Giving back
At the Superyacht Charities Ball 2016 it was announced that the group had officially become a charitable foundation.…
Superyacht Charities (SYC), originally a group of five altruistic individuals from within the superyacht industry, announced at the 2016 Superyacht Charity Ball, that it had officially become a formalised charitable organisation under the title of the Superyacht Charities Foundation.
SuperyachtNews.com speaks exclusively with Derek Munro, the Yacht Consultancy principal and the Superyacht Charities Foundation’s chairperson, about why the foundation was formed and what it hopes to achieve.
“It all started when we decided to throw a pre-Mediterranean season party, which became last year’s ball,” starts Munro. “Initially we thought we were only going to get about 150 people. We ended up with 357 and had to double the size of the venue.”
At the conclusion of the 2015 Charity Ball, £48,000 had been raised, some £20,000 more than originally predicted.
“At the end of the first event we were all on a bit of a high and so we decided to do something more,” continues Munro. “So I went and bought the [Superyacht Charities] domain name.”
Once the decision had been made to become a formalised charitable foundation, a process that concluded a number of weeks ago, others from within the industry were contacted for help launching it. Special thanks must go to Hill Dickinson and Dohlë who set up the necessary fund and bank account respectively, free of charge.
“Now we are hoping to gather some funds for a variety of good causes, from cancer research to disaster relief,” explains Munro. “We have worded our objectives in such a way that we are open to do anything so long as it helps.”
The Superyacht Group at the Superyacht Charities Ball 2016
The next step for the foundation is to secure sponsorship for the website and fulltime employee to deal with the day to day administration and running of the charity.
“If we can get someone to sponsor the website, who also has enough money to cover the costs of the person in the office, then we will be able to give everything we raise to charity,” continues Munro. “I have spoken to Visa Worldwide and we are waiting to hear back.”
The work of the Superyacht Charity Foundation will not only to be directly host events, it will also be a conduit through which others can promote their charitable ventures and raise more. “We want to promote everything that people are doing within the industry,” concludes Munro.
To sponsor someone within the superyacht industry, or to post a charitable venture of your own, visit www.superyachtcharities.com and contact info@superyachtcharities.com. The Superyacht Group will continue to support the progress of the Superyacht Charities Foundation.
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