Charities & the sh!ttest sponsorship effort you’ve ever seen?

[Spudders]

With Movember fast approaching it got me thinking, what’s the lamest thing you’ve ever heard someone doing for “charity” to try and raise money? Is there anything that people do in the name of Charity that takes less effort than just not shaving as much as usual?

 

As a general rule I’d say that raising money for charity should be commended. There are many worthwhile causes out there that deserve our support. According to the Charities Aid Foundation, during 2011/12 the proportion of adults donating to charity in the UK was 55% (between them they donated around £9.3 billion during the period).

 

A load of guys in the office have decided to raise money next month for Movember. Now this charity is one that I’d certainly class as a worthy cause, raising funds for prostate and testicular cancer and mental health. There’s a history of cancer in both my mum & dad’s side of the family, my dad has prostate cancer and I have a rare genetic disorder which means I’m at a higher risk than most people in the cancer lotto.

 

But despite the worthy cause being very close to home for me, when I hear people saying that are raising money by growing a moustache, I just can’t help thinking what an utterly poor effort this is of them. FFS it takes more effort to shave than it does not to shave.

 

So, have any of you been asked to sponsor someone for doing something even lamer?

[JN9]

My main problem with Movember is that people seem to have forgotten about the whole charity aspect of it. You just end up with a load of idiots walking around with crap facial hair in the name of comedy rather than charity...

 

i've also found the sponsored 'wear a shirt of your football teams rival for a day' quite strange... I mean really, is that worth giving someone money for?

[Hatch]

These sponsored holidays **** me off.

 

The 'sponsor me to visit Peru for a month' , and the charity gets whats left over from the sponsor money once the flights , accommodation and food have been deducted.

 

Also, a mate of mine regularly donates to a 'stop cleft lips in Ethiopians' charity. A worthwhile cause I'm sure, but a bit random.

[Minty]

As mentioned above, the biggest issue is often the separation of event from the charity it is raising funds and (supposedly) awareness of.

 

Everyone supports different charities for different reasons and that's fair enough. But when you ask someone to sponsor you for a specific event, more often than not people will tend to look at what you're doing rather than who you're doing it for.

 

IMO the best fundraisers are either a challenge for the person doing it, or really funny/bizarre/entertaining in some way, like a gig or show or comedy event. Alternatively, and usually from the charities' point of view, mass events like Race for Life may not lead to large individual sponsorship amounts, but uses the fact it is supported by a huge number of women to generate funds. You can't deny that they work, but I wonder how long they will hold appeal for people. That said, any effort to raise funds and awareness deserves respect, but the better ones will get more attention, and hence more money, so I always encourage people to do something a bit different/above and beyond.

 

Personally I try to stick to decent challenges. I cycled John O Groats to Lands End in 2006, and plan to do a marathon next year for charity. Hence i'm not raising money for the Great South Run this weekend as I have run 10 miles plenty of times, so I don't think it's worthy enough to grab peoples attention - but for others who have never run that distance, go for it!

[Minty]

As for the sh!ttest sponsorship effort, I can't actually think of any... but sitting in a bath of beans is getting a bit old now. Anything 'novelty' like that, that has been done before, just isn't novelty anymore IMO.

[Glasgow_Saint]

I sponsored someone for playing two games of golf in one day..................

[Tokyo-Saint]

Mate is a bit of an expert in health & fitness, has his work published in journals etc and he really goes nuts about flora and British Heart Foundation. He is addiment that flora is one of the worst food products on the market (even dogs won't eat it etc) and have 0 proof that their products low cholesterol (as per their recent advert which was banned). He says that the BHF happily take their money as a partner to keep their very well paid executives in a job.

 

People often argue that charities need to pay very well to attract the top people but when these people then lose sight of the cause or endorse the wrong products, something has gone wrong with the key goal of the charity. What next, a massive deal with McDonald's because they sell salads and are happy to pay a lot to be linked to a good cause?

[Barry Sanchez]

Sponsored sky dives and the bellends doing it so they can a tick a box and think they are super crazy for doing it with **** t shirts like I am going to jump out of a perfectly safe plane, they really fu ck me off, just give money to a good cause and there should be no need for this crap.

If everyone in this Country gave £100 a year to various charities then the World and this Country would be a far far better place.

Edited 23 October, 2013 by Barry Sanchez

[View From The Top]

I intend to do a 100mile sportive (my 1st attempt at 100m in a single go) in 2014 for the postrate cancer charity as it killed my father and then in a couple of years my friend & I are looking at doing John O'Groats to Lands End to raise 50k for a local childrens hospice up here in Staffordshire.

 

I did Movember for a couple of years simply to raise awareness of mens' cancers and no doubt in the college plenty of the student and staff will have bad facial hair next month. As I don't shave now I've beaten them to it.

[Spudders]

I intend to do a 100mile sportive (my 1st attempt at 100m in a single go) in 2014

Is this cycling?

[Saint Mikey]

3rd time I've reposted this link since I started it, so it's obviously not just me that feels the same way:

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?44373-Charity#.UmetkBCrEtc

 

Charity will completely combust if it carries on this way. If what Tokyo says is true, this is just another sad indictment of the charity sector and pretty much sums up all that is wrong with it.

[Spudders]

^^^ Ahh sorry Mikey, hadn't seen your thread

 

 

(I just had to check through it to see if I had posted on it before I said that! )

[View From The Top]

Is this cycling?

 

Yes mate.

 

I'm doing a few next year with the intention of doing a 100miler towards the late summer for charity.

[buctootim]

this is just another sad indictment of the charity sector and pretty much sums up all that is wrong with it.

 

That's a sweeping generalisation. There are around 800,000 charities in the UK - everything from kids playgroups and coffee mornings which are entirely staffed by volunteers to large enterprises like the National Trust and Oxfam who employ thousands. Every charity has its own management and policies about accepting corporate or government money - the one I work for does neither because it doesn't want to feel compromised if it needs to campaign against some aspect of their policies. If you are going to give regularly to a charity, which is great, look into it a bit. Read the annual report and check out sources of funding - usually downloadable from here http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/find-charities/

 

The Flora thing Im not sure about - but suspect its based on the fact that Flora used to contain trans fats, which its doesn't any more. It still contains palm oil though - being made from olive oil would be better.

Edited 23 October, 2013 by buctootim

[Spudders]

Yes mate.

 

I'm doing a few next year with the intention of doing a 100miler towards the late summer for charity.

If you do the 100 miles on a unicycle I'll sponsor you!

[aintforever]

Much of it is just attention seeking by blokes going through a mid-life crisis IMO. A load of my mates have started doing stupid sh!t for charity now they are hitting 40 when for years they havn't given a monkeys about charity.

 

I prefer to sit on my ass and give money to charity via direct debit as I always have.

[View From The Top]

If you do the 100 miles on a unicycle I'll sponsor you!

 

I reckon by the end of it it'll feel as if I've done it on a razorblade!

[Spudders]

I reckon by the end of it it'll feel as if I've done it on a razorblade!

[Hatch]

Yes mate.

 

I'm doing a few next year with the intention of doing a 100miler towards the late summer for charity.

 

There is about a 50/50 Chance of myself and a couple of mates doing this next year

 

http://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/The_Events/Prudential_RideLondon-Surrey_100.htm

[Tokyo-Saint]

The Flora thing Im not sure about - but suspect its based on the fact that Flora used to contain trans fats, which its doesn't any more. It still contains palm oil though - being made from olive oil would be better.

 

Stuff like this http://wellnessmama.com/2193/

 

I am no expert but trust my friends opinion as he is. I also saw on watchdog last week that the pro active advert had been banned http://www.just-food.com/news/asa-bans-unilever-flora-ad-over-health-claims_id124799.aspx

 

Also says that any proof they do have showing that their products can lower cholesterol are from studies they themselves commissioned and paid for. This is along the same lines as the stuff shown in this series http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxzv8

 

I am not into these big food industry companies pairing up with charities if their claims are overstated and without basis or with MacDonald's/Cadbury giving schools a javelin for every 100 big macs/chocolate bars the kids eat or whatever. False charity and worse than any old codger asking for a couple of quid to run a marathon or shave half his beard.

[hypochondriac]

How about pay for yourself to go to Kenya and help build schools etc. Things that really make a tangible difference.

[View From The Top]

As a family we already give to cancer charities via monthly donation, daughters have "adopted" animals through WWF and I raise money every November via eBay sales for H4H and RBL.

 

However, the idea of completing a challenge that I know will test me to the limit, something I've never done before, whilst raising some coin for a worthy cause certainly, I believe, has its merits.

[buctootim]

Stuff like this http://wellnessmama.com/2193/

 

I am no expert but trust my friends opinion as he is. I also saw on watchdog last week that the pro active advert had been banned http://www.just-food.com/news/asa-bans-unilever-flora-ad-over-health-claims_id124799.aspx

 

Also says that any proof they do have showing that their products can lower cholesterol are from studies they themselves commissioned and paid for. This is along the same lines as the stuff shown in this series http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxzv8

 

I am not into these big food industry companies pairing up with charities if their claims are overstated and without basis or with MacDonald's/Cadbury giving schools a javelin for every 100 big macs/chocolate bars the kids eat or whatever. False charity and worse than any old codger asking for a couple of quid to run a marathon or shave half his beard.

 

Agree totally about avoiding eating anything which doesn't exist in nature - and personally I never buy margarine. Often these things are are a judgement call. According to the gospel that is wiki Flora was orginally created by Unilever in response to a request by cardiologists for a less harmful product than lard or hard block margarines which were common at the time. However now maybe its time the British Heart foundation reviewed its association with them.

 

A few companies have genuine philanthropic grant giving programmes for charities which are assessed on merit separately from the company. Most however are just extensions of their marketing departments. you dont get a grant unless you can help the company look better in the marketplace. Some companies don't even put any money in and instead simply claim credit for the payroll donations their staff make or customers donate.

 

One example - the chain of Ronald McDonald Houses provide overnight accommodation for parents whose children are long term sick in hospital. Its a hard call to say whether hospitals should accept the facility. At what point is the benefit outweighed by the implicit endorsement that the company with damaging products is actually a 'good thing' for society and everyone should buy their stuff?

Edited 23 October, 2013 by buctootim