic Consulting
December 15, 2009
As a former Dutchman; an international sailor; and event
organizer living in the US, I am most appreciative of your willingness
to lend your name and reputation to the Henry Hudson 400 Foundation. I
understand that you assumed your office already in 2006. Your role as
Chief Executive Officer is challenging and potentially rewarding.
I am particularly
interested in the planned event in which an as yet undetermined number
of traditional Dutch shallow-draft sailing vessels are hoped to
participate. I believe that to be a grand idea. In fact, it is the only
major “live” event that harks back to the settlement in 1609 of Nieuw
Amsterdam by Henry Hudson. This event, much more than any other, can be
expected to have mass spectator appeal not only in New York but also in
the Netherlands.
To assess
what volunteer contribution, if any, I could make to the staging of the
event I communicated with Messrs. Gerard Jongerius and Gert Tetteroo,
Joint Executive Directors of HH400 in the Netherlands; with Mr. Jan te
Siepe, Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Traditional
Ships (Stichting ter Promotie van het Traditionele Schip or SPTS); and
also with a number of prospective participants.
The purpose
of these inquiries was to gain an impression of the state of preparation
and priority within HH400 for staging this event; the delineation of
responsibilities between HH400 and SPTS; and indeed the willingness of
“platbodem” owners to promote their chances of participation.
Because of
my maritime
experience in the USA, and elsewhere, my first inclination was to offer
my service to assist with the logistic and navigational requirements of
the event. That offer was not accepted. However, instead there was a
common thread in the communications in that HH400, SPTS and potential
participants appealed for my assistance in generating ideas about
fundraising.
I could understand
the concern because the transportation of the vessels, depending on
size, to and from the East Coast and the Netherlands could be in the
range of US$35,000 and $50,000 per boat. Only the moneyed elite could
afford this and even then it represents a relatively large investment
for a three-day event in New York and even when this is extended to
include the short cruise up the Hudson to Albany it's still a lot of
money. It would be unwise for HH400 to exclude the traditional and
really experienced Dutch skippers and crews that are the salt of the
earth.
When I started
to look into the fundraising possibilities for this particular event,
HH400, SPTS and potential participants confided that they had been
almost totally unsuccessful. This was no surprise given the top-down
approach used, and the current financial crises in the Netherlands and
to an even greater extend in the US. This indicated to me the need for
an entirely different approach.
Rather than
expending energy by working from the top-down in the hope of finding an
“umbrella” sponsor, it should have been obvious that with many investors
having lost as much as 50 % or more of their equity, as well as the
difficulty of quantifying the commercial benefits on the basis of the
information supplied by HH400, that Boards of Directors would be hard
pressed to justify the expense.
Borrowing
from the recent highly successful fundraising during the Presidential
campaign in the US, it is apparent that fundraising should be conducted
from the bottom-up. If one hundred thousand sponsors contributed just
€10 each this would raise €1 million. A similar effort among the Dutch
expatriate community in the US could raise a further US$1 million. These
targets would appear to be achievable given the Dutch love for sailing
and the relatively financially successful Dutch settlers in the US.
These amounts would be sufficient to pay for the transportation of at
least 50 “platbodems.” That number, together with the ten (10) or so
boats that have already arranged finance for their participation, would
provide the critical mass that would be needed to make a really huge
visual impact during the celebrations.
The bottom-up
approach also means that interested organizations and individuals, at
all levels, need to play a more active role in promoting their
interests. I visualize that this could be as follows:
OWNERS:
This important base, without whose active participation no event can be
staged, must be given an opportunity to compete for sponsorships. In the
context of the new approach that I am advocating each should be
requested to make, or have made, a brief video presentation suitable for
posting on Utube and/or on Facebook and at the HH400 and SPTS websites.
It should include an introduction to the skippers and crew; their vessel
and appointments; and an explanation as to why they like to participate;
SPTS:
With SPTS having been selected as the
organizer for the transportation and as representative of the
participating owners it is incumbent upon it to manage, not only the
transportation but also the gathering of the needed videos and publicity
in the Netherlands. It should disseminate information through its
website and by other means in a more informative and transparent manner;
DIPLOMATIC CORPS:
The extensive
network of Embassy, Consulates and Honorary Consuls in the US should be
utilized to reach out to the Dutch Community and to Americans with an
interest in things Dutch, to get the news out in the US and, possibly
Canada, about the fundraising proposals. They should set up local
organizing committees to mobilize Dutch clubs; Dutch publications; and
commercial interests to sponsor one or more vessels. (When I organized
the reenactment of Hunger March of 1944-45, I found the Dutch diplomatic
corps in the US; Canada; and Australia a formidable ally);
HH400:
The Henry Hudson Foundation is the “de facto”
organizational unit that is responsible, and will be held accountable,
for the success or failure of this historic celebration. Foremost among
these responsibilities is to maintain and follow a disciplined and
transparent planning process. Its efficient and professional
coordination of the multitude of activities is the glue that will hold
together all individual efforts.
It also assumed the overall responsibility for
communications. That includes liaison with the Press, Radio and TV and
Internet publishers in both the Netherlands and the United States. That
responsibility includes the design and management of websites and
maintaining a presence on Utube and Facebook. I suggest that it should
also arrange for the production of a DVD showing the highlights of the
celebrations. That efficient communication is important is well
understood by you personally and the many illustrious personalities that
serve on the Advisory Committee and Board of HH400.
Finally, HH400 must now show its true colors by
announcing that it fully supports the proposed fundraising activities
and that it will establish the means for donors to contribute via the
Internet (and by other means) to make their pledges using the usual
range of credit or debit cards or PayPal; lodge the funds so received
with an independent and secure third party and arrange for the
acknowledgment, recording, reporting and audit of such trust account
receipts. Sponsorships, unless directly linked to a particular vessel,
should be allocated by way of lottery lest HH400 leaves itself open to
accusations of favoritism or “insider trading”; and
THE STATE:
At the
highest level, the State has a vital role to play. The record of Henry
Hudson’s settlement of Nieuw Amsterdam, as is the case with all
colonizers, is not entirely unblemished. Just like many people abhor and
refuse to celebrate Columbus’ discovery of the New World, there are
people that are concerned about the skeletons in the closet as far as it
concern Dutch exploration and exploitation of its newly claimed
territories in the New World.
It would be a magnanimous gesture if a representative for
the Dutch government would make a formal and heartfelt apology for the
wrongs that were committed in that distant past. At this time of
rapprochement it is fitting to use the occasion of the 400th anniversary
of Henry Hudson’s landing to show our humility and even, if that could
be arranged, representation by American Indians. Such an apology was
offered recently by the Prime Minister of Australia for the mistreatment
of its aboriginal people in the past
It should be clear
to all that are responsible that by now time is of the essence. In as
far as the above tasks are not already included in HH400’s planning,
these should be urgently addressed. I regret that I have gained the
impression that HH400 is perhaps somewhat behind the eight ball, at
least in respect of organizing the “platbodem” event. I would suggest
the following timetable:
HH400:
(a) Announces its acceptance, in principle, of these proposals by the
end of this month (December 2008);
(b) Establishes a means of payment by sponsors to contribute via
electronic means by end-January, 2009;
(c) Make
arrangements to have Utube and Facebook presences established and
populated by no later than end-February, 2009;
(d) Announces its intention to produce a DVD of the
celebration, and a plague of appreciation signed copies of which would
be made available to donors meeting certain fundraising criteria;
(e) Update
and expand its website; remove inconsistencies between the Dutch and
English versions; and announce the fundraising activities ASAP.
SPTS:
(a) STPS to
announce its willingness and prepare a plan to organize and oversee the
production and gathering of the proposed short videos and have this
underway before the end of January 2009 for release during February
2009;
(b) Update
its website to give prominence to the fundraising activity.
OWNERS:
(a) Agree
to prepare the short videos according to guidelines to be supplied by
HH400 or SPTS; and
(b) indicate
their willingness and commitment to participate in the “platbodem” event
if all or part of their transportation cost is subsidized.
With the preparation
of the celebration already in the pipeline for several years, it is now
difficult and inappropriate to plead that there is inadequate time to
arrange for the necessary fundraising and publicity campaigns. Neither
can it be claimed that the required expertise is not available because
the Advisory Committee and the Board are composed of the crème de la
crème of Dutch and American intelligentsia.
Because some
disdain electronic mail as a means for formal communications, I have
sent this letter by certified mail to your New York Office. However, for
the sake of efficiency I have sent advance copies of a draft of this
letter to Messrs. Gerard Jongerius and Gert Tetteroo of HH400 and Mr.
Jan te Siepe of STPS by email.
Because
of my Dutch heritage and love for sailing I still have not given up the
hope to assist potential participants in preparing their extended
itineraries if they choose to stay longer in the US. However, given the
way things are I’ll do that directly with them by publishing a website
for that purpose.
I hope that HH400 will rise to the occasion.
Yours sincerely,
Anthony
Van Vugt
1031 Carper Street
McLean VA 22101-2106
Tel: 703 734 2727 (Residence)
703 508 5377 (SV Bojangles)
Websites:
www.van-vugt.com/trilogy
www.aussiewinlink.org
www.hongertocht.org
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