On The News Last Night

[david63]

On the news last night there were two items that caught my attention.

The first was that the FA had a sponsorship deal for £820 million and the following item was that the Hospice movement has had its funding frozen for the last four years and is struggling to make ends meet.

Where have we gone wrong?

[Meg 50]

words fail me - a rare event!

[oldbluefox]

It looks as though we have our priorities all wrong, something we all know but are powerless to change in an ever more commercialised and materialistic world.

[Raybosailor]

I'm afraid nobody wants to watch people suffering in their final moments David, football is big money and as we all know money talks.

[david63]

I'm afraid nobody wants to watch people suffering in their final moments

But for [too] many that is not an option.

as we all know money talks

Not in a language that I, and I suspect many others, understand.

[Raybosailor]

I'm afraid nobody wants to watch people suffering in their final moments

But for [too] many that is not an option.

as we all know money talks

Not in a language that I, and I suspect many others, understand.

I totally agree with you David but unless The Hospice Trust gets high profile celebrities onboard in an entertaining show like *Children In Need","Red Nose Day" and "Sports Relief" they will always be at the back of the queue for funding.

[oldbluefox]

Hospices and the likes of Air Ambulance, Mountain Rescue etc rely on charities such as Rotary, Lions, Freemasons (in excess of £600k to hospices alone in 2015) and local donations to keep them going. The big money which would really help comes from the large corporations who see having their logo emblazoned on football shirts or around Wembley as much more profitable and higher profile.

[david63]

Here's a thought.

I don't know how much money there is in football sponsorship, but I suspect that it is colossal, so if there was a 1% levy on it, just think of the good that it would do and it would not be missed. And why stop at football - there is F1, tennis, golf all with massive sponsorship.

And here's another thought.

We now have the most successful Olympic team in the history of the Movement so they should now be made to stand on their own two feet and raise their funding through sponsorship which would release £millions for other good causes.

[Silver_Shiney]

How about paying the footballers a proper salary and using the money thus saved to fund the important things?

[Meg 50]

How about paying the footballers a proper salary and using the money thus saved to fund the important things?

of course, but didn't someone say that football is far more important than life and death?

[oldbluefox]

The problem I have with some charities is the amount they spend on (London) office space, advertising and salaries to their Chief Executives and co-workers. In some instances very little of my donation actually goes to the intended cause. For that reason I am very wary whom I support.

[towny44]

How about paying the footballers a proper salary and using the money thus saved to fund the important things?

Not a bad idea Shiney but if the sponsor money was not paid out to the players, the top ones would go elsewhere and sponsorship would dry up. However the money would just find some new avenue to support which produced the desired results, and would not be used to support your important things.
And anyway the amount is fairly tiny when compared with say the NHS or Education budgets.

[towny44]

The problem I have with some charities is the amount they spend on (London) office space, advertising and salaries to their Chief Executives and co-workers. In some instances very little of my donation actually goes to the intended cause. For that reason I am very wary whom I support.

So you agree with me Foxy, much better to let Sky support Leicester City than to rely on Oxfam.

[oldbluefox]

Got it in one towny but I would much prefer some of the riches flowing into the entertainment and sports industries go towards charities which struggle on a day to day basis and rely solely on the generosity of local supporters.
And I would prefer Leicester City shirts to be emblazoned with a hospice motif or Air Ambulance logo than other commercial advertising.

[qbman1]

How about paying the footballers a proper salary and using the money thus saved to fund the important things?

of course, but didn't someone say that football is far more important than life and death?

Bill Shankly, I believe, Meg

[barney]

The problem I have with some charities is the amount they spend on (London) office space, advertising and salaries to their Chief Executives and co-workers. In some instances very little of my donation actually goes to the intended cause. For that reason I am very wary whom I support.

Probably like your Lodge Foxy, we try to keep it all as local as possible.

While being committed to many of the larger charities via Province, we also do our best to search out very small local ones, where a donation really does make a huge difference.

I have a local favourite called Demelza which is a children's hospice and does really exceptional work.

I really have little time for the hard core ones who mug you in the street.

[oldbluefox]

For a long time we have supported Blood Bikes which is run 24 hours a day by committed volunteers and they really do need money for the important work they do. There are plenty of other charities like them all deserving of our support.
Similarly, away from the more public charities there are smaller charities in desperate need of funds to carry out research into less common ailments but which are equally devastating for the families involved. Of course, corporate sponsors would not get the publicity they are seeking but morally I ask if that is all they are seeking, or is there a genuine desire to do good. As for chuggers accosting you in the street.........................

Good luck with your fund raising Barney. There is little recognition but we know it is worth it and that is all that matters.

[Ginny-T]

My beloved Mother-in-Law who we lost in July this year at the grand age of 97, used to put money away throughout the year on late relatives birthdays, anniversary of their passing etc (£5.00 a time) and donate it it once a year to a local cancer charity down here in South Wales. We used to send a cheque off every January, usually for around £200.00, with a letter explaining how the money was collected, and asking that they contacted her direct to acknowledge the donation. Every year, she would receive mailings from them asking for further donations (setting up a direct debit for example), enclosing raffle ticket for sale etc. We tried to get her to donate elsewhere as they kept badgering her, but she was having none of it. I have had to contact them recently to ask for her details to be removed from their database as we are still being bombarded with begging letters from them.

[david63]

I have had to contact them recently to ask for her details to be removed from their database as we are still being bombarded with begging letters from them.

And if they don't do it tell them that they are in breach of the Data Protection Act and that you will report then to the Information Commissioner's Office.

[Onelife]

My beloved Mother-in-Law who we lost in July this year at the grand age of 97, used to put money away throughout the year on late relatives birthdays, anniversary of their passing etc (£5.00 a time) and donate it it once a year to a local cancer charity down here in South Wales. We used to send a cheque off every January, usually for around £200.00, with a letter explaining how the money was collected, and asking that they contacted her direct to acknowledge the donation. Every year, she would receive mailings from them asking for further donations (setting up a direct debit for example), enclosing raffle ticket for sale etc. We tried to get her to donate elsewhere as they kept badgering her, but she was having none of it. I have had to contact them recently to ask for her details to be removed from their database as we are still being bombarded with begging letters from them.

Hello GinnyT

I have a similar story to yours in that my sister who I can honestly say is one of the kindest and generous persons you could wish to meet. Sadly she lost her husband just over two years ago, had he not I wouldn't be writing this now as he wouldn't have allowed this to happen. After his death my sister gave a donation to cancer research by standing order, she then started getting requests from other charities to which she also gave money too. I didn't get to know about this until one morning when she phoned me up distraught and tears. The charities that she was supporting kept pestering her to increase her contributions, this was on top of the £35 per month she was already spreading between the charities. When she recalled some of the sob stories she was being bombarded with you can understand how vulnerable people get sucked into parting with more money... Anyhow's I was straight onto the phone and cancelled the lot (five in total) and yes I did give them what for.

Thankfully she hasn't to date received anymore phone calls which should mean she'll have a lot more to give to her little brother

Regards

Keith

[Meg 50]

I have a local favourite called Demelza which is a children's hospice and does really exceptional work.

I really have little time for the hard core ones who mug you in the street.

The Sunday School I ran used to collect for Demelza - They had the contents of our coppers collection each year. They were lovely and never bombarded me with 'stuff' even though it was only about £20 - £30 a year

[Silver_Shiney]

The problem I have with some charities is the amount they spend on (London) office space, advertising and salaries to their Chief Executives and co-workers. In some instances very little of my donation actually goes to the intended cause. For that reason I am very wary whom I support.

The charity I work for never fund-raises or advertises, and at least 100% of what comes in, goes out (except for the tiny proportion that is given specifically for our expenses). We currently send out £1.2m annually

[Mervyn and Trish]

We must be careful to not tar all with the same brush. There are some scandalous charity stories about but as Shiney says others do a spectacular job with few overheads.

[Silver_Shiney]

Sorry, re-sending my last post, it comes across as a bit arrogant and pompous.

I was trying (and failing miserably) to make the point that not all charities fleece their supporters or pay high salaries

[Onelife]

The problem I have with some charities is the amount they spend on (London) office space, advertising and salaries to their Chief Executives and co-workers. In some instances very little of my donation actually goes to the intended cause. For that reason I am very wary whom I support.

The charity I work for never fund-raises or advertises, and at least 100% of what comes in, goes out (except for the tiny proportion that is given specifically for our expenses). We currently send out £1.2m annually

Hi Mr Shiney....I'm sure there are many charities that work using the same principles as the one you support. Indeed many of our big charities probably started off the same way but as they have grown into large organisations with multi million pound turnovers so will have their overheads. This is of course what you would expect and if a charity is well managed one would presume it's a win win for all concerned. However, as my earlier posts demonstrates the hard sell fund raising activities of some of these well known charities leaves a lot to be desired....Indeed l would suggest many of them have lost their sense of purpose in that they are treading a very fine line between charity and the harassment of the very people who wish to help them.

Regards

Keith