About

In 1990, motivated to help Bay Area sailors learn and grow in the sport of competitive amateur sailboat racing, Bob Klein, twice Commodore of the Richmond Yacht Club, formed the Richmond Yacht Club Foundation. Upon its formation, Bob gathered a number of his like-minded fellow RYC members together to make up the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

From its inception, the exclusive purpose of the Foundation has been to foster amateur national and international yacht racing by assisting in the training and education of amateur sailors for participation in such competition. The primary means for carrying out this mandate is through awarding grants to applying sailors for financial assistance with the often-significant expenses of participating in these events.

The funds used to make these grants come from the generous folks who make donations to the Foundation of cash, boats, and saleable nautical gear. Because the Foundation was formed as a California Non-profit Public Benefit Corporation, and because it is designated by the IRS as a 501(c)3 organization, all such donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Throughout the year, various foundation Board members prepare and sell the donated boats. Donated nautical gear is sold, often with the assistance of other volunteers, at the Foundation annual Gear Sale, held in conjunction with RYC’s Great Pumpkin Regatta in October. The proceeds of these sales, along with cash donations, provide the fuel for the grant engine.

View how the Foundation used its General Fund in 2021