Inside The Saving Puerto Escondido campaign

IN: TRANSMISSION BY DOCLACH 0 COMMENTS TUE 3RD JUL '12

tags: salvermos puerto , saving puerto escondido , gregg taylor , iba , mexico , world tour , hurricane

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Gregg Taylor, the Managing Director of the IBA world tour has offered to clarify details about the "Salvermos Puerto" fundraising campaign....

Doc: Hey Gregg, thanks for taking the time to clear some questions up. Surfing over the last couple of days , there have been several questions from bodyboarders about the fundraising so we'll run through a few. Firstly you're looking to raise $100k minimum to run an event to attract tourism to Zicatela. Firstly, say $100k is raised, is there more benefit in putting a that large directly into the community, or in running a bodyboarding event with all its associated costs to attract visitors?

Gregg: The perspective we have taken is that the 200+ IBA bodyboarders and staff that spend 2+ weeks in Puerto Escondido for the event will provide a far greater positive impact to the local community and economy. On top of that the media value that an IBA event brings with its 100,000s of viewers per event is a great platform to promote Puerto Escondido to drive future tourism spending and awareness of the help needed for the region.

Doc: The Tees are selling for $30. Does all of the $30 go to the fund, or does the material and printing costs of the tees come out of it first? That is, say a printed tee costs $8 all up including freight , postage to the customer etc. does $22 go to the Puerto fund or the full $30?

Gregg: The IBA would like to confirm all proceeds from the t shirt sales less the cost of the shirt and freight will be donated to the campaign. The IBA are in discussions with a number of global clothing companies regarding the donation of the t shirts, meaning the only cost will be that of the freight.
If there are any clothing companies who can help with the supply of the shirts the IBA would love to hear from them.

Doc: The government wasn't able to come up with the funding this year because of the hurricane damage, last year Mitch came through with sponsorship from Found boards at the proverbial eleventh hour so the event could run. What is the cost gap between government funding and what a bodyboarding industry sponsor (or a non-bodybording sponsor if they were interested) needs to chip in to run Zicatela?

Gregg: In 2011 the event was made possible by the Industry support of Turbo Surf Designs, AGIT, Found Boards, ID Boards. All these brands worked together to provide the funding and the event was a great success.
The cost gap in 2012 started out at $100,000. With the sales to date and a number of other initiatives we are launching we imagine this figure is down to $50,000. Like 2012, this can be shared across various companies.
The IBA welcomes all expressions of interest.

Doc: You're looking to use some of the funds to rebuild the eight lifeguard towers that were destroyed. If you only raise a portion of the envisaged amount, where will that money go - to build these towers, even if there isn't a comp?

Gregg: In the event that $100,000 is not raised, the IBA Zicatela Pro will be cancelled with the proceeds of Salvemos Puerto t shirts donated to the lifeguards of Puerto Escondido. The proceeds of the industry merchandise packs will be refunded to customers via paypal.

Doc: The IBA site states you're looking to raise the "First $100,000 prior to the 8th of July" which is only six days away at the time of writing. Don't you feel that's a bit of a tight timeline?

Gregg: Each month the IBA website has over 150,000 unique people globally view the IBA website and more than double this amount of people watch the LIVE webcast of each event, over 300,000 people.
For this campaign to be successful we need 1% of this total number of IBA events viewers to participate in the campaign by purchasing a t shirt or a merchandise pack. So yes we are looking for 3,000 Bodyboarders globally to contribute. When it is broken down like this, most agree it is a reasonable expectation.
In reality we can extend the period though we would need to see at least 50% of the required funds raised by the end of this week and good momentum. In practice the IBA require 1 month period to organise the event in Mexico, and this is the reason why a call needs to be made. The riders also need time to plan travel.

Doc: A lot of charity institutions are having to declare what costs come out of donations for things like engaging promotional companies, administration costs and so on. Again, how much from each to the promotional packs sold will go directly to the cause and is any going to any promotional companies or increased administration costs?

Gregg: The industry merchandise packs have been donated at zero cost to the campaign by Turbo Surf Designs, Reeflex Wetsuits, Inverted Bodyboarding and Freedom Fins. As such, all of the proceeds of these sales go to the Salvemos Puerto campaign.
There are no administration costs being charged in this campaign. The IBA are doing this at no cost for the benefit of the sport of bodyboarding.

Doc: Of the total cost of running a comp at Zicatela, what component of the total does a quality webcast cost? If the funds raised are borderline, would you consider running a comp without the webcast?

Gregg: The webcast costs of an IBA event are significant and yes that is an option that could be considered. Though in my view considering the public are effectively helping the event happen they deserve the option to watch the event live. The IBA are reviewing pay per view options also.

Doc: Prizemoney - would that be reduced to help flow more money to Puerto Escondido and its people, keeping the cash in the country?

Gregg: Another option that can be discussed with the IBA Riders Board, though this is not a decision the IBA would make without consulting the IBA competitors.

Doc: I noticed Reeflex have been really generous, as John always is. The $60 pack has a $60 Reeflex voucher, the $80 pack has a $110 Reeflex voucher and the $100 pack has a $150 Reeflex voucher. These are all plus apparel and discount vouchers. So the actual value of the packs themselves is pretty guaranteed, you at least get your money back or even more yeah?

Gregg: Again to be fair to all Industry supporters of this campaign, Turbo Surf Designs, Inverted Bodyboarding, Freedom Fins and Reeflex are all donating merchandise and vouchers at no cost and all deserve acknowledgement. In saying that, I don't want to take anything away from John who has been great.
You are correct in saying that the industry packs value are significantly higher than the ticket price. With the $100 pack you get a $150 Reeflex voucher, $70 pair of stretch Turbo Board shorts, $20 Reeflex hat, $30 Salvemos Puerto T shirt, $15 Inverted I phone cover, 30% off Inverted online shop voucher and a free Inverted t shirt if you spend over $50 with Inverted. That is over $300 of value for $100 and all proceeds go to a great cause.

Doc: If people would like to purchase items to support "Salvermos Puerto" where should they go?

Gregg: please logon to http://shop.ibaworldtour.com/
Thank you for your support

Thanks for your time Gregg and many wishes to our bodyboarding brothers in Mexico.

Photos courtesy IBA from the 2011 Zicatela event.