As businesses across our industry fight to navigate the landscape of federal stimulus packages, there’s an untold story you should be aware of.

 

That is that the organizations the government designates to support their respective industries — which in this case means almost every single one of the marine trade associations you know today — are NOT eligible for the federal stimulus program.

 

As a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade association, the MRAA was created for the sole purpose of supporting and fostering the success of the marine industry. Our founding documents call it the “welfare of marine retailers” … or in other words the health, happiness and fortunes of those businesses. But 501(c)(6) organizations were left off of the list of organizations eligible for the PPP.

 

Despite this decision, over the last 45 days or so your MRAA team has worked tirelessly to support your business. They’ve produced more webinars in 45 days than they had planned for the entire calendar year. They’ve written and designed more pages of educational content than any single quarter in the history of this organization. They’ve flipped the switch on years (and more than $100,000) of online educational course investments to give every dealer – members or non-members — free access. They’ve had more conversations with decision makers in Congressional offices and at the state-level than any previous two-month period. They’ve battled for the “essential” status of retailers in almost every state. They’ve conducted and shared more research and best-practice-related blogs than any entire year previous. It’s been a herculean effort in support of our dealers and all despite the payroll reductions that we, too, have had to incorporate.

 

The MRAA is a non-profit entity and as such is focused on providing support much more than collecting revenue. Yet, in times like these, it’s so easy for businesses to think that their membership dues don’t mean a lot and are easy to trim out of their expenses. The exact opposite of that is true. Your membership dues are what make MRAA’s work possible.

 

I don’t know who had the authority to designate today #GivingTuesdayNow, a day designed to raise awareness of non-profits in these difficult times, but regardless, our team here at MRAA is pausing (after yet another great webinar, mind you) to recognize this movement and to ask for your support. Let me be clear, we’re not asking for a donation … we’re asking for you to support the MRAA in ways that will give you incredible return on investment and amplify our ability to advocate for you.

·       Renew your membership or join the MRAA for as little as $395.

·       Upgrade to Silver Membership for $995 and give your team access to 140 courses at MRAATraining.com.

·       Or Get Certified and gain access to a proven business template for your dealership.

 

Even though the MRAA is a non-profit, it is a business just like yours. Except we are unique in that without support from our industry, from the businesses and individuals we work so hard to support, we don’t exist. While we continue to fight hard to help create more opportunities for your business, we are also fighting to gain access to some of the same stimulus package opportunities for ours and other 501(c)(6) organizations.

 

We’ve heard plenty of experts tell us to be direct when making an “ask,” so that’s what I’ll do. We ask that if you find MRAA’s programs or services or any of the COVID-19 related webinars, documents, data, best practices, publications, communications or other resources of value, please support the MRAA and this incredible team by becoming a member.