We've gotten a few inquiries as to why we even need donations so we want to make everything as clear as possible.

Our primary mission developed back in the fall of 2006 when Messalonskee Rowing Club (MRC) first started, based on input from the current team and a sampling of alums. MRC is charged to "connect the Alumni of the Colby College Crew, encourage financial support of the Colby College Crew and facilitate amateur competition in the sport of rowing".  Essentially, we should keep Colby Crews alums networked and support Colby Crew, primarly through financial means.

To execute the first part, "connect the Alumni of the Colby Crew Crew", we built a website which is what you're visiting today and send out "The Colby Catch" our newsletter. The website has a yearly cost of approximately $100, although we anticipate that cost may rise as the website matures and we add more content and therefore need more bandwidth. Fortunately, our webmaster and writers work for free! Our other operating costs include paying for the registration with the Head of the Charles (which addresses the "facilitate amateur competition in the sport of rowing"), which allows us to race as a club. That costs $250 per year, not counting boat fees which are paid for by the crews themselves. We also generally sponsor a happy hour or other alumni event that weekend which runs around $100.

In order to support Colby Crew, we've decided (again, based on input from the team, the coaching staff and from alumni) to give a gift every year. That gift can be monetary, but generally we'll talk with the coaches and captains at the beginning of the year, decide on an achievable gift and fundraise to buy it. This year the gift is a "state secret" so it will be a surprise for the team, but generally, we'll declare what we're fundraising for and what the cost is. There will also be a gift to each graduating senior as a thank you for their dedication and effort and a welcome to the ranks of MRC. Last year we purchased pint glasses with the MRC logo on them and will distribute those this year as well.

Any capital that's raised above and beyond the operating costs for MRC and the cost of the yearly gift to the team and/or graduating seniors will be rolled over into the next year.

In summary, it takes approximately $450 to operate MRC each year. In addition to that, we fundraise to give gifts directly to the team. Generally, we'll work with the coaches and captains to determine gifts that the team can't obtain through normal college athletic funding.

Almost everything accomplished so far at MRC has been through blood, sweat, and tears, and a very limited budget of spare nickels and dimes. We ask for your support to continue to build the Colby Crew alumni network and most importantly, to support the current Colby Crew. We'll track donations and goals using the donation thermometer above. Here are a few ways to give to MRC:

-Donate using Paypal or Write a check (Please email Annie Szender for more details.) 

            Thanks for helping boats go fast!