Sponsored Activities for Charity

[DaFoot]

So, anyway... I'm doing this sponsored holiday to Spain for charity. Every penny I earn over the cost of the holiday will be donated to charity. Give Now!

 

What about the person that is actually challenging themselves? Are they allowed to pay for / accept contribution towards an activity if it is a genuine challenge?

 

eg. an arachnophobe gets sponsored to...erm.. hold a spider? Scared of heights - do a bungee/parachute jump.

 

They are probably not activities the person is doing for themselves, but challenging themselves in the hope they could earn cash for their charity.

[Cynic]

What about the person that is actually challenging themselves? Are they allowed to pay for / accept contribution towards an activity if it is a genuine challenge?

 

eg. an arachnophobe gets sponsored to...erm.. hold a spider? Scared of heights - do a bungee/parachute jump.

 

They are probably not activities the person is doing for themselves, but challenging themselves in the hope they could earn cash for their charity.

 

 

That is probably how it started out but now it seems to be accepted that anyone who fancies doing something like a parachute jump can do it for charity and pay for the jump out of the money raised.

 

If you care about the charity show it by genuinely doing something you wont enjoy or something that is a real challenge. Lots of people do fall into that category. However I've also come across lots of people who have openly admitted they wanted to do something and didn't have a problem getting other people to pay for it by giving anything left over to charity.

 

If I was doing something like that I personally wouldn't feel comfortable about taking donations to partly pay for something I wanted to do. I was mainly interested in seeing if others agreed.

[february]

Hi, some collegues and I are doing a sky dive for several charities. Some of them are paying for the cost of the sky dive themselves, others like me can't afford to do this. I will be paying towards the sky dive though. Charities seem to accept this, after all many of them promote the fact of having fun and at the same time raising money for charity on their web sites.

I am a very charitable person, who wishes to have fun and at the same time raise funds to help others, I really do not see the problem with this. Better a charity to have some money than none.

[Cynic]

Hi, some collegues and I are doing a sky dive for several charities. Some of them are paying for the cost of the sky dive themselves, others like me can't afford to do this. I will be paying towards the sky dive though. Charities seem to accept this, after all many of them promote the fact of having fun and at the same time raising money for charity on their web sites.

I am a very charitable person, who wishes to have fun and at the same time raise funds to help others, I really do not see the problem with this. Better a charity to have some money than none.

 

What made you choose a sky dive rather than a sponsored walk or something else that could be done for very little cost? Surely people would have sponsored a walk just as much as a sky dive and the charity could have got all the money.

 

I'm sure you are doing it for the right reasons and will raise lots of money for charity. I'm just not sure why it became acceptable to get people to pay for you to do something you want to do anyway as long as some of the money goes to charity. Other free money raising ideas would benefit the charity much more.

[Agent Orange]

What made you choose a sky dive rather than a sponsored walk or something else that could be done for very little cost? Surely people would have sponsored a walk just as much as a sky dive and the charity could have got all the money.

 

I'm sure you are doing it for the right reasons and will raise lots of money for charity. I'm just not sure why it became acceptable to get people to pay for you to do something you want to do anyway as long as some of the money goes to charity. Other free money raising ideas would benefit the charity much more.

 

Often high profile events, such as sky diving, attract more sponsorship potential and provide much more local media interest than say a walk. Events such as these are beneficial to the charity in two ways. They raise money and raise awareness of the charity and it's work. The latter should not be dismissed as it can lead to more support and indirect funds being provided in the long run.

 

Anyhow, I am not sure who's got your goat, but it seems you are really keen to make your point about dismissing charitable events as some sort of freebe holiday. I would promote my event on here, however, I feel this thread and your attitude would have somewhat of a negative impact on it.

[Cynic]

Often high profile events, such as sky diving, attract more sponsorship potential and provide much more local media interest than say a walk. Events such as these are beneficial to the charity in two ways. They raise money and raise awareness of the charity and it's work. The latter should not be dismissed as it can lead to more support and indirect funds being provided in the long run.

 

Anyhow, I am not sure who's got your goat, but it seems you are really keen to make your point about dismissing charitable events as some sort of freebe holiday. I would promote my event on here, however, I feel this thread and your attitude would have somewhat of a negative impact on it.

 

Spending many days climbing a huge mountain is a bit different to spending an afternoon jumping out of a plane or even climbing down a building. I know of people who have fancied doing a sky dive and looked into it and seen they can do it for free if they raise £350 or something, with about £100 going to the charity. Surely raising £200 by doing something without costs would be more beneficial.

 

My only problem is with people coming with a sponsorship form saying they are doing something for charity and would you like to donate. When in reality they are doing something for themselves and the charity might only get about 25% of what the raise.

 

You appear to be making assumptions rather than reading what I have actually said.

[Agent Orange]

Spending many days climbing a huge mountain is a bit different to spending an afternoon jumping out of a plane or even climbing down a building. I know of people who have fancied doing a sky dive and looked into it and seen they can do it for free if they raise £350 or something, with about £100 going to the charity. Surely raising £200 by doing something without costs would be more beneficial.

 

My only problem is with people coming with a sponsorship form saying they are doing something for charity and would you like to donate. When in reality they are doing something for themselves and the charity might only get about 25% of what the raise.

 

That goes back to my previous point. The aim of an event is not only to raise money, but to sell the charity. An event such as a parachute jump is likely to attract more attention than say, a walk. The exposure a charity can get from such an event can be far more profitable than any funds that are raised from that particular event.

 

What if someone wants to do a parachute jump and they see it as a challenge? I mean, they are scared of heights or whatever? Surely, that is just as hard to them as it is for someone climbing a mountain.

[Cynic]

That goes back to my previous point. The aim of an event is not only to raise money, but to sell the charity. An event such as a parachute jump is likely to attract more attention than say, a walk. The exposure a charity can get from such an event can be far more profitable than any funds that are raised from that particular event.

 

What if someone wants to do a parachute jump and they see it as a challenge? I mean, they are scared of heights or whatever? Surely, that is just as hard to them as it is for someone climbing a mountain.

 

Is a sky dive a big enough event to attract attention? Lots of people who do them for charity only collect money from friends and family it isn't something that would get any media coverage. Friends and family are just as likely to donate for a sponsored walk.

 

I just think if you can't fund something yourself and it isn't going to get any widespread media coverage then don't do it. Do something free instead and get people to donate for that. The charity will get more money and you haven't got people to pay for you to have a good time.

 

The places that offer "Free Sky Dive" (google it) could help too, if they insisted on higher minimum sponsorship. If the minimum was £1000 and the charity got £850+ I would be more comfortable with it. There are plenty where you can raise about £350 and the charity get just over a £100. This means you get people who do just raise the minimum and get a free sky dive for very little effort and the charity doesn't benefit much.

 

I would have thought this type of thing would bother people who genuinely put themselves out massively to raise money for charity. It seems not though.

[Kthebean]

Agent Orange and I did the skydive together.

 

It was really tough! We were both terrified. We paid for our own jumps and yes I had to save to be able to afford it but I did sacrifice because it was something I wanted to do.

 

Personally I disagree with sponsorship paying for the experience itself. Not just for the charities sake but for the sake of people giving the money. When I give I want to know all the money goes to the charity, because I dont have a huge amount of spare cash to throw around.

 

You could do something high profile and free if you put your mind to it.

[Agent Orange]

Is a sky dive a big enough event to attract attention? Lots of people who do them for charity only collect money from friends and family it isn't something that would get any media coverage. Friends and family are just as likely to donate for a sponsored walk.

 

I just think if you can't fund something yourself and it isn't going to get any widespread media coverage then don't do it. Do something free instead and get people to donate for that. The charity will get more money and you haven't got people to pay for you to have a good time.

 

The places that offer "Free Sky Dive" (google it) could help too, if they insisted on higher minimum sponsorship. If the minimum was £1000 and the charity got £850+ I would be more comfortable with it. There are plenty where you can raise about £350 and the charity get just over a £100. This means you get people who do just raise the minimum and get a free sky dive for very little effort and the charity doesn't benefit much.

 

I would have thought this type of thing would bother people who genuinely put themselves out massively to raise money for charity. It seems not though.

 

Believe me, from experience, local media are always interested in sky diving stories etc. When myself and several forummers joined forces and did a sky dive, our story went much further than family and friends. The charity in question got a lot of coverage from that event.

 

It's clear what you think. Instead of imposing your opinions on everyone else, why not avoid sponsoring people and instead, give your money straight to charity. Everyone else will make their own mind up and decide what they feel is right.