That hurt Bill. Really. You can argue about insurance, you can bitch about the fact that I don't talk to you, but credibility, well- that's a warm and fuzzy that there is no real way to measure. And when you can't measure it, then it's really tough to argue.
Thankfully, you have a high enough position in Government that people believe what you say really without requiring much proof. So when you say stuff like, "They're just not credible", people say to themselves, he has a fancy title and Mayor Finch lets him talk for the City, so he must be right.
And maybe he is. A Non Profit that lacks insurance, stonewalls City officials and is otherwise a pain in the ass, well they wouldn't be on my Christmas card list either. Especially if I (The Mayor and His Friend Bill) were being threatened with Federal Investigations daily, had a new controversy rolling out weekly about a failed airport deal, had to defend a failing school system, bankrupt civil service and otherwise backwards City Government.
But Wait- I'm not here to Bitch about Bridgeport - I love her, even if I don't like her.
The question really is, is Bill right about his three points-
1) Insurance
2) Communication
3) Credibility
1)Well I think we answered the insurance issue on the website a couple days ago,
Furthermore it is not our intent to subvert the law, fail to enact best practices or fail to carry the proper protections for the interests of our organization. However in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, insurance premiums are at an all time high. We have also suffered a substantial loss due to an extensive theft history raising our premiums to unsustainable levels. Carrying the exorbitant cost of insurance while our facility is not offering lessons or youth programing makes little fiscal sense. Furthermore it has been our position since last January that the City of Bridgeport has fully intended to take the illegal action of seizure at any time and so therefore with limited financial means, paying inflated insurance premiums has take a lower priority. - See more at: http://www.ctcommunityboating.org/#sthash.2nautUmy.dpuf
2)So what about communication-
Again these things could be digested into small little sound bites I suppose, but I am a little too close to the situation to fit it into a tweet. If you want to see communications, read my Blog post from yesterday, Didn't hear from CCB, Really? In it, I provide every email and text message I could find from 2011 to the beginning of 2013. I think it shows as I say, "I asked.... in fact begged for the City's support" You can certainly decide for yourself, but I think nearly 4500 words of emails and texts, a blog, a website, a FB profile, a twitter feed, a youtube channel and a google plus account, with 5 cellphones, a land line, the US Mail and an office with a full time receptionist less than 1/4 mile from the Mayor's office, I think we are pretty accessible. But I forgot smoke signals, so maybe I was tough to reach?
3)So then it goes to credibility. How do you define that? Google defines it by "the quality of being trusted and believed in" So is Bill saying, he doesn't believe in CCB anymore? But wait didn't he say,
"“We’re just trying very much to enact the mayor’s initiative: riverfront recapture,” Coleman said. “We’re trying to do all we can” to restore Bridgeport’s waterfront “and reconnect people to the waterfront ..."
Oh shoot- he did say that, so we know he believes in open water for everyone. Right?
Then maybe he means, he doesn't believe in our Board anymore- Granted we have had a lot of defections from the Board room. Maybe if our Board's annual contribution was $100,000 each, and we had 30 board members, then we would have more credibility- we'd certainly have a better credit score.
I wish to hell I had a board like that. Imagine what I could do if I had the resources and leadership of the Shehan Center on my Board? But really our whole board's combined household income for a year is less than $100,000 and we have four board members. That doesn't leave a lot to contribute to building a better Bridgeport after they feed their kids, pay their mortgage and put gas in their car. But money isn't the bench mark for measuring a Non-Profit board. They care about the cause, they believe in the mission and they are willing to put their name on a piece of paper that says "If the shit hits the fan, I will stand up for justice." I can't ask for anything more.
Besides that, Non-Profits aren't measured by a Board of directors. We are measured by the 501c3 tax code, we are measured by our deeds, we are measured by the effect of our efforts. Not by how much money our Board can pull in.
So then how do we determine CCB's credibility????
That's a tough one.
Maybe if we look at the root of the word Credibility for further understanding- CREDIT. Wikipedia says CREDIT is (from Latin credo translation. "I believe" ) is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources (or other materials of equal value) at a later date. The resources provided may be financial (e.g. granting a loan), or they may consist of goods or services (e.g. consumer credit). Credit encompasses any form of deferred payment.[1] Credit is extended by a creditor, also known as a lender, to a debtor, also known as a borrower.
Well by that standard, many would tell you we suck. We were foreclosed on by CEDF in July, have yet to pay a bunch of bills totaling about $16,000 and can't afford to put gas in a boat, let alone replace the ramp that collapsed last winter. So we're broke- and not very worthy of a loan- I have said that all along- but we're not asking the City for money. In fact, we have never taken a dime in grants, loans or handouts from the Tax payer. But have we not given a lot back in our 7 years?
- We have taught more than 5000 kids to sail, FREE of CHARGE.
- We built two facilities in places that NO ONE EVER WANTED TO INVEST IN. A toxic landfill and a derelict City waterfront.
- We have cleaned up more than 150 tons of trash washed into the water because of poor waste management by the City we're trying to fix
- We founded a 501c3, from the ground up, built something where once there was nothing, something that a whole bunch of people have benefited from.
- And we have done all this in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, in the most derelict City in the North East, in a State that is failing economically on about a dozen fronts putting us near last in 50 states for economic growth and the near last in annual charitable contributions by the 1%.
So granted we're broke, have a limping Board of Directors and a semi-functional dock in Downtown Bridgeport, with a half dozen semi-operational boats. BUT we have done what most said was impossible. We have lived through economic disasters, a steady stream of tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, blizzards and rising sea levels. We have broken barriers, laid the ground work for a new economy for Bridgeport and did it all without ever costing you a dime as a tax payer. We have done things no one thought possible and no one of wealth supported.
Are we credit worthy for a loan- NO. But could you make any argument that CCB is IN-Credible? I think so.
The Credibility of a charity should never be based on money, especially when it is the mission of that charity to provide free access to the water for low income kids. The Credibility of CCB is in our mission, in our cause and in the efforts of the hundreds of volunteers who have helped do what we have done. We're fighting to open the water to everyone regardless of income, residency or social standing. Bill is saying , you can't now because your broke and we want to shut you down. Then I say either write the check to fix it, or shut the hell up, but either way, your not taking our dock without a good old, healthy American Fight.
Not my Favorite of all Our Videos, but this is Bill Coleman says lack credibility
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