Need opinions on a touchy subject

Marj you ask for OPINIONS from this crowd? Here's one:
As long as you make it clear where a donor's money is going (or give them a choice of directly to the cause or for your 'training fund') there is no conflict. However, if they choose to allow their money to go into your training fund they must be reminded that their donation is not tax deductible. PS if you maintain a mailing address other than your home (P.O.Box?) I think you should post that address and go ahead and solicit donations to either 'cause' from us. Good Luck! MJ

 

Since you have already met your goal, I think it is fine for you to accept donations to defray the cost of your equipment, etc as long as you are clear up front to the donor. You might allow them to choose whether to donate to the defray the cost fund or to add to the donation to breast cancer fund. Either way...it *is* a donation to the cause because without the equipment, etc. you can't go on the walk.

 

What items are left on your list? Have you tried Freecycle (a local mailing list) and Craigslist? Those are fantastic resources for getting things for free or cheap although depending on what you need they may or may not work for you.

 

I can be a real jaded sourpuss sometimes, so feel free to ignore my dissenting views here, but I think that any money that goes to help you defray the costs of the event is not money that goes to the cause -- you don't have to go to the event and participate for your friends/contacts to donate money to breast cancer. These events are ways of helping you to motivate yourself to some goal, and showing your friends your level of commitment to a particular cause to draw attention and money to that cause without having to donate all the money yourself. But I doubt that once someone has made a pledge to donate that they wouldn't donate the money anyway if you weren't able to participate for some reason.

You shouldn't be looking to take any money to get yourself there -- that's supposed to be your donation to the cause. And that goes doubly for your "equipment" since you get to keep and benefit from it after the event is over. If you really do need money to get that stuff to participate in the event, then you should be looking to do it as frugally as possible, and I really have to wonder looking at your list if you really needed, say, an MP3 player. Was there no one you could have borrowed a backpack from, or a student you could have bought one from on the cheap? If there are things you need for this event that you can't supply yourself, why pay for them with cash donations? If it's for charity, have you tried to find a store or equipment manufacturer to sponsor you with in-kind donations?

That said, I think it is fine to have things like bake sales to raise money to "send me to Washington". In those cases, people aren't necessarily donating money that could have gone directly to the beneficiary of the event, and people aren't expecting tax receipts. And they get cookies, so everybody wins.

 

I disagree.

She does need to go to this event and she does need to participate. Those were the initial terms of the original pledges. She is obligated to fulfill that promise. Think of it as a contract. If she fails to meet her obligations, people who pledged are not bound to meet their pledges. No assumption can be made they'll just give anyway.

There is no difference with saying UP FRONT, that now that the initial pledges are fulfilled money is now going to defray costs of equipment and transportion to support meeting the original obligation. This supports the initial charity pledges. And people are being told UP FRONT. They can choose to donate or not.

In fact, all charities work this way. 100% of your pledge doesn't go to World Hunger or Feeding Starving Children. Charities can take up to 20% of that money to defray THEIR costs for office rental, equipment and salaries. And they don't tell you *that* up front.

 

This may not help with the OPs situation, but I think these type of things are borderline dishonest. They suck you into participating and then expect you to front the money if you don't meet the "goal" (at least that's how I understand it). I know that is not the issue here, but I think "buyer beware" is appropriate. I know these events can raise a lot of $ for good causes, I just don't think they are very well-suited to a lot of the folks who sign up. I wonder what the "re-sign up" rate is?

 

Any time I've done an event with a fundraising minimum, they've made it clear in the registration process that either you meet the minimum or you don't participate, even if that means making a donation yourself in order to meet the minimum. So (a) there's nothing dishonest, you know up front what you're getting into, and (b) you have the choice of not going if you can't raise the money.

Personally I always make a donation myself (in addition to any registration fees) before asking anyone to sponsor me. It's just part of the commitment for me.

I imagine the percent of people who return in future years depends on various factors. Some people probably never intend to do it more than once no matter what. Others might want to participate but can't, because they don't have the time or physical ability. In some cases if the event itself is not well organized that will affect future participation, whether it is a fundraising event or just a regular race.

Personally I've done 9 different events that have had fundraising minimums(for 3 different nonprofits), and I'm doing another one this year. I haven't had any problems yet. But I make sure I read the rules up front, and the first thing I check is the fundraising minimum, because I know my limits.

I also know how Marjorie feels, because I remember being pretty surprised by all things I had to buy to get through the training for the first event I did. For me it was worth it once I the big day arrived. Crossing that finish line literally changed my life, because it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. Also the environment at those things is amazing - really uplifting. Overall it was worth every penny.

 

Actually, the money listed on the web page is not pledges. It is money received by the 3-Day outfit, and will not be refunded to the donors if Marjorie does not participate in the event.

Marjorie: In my opinion, there is nothing at all sleazy about asking people for money to help you train for and get to the event, as long as you are clear about the fact that their donations are to help you participate in the walk, and are not going to the charity. The crucial point, if you want to be scrupulously honest, which I am sure you do, is not to confuse donations to the charity with donations to you to help with your personal goal of walking the 60 miles.

And nobody could possibly find fault with you selling cookies or baskets or whatever, as those are legitimate ways of earning money that you could do regardless of what you used the money for.

These sorts of events are in one sense a gimmick: A few thousand people walking 60 miles does nothing, in itself, for the charity. But in the dog-eat-dog world of fund-raising, anything that motivates people to raise money is considered fair. And human psychology is such that this particular gimmick works: The physical challenge of walking 60 miles is appealing to a lot of people; somehow, the appeal to donors is effective; or maybe it's really just that people will give money to a good cause when asked by their friends, and the charity is offering something of value to the fundraisers: You pound the pavement and raise $2,200 and they give you a sort of three-day party. In the end, it works for the charity, and the event is fun for the participants. I would just note that it's not the walking that helps the charity: It's the fund-raising beforehand that helps the charity. The walking is the reward for your work.

If you say to someone: "Would you give me some money to help me take a trip to D.C. to walk 60 miles?" there's nothing at all wrong with that. As long as you don't represent the money you spend on shoes or rain-wear as going to the cause of breast cancer, which I am sure you would not.

My suggestion would be, with strangers, only request donations to the charity; but there's nothing wrong with asking your friends and family to help you out personally. And any money you raise by selling stuff is yours to do with as you like.

 

I am OK with a portion of donations going towards expenses - not every attendee has lots of extra cash lying around. Also, let's be honest, unforseen expenses are a fact of life. I just ask for honesty - which Marjorie has provided. I start to have problems when honesty and/or transparency is absent.

Two examples of bad calls are the Red Cross and the charity for disabled soldiers (can't remember the name). I like what the Red Cross does but after Katrina they led people to believe that all donations would go to victim relief then used a large portion of the money for other purposes - they were actually worthy purposes but they had broken their promise to the donors. They also made me a little upset when they kept calling for blood donations even after they had enough - then started throwing blood away. The military charity is another case where I think I understand what the man was trying to spend money on, but he wasn't honest about where it was going. The charity organizer was denying his donors the right to make an informed choice. Making a choice is a powerful thing and can be a very personal experience.

 

i see many organizations asking for money for many different reasons and trips are common. i have my local high school band is asking for money and they bluntly state its to "have pocket money" for their trip to Mexico. they put up the cost of planes, hotels, etc as the reason why they have to ask for additional donations.

asaic, as long as you are truly honest about what you intend to spend the money on, then there is nothing else to worry about. let the person donating make the decision.

ps. i hope you enjoy your trip. sounds like it could be a very rewarding experience.

 

Congrats and Thanks

Marjorie,

Congratulations and thank you for your efforts and successes in the Breast Cancer 3-Day in Washington DC earlier this month!!!

Maybe do it again next year?

 

Two of my neices were involved in the recent 'Walk for Breasts' event. As well giving them some...uh...support...they endured a fair bit of ribbing. Don't walk tooo far, we said, you might have to retrace your steps for awhile until you're comfortable again. They asked for donations at work, as well, which was instantly dubbed 'Tips for Tits'.