Sailing Heals Inc

Our goals are to continue to offer a spirit-lifting day at sea for cancer patients, their caregivers and others in need of a healing break in our 20+ current ports where we operate and to add one port each year. We'd like to continue to attract quality and experienced individuals as volunteer host captains, board members and volunteers.

We would also like to pay our staff a working wage which is motivating and commensurate with the skills and dedication they bring to the organization.

We would like to create more alliances with businesses that can provide some cost-savings for us in the way of transportation and travel costs and event costs. We have been successful in doing this with our printing and design help but would like to expand these relationships to other areas that can provide professional support and assistance to our organization.

We have a multi-prong strategy for making this work including 2 - 3 larger fundraising events a year and 3 - 4 smaller ones; mail campaigns; our Sailing Hearts legacy/memorial program; and more stewardship of our existing donors/sponsors.

Hard work and sound and regular input from our board and other professionals will lead us to achieve these goals as they have in the past.

In the 7 years we have been operating, we have hosted over 3600 guests for complimentary lunches and healing sails in 24 ports around the country. In many cases, our guests have told us that they enjoyed the best day of their summer with us and that our program provided the hope and joy they needed to get through, perhaps, a final phase of their illness and have faith that they will have enjoyable days again.

We have established real and lasting relationships with some of the best yacht clubs and hundreds of generous host captains. We have a dedicated group of volunteers in many of our ports and hundreds of donors who want to support our efforts. We have established our Sailing Hearts legacy program to honor or remember loved ones at each of our events/sails that has been quite moving for all who have participated.

We have managed to sustain an excellent board of directors & grow our staff from one full time Exec. Dir. and part time bookkeeper to now 3 part-time staff and one ED.