Hi All, Very important: As some of you know, I'm a part-time NY attorney. I was in FL the last six months, and my ailing father was living with me. He died last month and I moved back here to New York to be with my mom, and to continue volunteering with a not-for-profit I started last year to help people find success in life (that I hope one day to become profitable). In other words, this petition took off at a good time: I haven't been consumed by a whole lot of legal work, and I had free time to go on all of these interviews in support of our cause. Well, the cause is growing. And I think it needs some more love and attention in the form of a legal business model. I am thinking of creating a not-for-profit corporation to take our cause to the next level, a not-for-profit that represents you (the people who signed this petition) and that will help us better organize and execute this fight, and one that allows me to spend more of my time over this next year leading and organizing this charge. As an attorney who has already created a tax-exempt organization, I know how to do this, legally. And in accordance with IRS publication 557, we will be able to advocate publicly and also advocate to the legislature while remaining within the bounds of the law. Basically, the more money we raise, the more money we can use for direct lobbying purposes (IRS Form 5768). This is what I am thinking: Possible names: * Friends of the Tappan Zee, Inc. * The Tappan Zee Bridge Historical Preservation Society, Inc. * Save the Tappan Zee, Inc. Which do you like better? Sole Apolitical Purposes: 1. To reclaim the Tappan Zee name for the bridge 2. To create a Tappan Zee/Tappan Zee Bridge museum with one location on the Rockland side and another on the Westchester side, that chronicles the history of the Tappan Indians and the Dutch in New York, to include what is happening now with the bridge controversy. To get from one part of the museum to the other, you must travel across the Tappan Zee Bridge. (Cool idea, right?!) In this way, the name will NEVER die, no matter what happens. Then, when we advertise the museum, it advertises the true name of our bridge! We can even use money to 'sponsor' the highway approaching the bridge. :D **NO FUNDS WILL BE USED TO TACKLE ANY OTHER ISSUES EXCEPT FOR THE TWO ISSUES ABOVE** Where will the money go: A) Advocacy, B) Education, C) Historical Preservation * To raise money to pay for signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts, and more that say "Save the Tappan Zee" to be placed in every city and town in New York State * To raise money to pay for part-time "county team leaders" and "city team leaders" to organize events in various counties and cities, sharing the history of the Tappan Indians and the Dutch, the circumstances before us, and the importance of our cause with as many people as we can reach. * To hire a part-time publicist to continually get the word out * To put me on a modest ($3000/month) part-time executive director stipend so that I can focus less on other matters, and more time and energy into leading this charge. It's not a lot of money, and doesn't cover all of my bills, but it will allow me to avoid looking for so many legal clients and will allow me to devote more time and energy to this cause. Leadership is exhausting and time consuming! :) * And a sizeable portion will go towards the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge museum, which I believe should be a priority to preserve what's left of this incredible history regardless of what happens. Let's say we raise $100,000--and that is totally possible. It means each of you simply contributes $1. Where would the money go? $30,000 to begin funding of the Museum with locations on both sides of the Hudson. $10,000 for a billboard in Albany that constantly stares at Andrew Cuomo and his fellow politicians $13,000 to pay for tens of thousands of t-shirts, pens, mugs, calendars, lawn signs, signs to hand in businesses, bumper stickers, and more to distributed throughout New York State $10,000 for miscellaneous items: i.e. to hire a part-time publicist and individual county volunteer coordinators, to pay for coach/economy fare travel reimbursement if staff need to travel around the state, etc. $1000 to start the not-for-profit ($250 corporation fees, $750 IRS application fees, etc.--I will donate my legal services & acumen for free to fill out all the paperwork and submit it to NY and the IRS.) Finally, $3,000/month to me as executive director ($36,000/year) to lead this charge The board of directors will consist of people like you (Democrat, Republican, Independent), and I will answer to the board of directors. Some of you have been very active on this petition, and so I think the board of directors should be comprised of members of this petition. It will be a board of at least 7 people who I believe represent the cause and represent your interests AND WHO WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR BOARD MEETINGS. If you feel you'd like to be on the board of directors of an educational charity that focuses on preserving the history of the Tappan Indians & the Dutch, please speak up. The bank account will have read-only access for members (like you) to view whenever they wish to do so, fully transparent. I'm not doing this to become rich; I'm doing it because it needs to be done. :) I am proposing we start this not-for-profit for a number of reasons: a) I believe in what we are trying to do. b) I believe that I have your trust--I want to see the Tappan Zee name back just as much as you do. c) I can't continue at the pace of the last three weeks (or even half the pace) as a volunteer anymore. It's really been exhausting. d) If I don't keep going, many of you agree: we are going to lose momentum. e) Many organizations still want to meet with me. Politicians want to work with me. There's talk of me testifying before the state assembly. I just can't keep this up as a volunteer anymore. e) The more formal we make this effort, the more serious we will be taken. We will be able to set up a website, start having regular meetings, become better organized, and truly become a force to be reckoned with. This will ensure that this issue remains in the news and on people's minds for the next year, and beyond f) And, I think if we do this, it will allow us to get even more people to sign our petition. g) Upon getting tax-exempt status, we'd be eligible for a $10,000/month grant from google, to help us advertise our new website and museum h) Most importantly, if you each donate just $1 to the cause, I can take this fight all the way to Albany. Your modicum of support will mean we have the best shot at preserving the historical name--if you put your continued faith in me, I will do all I can to bring victory to our mission. The question: do you agree? Do you disagree? Why or why not? Would you support this effort with a donation of $1 based on what I wrote above? If so, why? If not, why not? If enough of you say 'yes', I will start assembling the board of directors, start the fundraiser here on Change.org (or Kickstarter), and then, as soon as $250 is raised, I will use that to create the corporation and open the bank account here in Port Chester. I will then also start filling out the paperwork. The next $750 that comes in will go to the IRS to get tax exemption. And after that, the website will go up, and the rest of the funds will begin to be allocated as outlined above. Thank you very much! I hope that my proposal is met with cheer. But if enough of you disagree, I will respect your wishes. You see, if we all learned anything from this whole ordeal, leaders need to get feedback from their constituents. For me to ignore your opinion, alas, that would be at my own peril. So, you tell me: does this sound like something you could get behind? I really hope the answer is yes. :) -Monroe