MINNEAPOLIS, January 14, 2022 — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, as part of its ongoing effort to fuel solutions for the marine industry’s No. 1 challenge — workforce shortages — has donated $100,000 to the MRAA Educational Foundation, a 501-c-3 nonprofit organization with a mission to provide education, scholarships and programs to develop a stronger marine industry workforce.
The $100,000 donation from the MRAA, the nonprofit trade association that drives dealership success through tools, resources and educational programs, comes with a powerful back story: When the association battled through a significant revenue drop in 2020, due to the cancellation of the in-person MRAA Dealer Week conference and expo, several leading industry organizations made donations of a combined $100,000 to help the MRAA endure the pandemic.
Throughout 2020, MRAA adjusted its business to counter the revenue shortfall and managed its expenses to the point that it broke even, financially. The $100,000 in industry donations, then, gave the association a net income of $100,000 on the year. At that time, the MRAA staff went to the MRAA Board of Directors to recommend that the organization recognize those companies’ generosity by paying it forward and investing those funds into building and strengthening the marine industry labor pool through a donation to the MRAA Educational Foundation.
“The MRAA exists solely to support the growth and success of our industry and specifically the dealers that serve boaters in their local community,” explains Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “We always explain to our members and our partners that when they invest in MRAA through their membership, through Dealer Week, through Dealership Certification, or any other means, the MRAA reinvests those funds right back into the industry. Paying this donation forward by investing it in workforce solutions powered by the MRAA Educational Foundation, is the perfect example of that philosophy.”
The MRAA Educational Foundation’s strategic plan takes an aggressive approach to solving personnel challenges. By developing regional stakeholder collaboratives across the country, also known as sectoral partnerships, employers can address area-specific labor pool challenges such as the marine technician shortage. This tactic is the best-practice approach to workforce development supported by federal and state workforce development funding streams.
“The Foundation’s board is committed to taking this bold approach to workforce development for our industry,” Mackie says. “They want to make sure that MRAA’s generous investment will pay off now and for years to come. The Foundation’s mission to grow the marine industry through workforce development compels us to create sustainable long-term solutions to our industry’s workforce challenges.”
To take the lead in fulfilling this mission, the MRAA hired Wendy Mackie as its Director of Workforce and Foundation Development. Mackie will apply her years of expertise in workforce development to generate the talent supply chain the MRAA membership needs.
“Our team here at the MRAA understands how challenging the workforce shortage has been for our dealers,” Gruhn adds. “They were lacking employees prior to the pandemic, and the events of the last couple years have only made the shortages worse. We expect this contribution to the workforce-focused mission of our Educational Foundation to fuel new programs and opportunities that will help dealers fill open positions and strengthen their businesses.”
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
About MRAA Educational Foundation
The MRAA Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation, was founded in 2004 to provide financial support for education, training and professional development in the recreational marine industry. The Educational Foundation is dedicated to the growth of the marine industry through workforce development. For more information or to donate to support the foundation’s mission, visit MRAA.com/foundation.
