Open Letter to Mayor Michael Nutter
The following letter was sent on Friday, November 14, 2008. It’s bad policy to involve my employers in my blogging, so dates and names have been redacted.
The Honorable Michael A. Nutter, Mayor
City Hall, Room 215
Philadelphia, PA 19107
November 13, 2008
Dear Mayor Nutter:
It was a pleasure bumping into you on [date redacted] at [my employer's event, redacted]. I spoke to you briefly as you made your way through the room, and asked you how much it costs to keep a single pool open. You replied that the cost is about $50,000.00: that’s a grand total of $3.1 million dollars for the 62 pools slated to be closed. I explained that I am a grant writer, and that I would do some work with regard to funding.
Mayor Nutter, I have a strong personal investment in our city. I live in the struggling neighborhood of Kingsessing, where we are losing a pool, a sprayground, AND a library. Kingsessing is a tough place, and I am not referring to the crime and poverty: I am referring to my neighbors, who are resourceful and refuse to watch our neighborhood collapse. In 2007, we saw three gun murders on our block. Rather than wait for someone to ride to our rescue, we took the initiative and set up a Town Watch. I remember screwing the signs into the telephone poles, and I am proud to say that in 2008, there have been no shootings at all on our block.
The pools and spraygrounds in Philadelphia’s many neighborhoods are vital for our children’s health. Pools help prevent crime during the summer, by providing kids with a safe, supervised recreational outlet. As we both know, when the weather gets hot, tempers and violence flare: having a pool to cool off is a matter of public safety. This goes double for children who are too young to swim, and depend on the sprayground: little kids are susceptible to heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
My preliminary research proved disappointing on one hand, and quite fruitful on the other. My foundation contacts told me that because the city doesn’t qualify as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, foundation funding is out of the question. A better bet, according to my contacts, would be to request assistance form local corporations.
Thus, I began to look at the earnings of some of the biggest corporations we host in Philadelphia, many of whom have obtained generous incentives to locate here. For example, in October of this year, Verizon brought in nearly $25 billion in revenue, a 31% increase (source). Comcast, who Philadelphia has blessed with a de facto monopoly on cable television, saw a 38% increase this year (source). So far as I know, Sunoco has never paid back the loans they obtained from the city for Welcome America (source): that’s at least $1.8 million, which could pay for 36 pools. Our sports teams also benefit from Philadelphia fans, who purchase tickets, souvenirs, and concessions at the games: they should be giving back as well.
These are companies that even in hard times have deep pockets. As a grant writer, I can tell you with no small authority that corporations like these tend to give out grants in amounts of $5000-$25,000. The nonprofits I work for are grateful for these sums, but let’s face facts: $20,000 is a drop in the bucket. As these Philadelphia corporations rake in the profits, they give back one leaf at a time. I believe it is time for these corporations to step up: $3.1 million dollars is not a lot of money for a company that brings in $25 billion.
Mayor Nutter, I believe that the city should forge partnerships with these corporations. They clearly have the resources to fund our city’s pools temporarily as we pull ourselves out of this financial hole. One incentive might be to provide them with naming rights, as we’ve done for our sports stadiums.
As mayor you also have the power of the bully pulpit. Your speeches are always on target and inspiring, with demonstrable effects, such as when you rallied Philadelphia to clean up the entire city. I am sure that you could leverage your power as a popular, first term mayor to convince these companies to live up to their stated goals of corporate citizenship. As you said so eloquently in your address to the city regarding our current crisis, “Now more than ever, we need Philadelphians to step forward…if we work in partnership, make the tough choices and smart investments, then we’ll secure our future as we face the global economic challenges.” I agree with you 100%, and will gladly volunteer my services as a grant writer to approach our most powerful and wealthy corporate neighbors, who make their home here and who have benefited immensely from our city’s largesse. Luke tells us that “to whom much is given, much is expected.” Our corporate neighbors have been given a lot: it’s time for them to give back to their city in a way that has meaningful impact.
If you’d like to discuss this proposal further, please contact me at [numbers and email redacted].
I am at your service,
Brendan Skwire
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June 22nd, 2009 at 1:52 pm
[...] Not cool. Certainly not when the eagles just settled for $3 million with the city. Regular readers may recall that’s almost exactly what the Mayor needs to keep all of the pools…. [...]