social entrepreneurship and rocking the boat:
building boats, kids, and organizational capacity in the south bronx

In 1998, Rocking the Boat's founder and Executive Director, Adam Green, was awarded a $20,000 Echoing Green Fellowship. The fellowship, which recognizes, encourages, and financially supports burgeoning social entrepreneurs, provided seed money for turning Rocking the Boat-then just a pilot after-school program Adam had run in conjunction with a local community college—into the thriving community-based nonprofit organization that it is today. Adam and Rocking the Boat have kept this spirit of social entrepreneurship alive by continually seeking ways to increase the organization's capacity to create lasting social change. Over the past 11 years, the organization has successfully developed and implemented a wide range of initiatives that not only fulfill its mission of using boats to build kids in the South Bronx but build organizational capacity as well.

2009 has been an especially exciting and productive year for Rocking the Boat, a significant achievement considering the uncertain economic climate. Rocking the Boat's ability to weather the financial storm can largely be attributed to the entrepreneurial character of several new initiatives: building boats on commission; on-water teambuilding, professional development, and family programs; and a new annual fundraising event, Rocking Manhattan. These programs and events represent more than $85,000 in first-time income and allowed Rocking the Boat students to play a central role in bringing new support to the organization.

commissioned boatbuilding projects

Boatbuilding Apprentices marked a major milestone this past spring, completing construction of their first ever commissioned project, an 18-foot Diablo-Grande powerboat. The Apprentices' enthusiasm for the project and the customer's satisfaction with the final product suggest significant potential for further developing this new funding stream. Moving forward, new emphasis will be placed on increasing the Job Skills Program's capacity to build at least one boat on commission each semester.

teambuilding, professional development, and ecology programs

This summer, Rocking the Boat introduced three new On-Water programs designed to involve more people, maximize our resources, and earn income for the organization. The Teambuilding program is based on the same structure as the school-year On-Water Classroom Program, and takes groups of up to 40 people out on the water for between two and five hours at a time. Rocking the Boat welcomes groups of all ages and can readily tailor programs to meet the particular needs or goals of each group. The Professional Development program enables Rocking the Boat to share our experience in the youth development field with educators, helping them explore ways they can integrate hands-on learning techniques with traditional classroom learning. And in collaboration with some of New York City's most prominent environmental and historical institutions, Rocking the Boat is running Ecology tours of the Bronx River estuary. Since the programs were introduced this July, Rocking the Boat has hosted 20 groups for a total of 54 sessions, ranging from a five-session ecology program with a group of visually impaired students to a Saturday teambuilding afternoon with The Nature Conservancy Young Professionals.

rocking manhattan

This fall Rocking the Boat introduced a new annual fundraising event, Rocking Manhattan. On October 4th, eight teams of rowers circumnavigated the entire island of Manhattan to raise money for Rocking the Boat and show their support of our work with kids in the South Bronx. The event was a tremendous success raising more than $60,000 and helping Rocking the Boat build relationships with more than 500 new individual donors. The fundraiser also contained a vital programming component as Program Assistants and Apprentices teamed up with rowers to serve as alternates and coxswains, demonstrating their skill on the water and sharing personal stories of growth and development during their time with Rocking the Boat. The outpouring of enthusiasm for this new event was so great that plans are already in the works for next year's row.

environmental contracts

From the beginning, it has been Rocking the Boat's intention to connect students with their local environment and to put the wooden boats they build to practical use. In 2002, with the support of a $250,000 grant from the New York Community Trust, Rocking the Boat developed a formal outdoor education program that did just that. The On-Water Program has since developed into a highly sustainable, income generating operation. On the Bronx River and along its banks, Rocking the Boat students and Apprentices regularly collaborate with local scientific partners by contributing to environmental restoration and monitoring efforts funded by City, State, and Federal agencies. Rocking the Boat has received both grants and contracts from such sources as the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Wildlife Conservation Society/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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