Sponsorship of the Gold Rush Trail : A Background

The Gold Rush Trail is the San Francisco analog of the Freedom Trail of Boston. It was founded as such, and one of the first objectives of the founders was to forge an alliance with the Freedom Trail for joint promotions and assistance. This alliance guided the GRT founders in focusing on education as their priority, and that focus in turn helped the design of the Trail. The result is an institution with roots in the heart of old San Francisco and ongoing programs, especially in conjunction with the San Francisco Unified School District, that will sustain it for generations.

Institutional Sponsors
The primary sponsors of the Trail reflect its long-term educational goal: first, the California Historical Society; the repository of the City's history; second, the Mechanics' Institute, the downtown library that has promoted the cultural interests of the City since 1854; and third, the San Francisco Unified School District, charged with instilling in the City's children the lessons of our history.

Other major institutions -- such as the Society of California Pioneers and the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau -- have endorsed the GRT. Leading San Francisco corporations, ethnic organizations, city planners, and media are represented on the GRT Board and Advisory Committee.

The Gold Rush Trail Foundation is a public-service, (501)(c)(3) corporation, and donations to it are tax-deductible under both State and Federal law. The Foundation's by-laws call for primary use of its resources in educational programs, currently projected to be at least 90 percent of funding.

An ambitious fundraising program has begun -- to tap those foundations and corporations which have a stake in this unprecedented public-service effort. The Foundation also contemplates a national sponsorship program, in conjunction with the Freedm Trail, to generate long-term revenues to expand the educational opportunities of both Trails. Video and audio materials have been developed to demonstrate both the educational function of the Trail and the national sponsorship program.

In seeking foundation support and sponsorship, the GRT Foundation invites participation at various levels. History has shown that those sponsors who come forward early and with aggressive funding -- especially to give the program its initial impetus -- benefit dramatically over the lifetime of the Trail. In Boston, some forty years ago, the John Hancock Corporation took that leadership role -- and today the Freedom Trail is still associated in the minds of visitors with that key sponsorship.

The Foundation is holding open a single leadership role for that corporation willing to become The Gold Rush Trailblazer. We expect that designation to go to the company with the foresight to realize that this name will live in the history of California for generations. This decision is comparable to sponsoring a sports arena -- typically a multi-million dollar decision. It is a decision made on marketing principles -- not civic principles. We would like to make a full presentation of the economic benefits of such a leadership role to your marketing department and to your Board, as needed.

Long Term Benefits
The best predictor of success in the marketplace is a 'comparable'. The Freedom Trail is that comparable. Through our relationship with the Executive Director of the Freedom Trail and with the Director of the National Park Service, Boston, we have a continuing relationship with these institutions for national promotion and for trail development. Although we do not contemplate being funded by the National Park Service, as is the case in Boston, we can continue to benefit from their feedback and informational support.

Our projection of long-term benefits is based on the data we have received from two comprehensive studies of the Freedom Trail: a McKinsey & Company evaluation of 1992-1994 and a $500,000 analysis funded by the National Park Service and completed in early 1997. Although there are significant differences between the Greater Boston Area and the San Francisco Bay Area, it is clear that the synergies are the same: strong tourist appeal, historic attractions, and compact, walkable urban cores. The Boston area has Colonial history, and tells the story of the American Revolution. The San Francisco area has Frontier history, and tells the story of the American West. The recent Carl Nolte series on The Gold Rush Trail, from Missouri to California, made this clear.

There are three major bases of public involvement: (1) the grade-school children from the Bay Area; (2) the local visitor communities, interested in their own history; and (3) the tourists who increasingly seek out educational sites.

The current projections of visitors of the Freedom Trail from the latter two groups are 6.5 million 'visitor days' a year. (A visitor day is defined as one person interviewed on the trail on any one day. This projection is as significant as other media studies.) The lasting benefit of sponsorship is the permanent association of the sponsor's name and logo with the program in all visual and audio materials involved in the Trail program.

The Gold Rush Trailblazer will be identified as such on all printed and video materials produced by the Foundation, including stories in the media about the Trail, all displays in its authorized stores, and identifications of the Trail by street banners or otherwise along its routes. A suitable protocol about size and location of such identification shall be negotiated before sponsorship is officially agreed to. Commercial services of the Trailblazer may also be promoted as long as the primary concepts of the Trail are respected in the process.

Use of Funds
The sponsorships suggested by this proposal are predicated on the business plan for the Trail over several years. The Foundation is primarily a volunteer organization, with minimal administrative expense and with all Directors and several foundations sustaining operating costs to date.

Responsibility and Exposure
The Foundation has carefully considered issues of safety and liability, and will be fully insured at the time of the opening of the Trail to visitors. In general, with the approval of the laying down of the painted gold line by the Department of Public Works, the City and County of San Francisco will be the primary owner of the information on its sidewalks and will be responsible for any liability to the extent that it is already. Any agreement between the Foundation and the sponsors will include explicit reference to this reality.

Any potential sponsor is invited to meet with the Directors of the Foundation to assure the ability of the Foundation to perform. Such a meeting should be preceded by a review of the history of the Foundation and by meetings with its principal affinity sponsors: the California Historical Society, the San Francisco Unified School District, the Society of California Pioneers, the Mechanics' Institute, and various local corporations and foundations. We welcome such a thorough review, and we look forward to a productive and long-term relationship.

The Gold Rush Trail Foundation is a volunteer organization and receives no city, state, or federal funds. It is supported by foundations, businesses and citizens interested in furthering its mission. For further information, please write to: The Gold Rush Trail Foundation, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, call: (415) 981-4849, or e-mail: contact@goldrushtrail.org.