Background of the TRANSFORM Program
TRANSFORM’s Predecessor: The Denton Program
The founder and president of the Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation is Jeremiah Denton, who as a Senator in 1984, authored the legislation now known as the Denton Program (which is TRANSFORM’s predecessor and role model). The Denton Program essentially provides free transportation of humanitarian aid from 50l(c)3 charitable organizations aboard U.S. military transport on a space available basis. The program has been a huge success. The key to its success is the providing of transportation at no-cost-to-the-donor.
But the Denton Program is but a finger in the dike. Although the Denton Program, under the outstanding management of Commander U.S. Transportation Command (CINCTRANS), has delivered hundreds of tons of much needed aid, the relative shortage of space available military transportation, especially during times of heavy military commitments, is a major limitation.
The Birth of TRANSFORM
While working with CINCTRANS and his staff to improve the Denton Program, Denton proposed that Admiral Jeremiah Denton foundation undertake to obtain commercial transportation to augment the military transportation of the Denton Program. CINCTRANS agreed and he and his staff introduced Denton to the National Defense Transportation Association. Denton made presentations to the NDTA Board of Directors and the three functional organizations under the Board, the Surface Committee, the SeaLift Committee and the AirLift Committee. The plan was conceived for TRANSFORM to work with an increasing number of PVOs which TRANSFORM certifies to be qualified. These PVOs apply to TRANSFORM for shipments and TRANSFORM enters their request in a system explained below.
Now at last with the Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation’s TRANSFORM Program, which makes commercial transportation available on a space available basis, it will be possible to increase by at least a hundred-fold the tonnage achievable by the Denton Program. The prestigious and powerful National Defense Transportation Association, with a vast membership of transport-related corporations, is cooperating to provide an automated system to permit TRANSFORM to request this donated commercial space from a vast array of transportation companies.
Think of it! The Denton Program does much good by having access to the space-available of military transportation assets which comprise only a fraction of one per cent of total U.S. transport capacity. Too often, little or none of that space can be spared. In contrast, the commercial transport pool to which TRANSFORM will have access constitutes a full 80% of total U.S. transport capability.
This pool became available starting in September 1999 to TRANSFORM through a new government system called the CONUS Freight Management System’s Electronic Transportation Acquisition (Spot Bid) Functionality (CFM ETA/SpotBid). CFM stands for Continental Freight Management , limited to intra-U.S.. transportation, but in 2000 the system will handle global transportation
TRANSFORM has been entrusted as the only non-governmental organization to have access to this system for requesting donated commercial space-available for use by the PVO community. As of this writing TRANSFORM has begun, slowly according to plan, so as to walk before trying to run, a shakedown of CFM ETA/SpotBid. The pace will pick up quickly and the small starting group of 501’s will be increased to a much larger group.
It is noteworthy that TRANSFORM can and has operated outside the Spot/Bid System by conducting direct negotiations with transportation companies. Indeed, by direct negotiations with ship lines TRANSFORM has arranged for obtaining the use of several ships which will carry TRANSFORM designated cargo for TRANSFORM- approved PVOs. Carl Lindner, owner of Chiquita and their Great White Fleet has magnanimously made available their ships carrying 3-4 containers on frequent trips, mostly to Latin America. The Ecuadorian Line has also offered their ships.
We are happy to announce that FedEx is now on board as a TRANSFORM carrier.
In addition, we are also making shipments through our Rotary Club connection, HART.
It is difficult with the present high price of diesel for trucks to volunteer, but LandStar has generously donated a few shipments per month. Denton intends to try to increase the tax break to truckers.
The space donated by U.S. Companies and by Ship Lines registered in the U. S. earn a tax break. Obtaining these directly negotiated arrangements takes the work of paid employees and is time-consuming. But one paid employee at $30,000 per annum can arrange for tens of millions of dollars worth of free aid which otherwise would not be shipped. In other words, a single dollar contribution to TRANSFORM can generate $1,000 worth of aid which would otherwise not be sent.
Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation has only one paid employee qualified to make these negotiations. We need four more.
Corporations which donate goods to be shipped can also take a tax deduction from donating goods which are otherwise destined to be discarded into landfills as last year’s unmarketable production. But those goods are still immeasurably valuable to those in undeveloped nations.
Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation Works for the Collecting Organizations and for the U.S.
The Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation will coordinate the transportation needs of the PVO humanitarian aid organizations (many of which are ongoing participants in the Denton Program), which collect and want to ship goods, with the capabilities of the commercial donors of transport space. The Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation will also expedite effective contact between the 501(c)3 organizations and the producer corporations, hospitals, schools, individuals and other entities which wish to donate goods.
The Admiral Jeremiah Denton Foundation will also coordinate the aid it makes possible to provide so that it assists in reaching the Peace-Keeping and Humanitarian Affairs Goals of the U.S., coordinating closely with The State and Defense Departments, The Agency of International Development and major military Area Commanders with their Civil Affairs and Humanitarian Aid programs.
In the widely acclaimed Denton Program there are about 150 participating PVOs or 501(c)3 humanitarian aid organizations. There are probably over 5000 PVOs or 501(c)’s which could participate in the TRANSFORM Program.
The variety of goods which are collectable for humanitarian aid covers the entire spectrum of goods required not only to satisfy immediate human needs, such as food, clothing, medicine and medical equipment, but goods required for economic development such as seeds, agricultural machinery, educational materials such as books and computers, buildings, roofing materials, heavy moving equipment, etc. The Denton Program already delivers all of the above and other types of material aid.
It must be emphasized that educational aid will be furnished as a key ingredient—the motto: "don’t just give them a fish but teach them how to fish" is the governing criterion. Not just goods are given—many PVOs provide semi-permanent teams in-country for agricultural, educational and other helpful means supporting the goal of self-subsistence. Such a relationship breeds allies and later good trading partners as well as eliminating hunger and misery which can cause internal strife and wars.
To avoid customs problems and unloading delays, TRANSFORM sends a man to a country who serves in that manner and as a sort of ombudsman to deal with locals of their country and ours to ensure smooth delivery of appropriate aid.
The Importance of Your Financial Donations
To understand what financial assistance is required by AJDF to set this system into full operation, it is useful to note that the administration and coordination of the Denton Program requires paying four full-time employees in a small business called Denton Ops, several Air Force personnel in the staff of U.S. Transportation Command, a Denton Program Officer in the Agency for International Development (AID) and several civilian staffers in the Department of Defense.
TRANSFORM will require a slightly larger administrative team, because it is immensely larger in scale, and involves many more and different parties to be coordinated than the Denton Program. But even more than in the Denton Program, the coordination cost will be negligible compared to the immense leverage it imparts to the amount of aid which can be delivered.
And TRANSFORM as a private organization can undertake what the government Denton Program cannot, namely a concentrated campaign to educate all three involved sectors--the private PVO or 501c’s, the civilian transportation sector, and the community of goods donors (the IBM’s, Merck’s, Caterpillar’s, etc.)-- of the win-win-win advantages of participation and the procedures involved in this great program.
The overall effect of the TRANSFORM program will touch a large part of America, and can help in arousing our national consciousness regarding our personal. national and international charitable responsibilities.
What has been said above has referred to international aid. TRANSFORM has realized that domestic aid to the needy and disaster aid within the U.S. by 501©3’s can also be delivered via TRANSFORM. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are being contacted with an eye toward synergism.
All that is required to exploit to the fullest this gigantic free system of international humanitarian assistance is the expansion of a coordination team consisting of administrators, computers, and communications. The personnel and equipment for this team are available but unlike the volunteers like Jeremiah Denton who have planned and arranged this program with pains-taking effort over a long period, the personnel must receive a salary and the expenses for the equipment and its operation must be paid for in dollars.
Plenty of volunteer work will continue to be done, and past experience indicates that as the work expands, the number of volunteers will increase. As the members of the U.S. Air Force volunteered to help the 501c people load trucks and airplanes, and businesses volunteered to donate goods in the Denton Program, TRANSFORM will enjoy the same kind of volunteer spirit, and on a larger scale.
This kind of work is fun; it is good for the soul; it is good for America; it is good for the world. There is no other aid program which delivers this much for your donated dollar.
Please consider helping us pay a few more people to realize the immense potential of TRANSFORM. Even a small contribution will help. Please click the button below to donate securely through Paypal.
