As many of you know, the Tennis & Racquet Club of Boston (T&R) has been working on repairing its roof for some time now. In addition to fundraising, this project has involved: receiving permitting from the Back Bay Historical Society, sign off from banks, and thanks to Dev Hamlen, the placement of a permanent restrictive covenant on the court tennis court, granted to the United States Court Tennis Preservation Foundation (USCTPF). In the six months since fundraising began, over 50 donors have contributed roughly $469,000.
Over the course of 2012, the T&R’s roof-fundraising committee raised more than ½ of the anticipated $500,000 project cost, through privately asking community members for donations. This included support from each of the T&R’s committee members, as well as every member of the Board of Governors. Upon reaching the half-way point, we turned to the broader membership and the tennis and racquets communities for support. The response has been unbelievable.
Upon receiving a call-to-action letter, T&R members stepped up with a flood of donations. While in Chicago for the re-opening of their tennis court (welcome back Chicago!), the Grassi Family, previously the “anonymous donor” who had jump started our project with a generous gift, announced at the USCTPF dinner that they would be giving an additional donation. To top it off, the following day, members of the United States Court Tennis Association (USCTA) Board informed me that they had voted to donate all proceeds from their Annual Dinner and Auction to the Boston roof project. I went down to New York, not knowing what to expect, and was blown away as the Court Tennis community rallied once again, and the USCTA’s Annual Dinner and Auction yielded $57,000!
Going into 2013, I am happy to report that we have over 70% of total project costs in the bank, and an additional 20% in pledged gifts (if you’re interested in supporting the project, donations can made to the T&R Roof Account through check or credit card, processed by the T&R). Construction on the T&R’s roof is on schedule to begin when Boston weather clears, on May 1st! None of this would have been possible without the hard work of the T&R Fundraising Committee, led by Jeremy Wintersteen and George Bell, the tireless efforts of our manager, Tom Dobbins, the endless support of the USCTPF and USCTA, and tremendous outpouring of generosity from the T&R and broader court tennis communities.
Over the past six months, I have been overwhelmed by the incredible collaboration and support from the court tennis community to help save our court. We at the T&R very much look forward to returning to the USCTA’s fixture list, and once again hosting all of you in Boston. I will continue to update you throughout the season. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about the project.
Suzy Schwartz
President
The Tennis & Racquet Club
Boston
