Timbo,

Mary brings up a very good point. One of US Sailing's big problems (perhaps the problem at its core) is that there is very little accountability to the membership. It appears to be run by a very small clique that is uninterested in the opinions of the average sailor.

The only real control that we have over US Sailing is to refuse to pay membership dues when it does things we disagree with. With government funding we would lose even that.

Beyond that, your idea sounds like "Midnight Basketball". That was a very sucessfull program for inner-city youth started by a few concerned and highly motivated people. It worked because those people made it work. Then the politicians tried to expand it by handing out money left and right, which didn't work because the people not money was the key ingredient.