Major Gift to Enhance Community Boating Youth Sailing Programs on Charles River
Gift honors memory of avid CBI member Norman Priebatsch
BOSTON – Community Boating Inc. (CBI) has received gifts totaling $1 million to support on-the-water programming for young sailors in CBI’s summer-long Junior Program as well as enhanced windsurfing and dockside facilities.
The new funds have been donated by family members in memory of Norman Priebatsch, businessman, philanthropist, outdoors enthusiast – and avid Charles River windsurfer.
The charitable gift represents the largest single gift to CBI in the organization’s history. The gift will create a permanent endowment for CBI’s Junior Program, augment CBI’s windsurfing endowment and fund the installation of a permanent dockside shelter: the “Priebatsch Pavilion.”
Seth Priebatsch, founder of restaurant technology startup LevelUp (recently acquired by Grubhub), was an active member of CBI’s Junior Program for many summers.
Joining Seth Priebatsch in making the major gift to CBI are Suzanne G. Priebatsch, a senior vice president and investment management consultant with Morgan Stanley; Daniella Priebatsch Place, partner operations manager with Google; and Dr. Skyler Place, a senior executive at Cogito.
“My dad loved CBI. He spent many summer weekends windsurfing along the Charles and taught me to windsurf there. Albeit in classic Priebatsch fashion: with him in a kayak dragging me on a windsurfer out to the center of the river and inviting me to figure out how to get back to the docks,” said Seth Priebatsch, Norman’s son. “I greatly enjoyed my time in CBI’s Junior Program and the many weekends with my dad there. I hope this gift will enable many more to make great memories there for years to come.”
“Seth’s extraordinary generosity and leadership in mobilizing this gift are a wonderful testament both to his commitment to Community Boating and his dedication to Norman’s legacy both as a father and as a model in serving a larger community,” said CBI Executive Director Charles Zechel.
“The Priebatsch funding adds an exciting new dimension to sailing and learning opportunities for our Junior Program sailors, while also enhancing the dockside community and watercraft experience for our adult members.
“We’re particularly enthusiastic about expanding our on-the-water summer activities for youth sailors with complementary STEM learning in areas such as the river environment, weather, physics of sailing and robotic sailing,” said Zechel.
The mission of Community Boating is to enable “Sailing for All.” A private not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation, CBI is the nation’s oldest continuously running public sailing center, operating through a long-term partnership with the Commonwealth’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) from boathouse facilities on the Charles River Esplanade.
CBI offers sailing and other water sports to people of all ages, abilities and means in an accessible and welcoming environment that encourages learning, volunteerism and community spirit.
For questions or further information, please contact info@community-boating.org.