I have never understood the concept of "sponsoring" someone to do something for charity.
You know what I mean : it works like this. Someone in the office is running a marathon/climbing a mountain/doing a parachute jump etc. They come round with a form for you to pledge money towards a charity and you try to pledge an amount that doesn't look too stingy.
What a complete waste of time and (my) money.
Someone in my office ran in the New York marathon last year. He came round with a form collecting money for a cancer charity.
Now, I support charities. I admire people who volunteer and give up their time and energy for charities.
But does it make sense for this guy to fly to New York and run a marathon, then ask me for money for the charity? Why doesn't he save the £300 plane ticket, £300 hotel charges, running kit etc etc, stay home that day and give the money he has saved to the charity? To make things worse, this guy loves running; frankly, it's a holiday for him!
Aarrgghhh, I wish I had the guts to tell him where to go. Of course, I just pledged £5 instead.
First of all, if they genuinely want to raise money for charity, then I am sure there are a hundred more efficient ways of doing it than running a marathon. If they got a second job stacking shelves in Sainburys instead of "training" for their marathon, they could give all that money away and wouldn't have to bother me!
What I hate the most are the schemes where charities pay for parachute jumps, trekking holidays etc as long as you raise a certain amount of money. For example - raise £360 to do a parachute jump for Breast Cancer charity. The charity only gets £140 and the rest pays for the jump. What. A. Con.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
But isn't that the point? The fact that you get to have fun and as a by-product, a small amount for charity is raised?
I think most charities realize that people are not completely altruistic, and so depend on fundraising tecniques that are mutually beneficial for both the sponsor and themselves.
Justin, but why should "donors" have to pay for your fun? They want to give to charity, not pay for your parachute jump, Great Wall of China trek. The money spent on the trip is often more than the money given to the charity. Why not skip the holiday and give all to charity?:)Just don't expect me to subsidise your holiday. I'd much rather give directly to the charity.
Post a Comment