February 2006

Vol. 21, No. 2     What's this?

Undercurrent, a new nonprofit

from the February, 2006 issue of Undercurrent  

We’ve made a change at Undercurrent that may be of interest to you — especially if you feel as passionate as I do about reef preservation.

In 1975, there was one significant dive publication, Skin Diver. After reading their glowing report about a little dive resort outside Montego Bay, away I went. Little did I know that advertising so influenced the editorial that the diving was a bust. In fact, a featured photo of a beach was Negril, 30 miles from the hotel, which had no beach at all — only spiny sea urchins.

I had no money and no job; nonetheless Undercurrent was born. From the outset my partner and I decided to depend solely on subscriber income, with the overriding goal to write honestly for divers, not only to save them from bad travel experiences, but also to ensure their safety. By not accepting advertising, there would never be a conflict of interest between advertising and editorial decisions. Subscriptions poured in, but my partner and I didn’t have enough money to carry it until it became profitable. In 1978, we sold it to a New York newsletter publisher. He sold it in 1990, then it was sold again three years later. In 1994, I purchased a similar publication, In Depth, then repurchased Undercurrent in 1996 and combined the publications. During that tortuous history, I was in charge of Undercurrent editorial for all but four years: 1992-1996. There are far fewer divers than anyone would have you believe and the dropout rate is high, so a small diving consumer publication is not a wealth builder. I’ve had plenty of other ventures along the way. But Undercurrent remains a labor of love, with the editoral freedom to provide honest information about travel equipment problems, and diving safety. And, a bit of opinion along the way, as some of you have noted.

Last year I converted Undercurrent to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, with the approval of the IRS. Our new bylaws say, “this Corporation shall educate and inform scuba divers about health and safety issues and diving opportunities, while supporting conservation and animal welfare projects.”

Converting to a nonprofit has no practical effect on the publication, but it means that after normal expenses, whatever profit remains will go to charitable causes. In December, we gave our first contribution, $1125, to Seacology, an effective organization saving coral reefs (www.seacology.org). If I discover a project of special interest to Undercurrent subscribers — e.g., a marine park that needs a boat engine to chase down dynamite fishermen — I may even ask you for a tax-deductible contribution. Because contributions to foreign charities may not be tax-deductible, if, in your travels, you see a foreign project or activity that you would like to support and tax-deductibility is an incentive, we may be able to help.

I foresee no changes in our editorial policy. The Web has created competitive sources that affect all print publications, so we have developed our Web Site with eight years of issues and chapbooks, for those who want that research capability. But the print edition carries us, and as long as there’s a breath of air left in my aluminum 80 — and I just had it topped off — we’ll continue to tell it like it is.

Thanks for your support. Without you, there would be no Undercurrent.

Ben Davison