Why do we wait to 'sponsor' people, instead of simply donating?

[Fluffypastelslippers]

I was just reading about a lady called Karen Penny who is doing a huge sponsored walk to raise money for Alzheimer's research - she has raised over £100k. When I saw I decided to donate, then it got me wondering, why does a woman have to walk thousands of miles to raise money, why did Captain Sir Tom Moore have to walk lengths of his garden to raise money? Even low level local charities have events and look for sponsorship. Why do people not simply donate?

I realise some people do, of course, but obviously they are the minority otherwise these high profile things wouldn't be necessary.

I very rarely sponsor people. I decide what charitable causes I want to support and then donate. I'll only sponsor people when the reason for fundraising is very personal - e.g. work colleague running for Macmillan because her DM died of cancer - in which case I am doing it to show support for my colleague, rather than to benefit the charity.

It's hard to commit to regular donations for a lot of people, and if we all just donated rather than sponsoring so many charities would miss out as many of us would just donate to the obvious ones.

@girlmom21

It's hard to commit to regular donations for a lot of people, and if we all just donated rather than sponsoring so many charities would miss out as many of us would just donate to the obvious ones.

This makes sense, about other charities missing out. Even if it's a one off donation rather then regular, I think you are right.

@SquirryTheSquirrel

I very rarely sponsor people. I decide what charitable causes I want to support and then donate. I'll only sponsor people when the reason for fundraising is very personal - e.g. work colleague running for Macmillan because her DM died of cancer - in which case I am doing it to show support for my colleague, rather than to benefit the charity.

Then you are the minority I mention

A lot of it is to raise awareness and there's a large element of emotional blackmail persuasion in it: the idea that it's much harder to say no if they're running a marathon or whatever for it rather than just asking for cash; and the unspoken implication that "Well Sally is running an entire marathon in aid of Nauseous Llamas UK - she's been training every single morning and weekend for months, but 'all' that you are being asked to do is open your purse."

I don't think we necessarily wait to sponsor insofar as we often don't have the inclination/desire to do so in the first place. The cause might be a good one (although we may personally not think it a priority in any way for our charitable giving); but, if we're honest, the only single reason that the sick Llamas get any of our money in the first place is because Sally has decided to run her marathon, thus established a strong association between her (and friendship with her) and the charity, widely publicised it and browbeaten encouraged us to support her/it.

Those poor llamas! Where do I donate?

Sorry, had meant to add... people, however well meaning just don't get around to it. They may be willing to donate, but more likely to do it when asked.

I couldn't afford to donate regularly and then sponsor all my friends and their kids when they do things. I know when people commit to something for charity it really makes them feel good when they get sponsorship so I think sponsoring someone is win win the charity gets money and the person gets to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment so I budget to sponsor people but not to donate if that makes sense. Apart from Air Ambulance I have a Direct Debit with them but its only £2 a month fornsome sort or raffle thing.

It's hard to commit to regular donations for a lot of people, and if we all just donated rather than sponsoring so many charities would miss out as many of us would just donate to the obvious ones.

But it's frequently the biggest/most obvious charities that organise most of the 'sponsor me' events. I suppose the big ones are often the biggest because they're closest to most people's hearts - or are just the best at self-publicity/laying on the guilt/fear - but there are loads of small charities out there that still have their stalwart supporters, sponsored events or not. Whereas everybody is concerned about cancer, very few people will care about buying Rennies for poorly Llamas, BUT all of those who are passionate about it will make sure they channel their giving that way, knowing that if they don't, hardly anybody else will - especially if they have reason to believe that every £20 they give will make a real difference rather than just getting swallowed up into 'the machine', as is the wide-spread belief with the charity behemoths.

Those poor llamas! Where do I donate?

I'll PM you the link to sponsor me for my 24-hour space-hopper-a-thon for their benefit - it's 100% up to you if you feel led to do so or not, but if you don't, just know that you are a terrible person

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Those poor llamas! Where do I donate?

I'll PM you the link to sponsor me for my 24-hour space-hopper-a-thon for their benefit - it's 100% up to you if you feel led to do so or not, but if you don't, just know that you are a terrible person

A terrible person. Yes, that’s exactly it though, isn’t it? Once you’ve been personally tapped on the shoulder, refusal can make even the most steely of us not only feel guilty, but feel that we look bad, mean and uncaring to the person asking if we say no. It’s a good tactic really.

I recall when I was a child (in the 70’s, so not exactly yesterday) that two charities with lots of postal marketing were the Donkey Sanctuary and the Mouth and Foot painting artists. They really seemed to have a high profile, and the donkey sanctuary is not too far removed from your poorly llamas. I imagine they received more donations than many other equally worthy charities. They speculated to accumulate.

I suppose many charities lack the funds/ marketing expertise for such promotional campaigns so rely on people like Sausage Roll and her space-hopper-a-thon to guilt her mates into donating. It works.