AIBU to not "get" charity sponsoring for marathons, bike rides, walking Great Wall of China or whatever?

[shirleybasseyslovechild]

friend decides to run marathon " in aid of cancer" asks all friends on social media to donate .

???

I don't get this at all. ( I nearly always donate though)
run a marathon if you like.
give money to cancer research if you like. I'll do the same.

but why link the two ?

I never sponsor people but do give to charity and volunteer. I wouldnt like to put people on the spot by asking them to sponsor me to do something that's fun.

It's noticible how most things that people do where they ask for sponsorship are fun and glamorous activities. I'd have a lot more time for people if they were doing something useful such as the litter picking that a PP suggested.

I am a runner I have run the London and other Marathons - I would never ask for sponsorship as it was something I wanted to do anyway and I was also well into running training so whilst a massive personal challenge wasn't like going from couch potato to marathon runner.

Paying for destination holidays under the disguise of "for charity" really irks me. The number of visitors going to the inca trail are huge, the footfall has had to be limited due to the quantity of people wanting to do it.

People thought it was weird that I did a marathon without doing sponsorship. Think it's been done so much that people expect people doing races will be doing for charity.

DH did a tough cycle in the middle of his own cancer treatment and raised over £2k. The training kept him focused and fit, and two charities benefitted. He has a prognosis no one could really come to terms with, and cycling was and remains his therapy

Unlucky it didn't cost my DH anything to enter the marathon and if he gave the £80 that cost to charity that would mean it was £420 odd short on what they did they. What a bunch of miserable people there are on this thread. Dig an old lady's garden instead as that would be more rewarding? Just for the record the money he raised will make a big difference to a small local charity and the children with special needs it supports. Which I am immensely proud of even if some here think it's wrong or a jolly.

Just to throw this into the mix. I work in a large office and I'm so sick of the company having dress down days when I have to pay to wear my own clothes. If the company wants good publicity for charity fundraising it should come out of their profits, not their staffs pockets. Always annoys me.

This thread has just reminded me to sponsor my friend who cycled in the Cardiff Velothon raising money for his son's memorial fund - so thankyou!

Crystal I work for a similar type of charity. We love volunteers who come and give up their time for us, they're amazing and we wouldn't be able to continue to offer the things we do without people who give up their time. However the people that fundraise for us are equally as valuable as we need money to continue! I think anyone who does a marathon etc for charity is fantastic. As for sponsoring others, I just sponsor people if they're raising money for a charity that's important to me.

Agree with the inca trails; but the "trigger" stimulation I think is fine, especially if the person is doing something that for whatever reason is difficult for them.

DS2 had serious heart condition and open heart surgery at Great Ormond St. He would be dead by now otherwise.

So yes, I did want to do something to say thank you. I ran a half marathon, when I hate running and had never run half a mile before. My kids (7 and 10) did a fifty mile bike ride with difficult hills. DH cycled London-Paris in 24 hours. None of those easy or fun challenges, and between us we raised over 10k (and yes, given money ourselves too).

Still doesn't begin to match up to what the hospital did for us. I am so profoundly grateful to them.

www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffilmgarb.com%2Ffeatures-titles%2Frun-fatboy-run%2F&ei=Yu-BVayiJcG6sQGwn4HgBA&bvm=bv.96041959,d.bGg&psig=AFQjCNGHfX80BoMrOkcErZ1qEUT3uP3O6A&ust=1434665231215190
makes me think of this
but I do chuck a fiver in the envelope (in work ours are pinned to the board so you can just give quietly of your own accord)

I think most people's motivation for doing challenging sponsored events like marathons is to say thank you to a charity for support they've received or to try to help stop what has happened to them happening to others. It's not about adulation or glory or attention seeking or self aggrandisement. The cynicism and lack of empathy on this thread is really pretty depressing. Donate or don't, the choice is entirely yours, but why the need to criticise those trying to do a good thing?

crystal I did say I was sorry I was using your DH (your name stood out for some reason (Scooby Doo?) but I know other posters said similar)

But to stage that marathon it cost someone somewhere ... someone paid for your DH to do it either directly or indirectly. Do you think if he just had a collection he would have raised much less? I understand that these events raise more than they cost to run otherwise the charities wouldn't do them ...but still....
I help organise lots of fundraisers for local groups and charities (I volunteer a lot too).
I helped organise a fun run for a small local charity -we raised over £1000 (net). We did everything on the cheap - we had expenses of less than £150. But I was shocked at how much some things for these events cost - we could quite easily have spent that £1000 on banners, medals and other 'stuff' to look professional - which luckily we aren't supposed to be so a bit homemade was fine - cos the money for the charity was the most important thing!
Actually one thing that I can't understand is to get a big 'presentation cheque it seems to cost £50...now that £50 if you can reuse it isn't too bad...I guess -if you raised thousands I guess it also isn't too bad but still that £50 represents 10 people sponsoring someone a fiver....and I'm guessing that isn't where they thought their money was going...

I promise I wouldn't dream of criticising someone in real life for trying to raise money through sponsorship but this thread is asking for opinions so I'm giving my opinion. I just don't think 'everyone' who does something noteworthy for charity is doing it for altruistic means.

I give time and money to charity - it's an important part of my life, I'm not stingy or mean but I like to direct what I give and do to certain things.

Paying for destination holidays under the disguise of "for charity" really irks me

This. I seriously question the need to sponsor anyone who is clearly off on an exciting holiday.

I know a few people who have run marathons and raised money as part of it. But in each case the main reason for running the marathon was to reach a certain personal achievement - nothing to do with the charity.

I ran a half marathon and raised money for a mental health charity. I paid my entry fee, then mine and everyone else's donations went directly to the charity.

I did it in my brother's name. He had taken his own life a few years before that.

I'll probably do it again one day. I don't care if nobody donates, although obviously it would be great if they did. It's just my way of trying to do something for a cause I feel strongly about, and honouring my brother at the same time. It feels like he's beside me every step of the way.

What a depressing thread. How cynical many of you are! I take the point about foreign trips but what a lot of people are forgetting is that charities, particularly smaller ones, benefit from this type of fundraising not just monetarily but also by awareness being raised. Quiet donations from your salary don't get your cause's name out there. Fine, don't sponsor if you don't want to, but this group condemnation really bothers me!

I like sponsoring people if they're doing it for a cause that means something personal to them other than a vague idea that it's A Good Cause. In all the examples upthread I would've happily put some money in.

It's when they ask for money to do fairly simple, painless things for large national charities eg sitting in a bath tub full of baked beans for children in need that I object to.

Race for Life is the current bane of my life. It seems that most women at work are doing it, all of whom are fit and healthy and could walk or run 5k with no problem whatsoever. I've done it myself with a group of friends and it's a fun day out. I don't agree with the language used in the campaign eg 'lets kick cancer's butt' 'cancer, we're coming to get you!'

Unlucky it was the Edinburgh Marathon he ran, I have no idea how much it cost to stage, no he wouldn't have raised £500 if he hadn't of ran it I don't think. He had never ran a race in his life before and it wasn't that long ago since he was 7 stone overweight - yes it was a struggle and a personal target for him but why shouldn't he raise a lot of money in the process for a charity that means something to him, wearing the charity's T shirt? I some of the comments here rather nasty about ordinary people raising money for a good cause and will never understand it.

And I di t think it's Scooby Doo

Crystal Cove is where the cottage from the film Beaches is!

I abseiled down an incredibly tall structure once. I paid the fee to do it in full myself. It was quite honestly only the charity money I'd raised that made me step off otherwise I'd have said no I don't think so when it came down to it.

These are quite an interesting read re the whole visit developing country/build an orphanage thing...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna
www.one.org/us/2014/03/04/the-problem-with-little-white-girls-and-boys/

Had to add my bit - I ran the traditional Race For Life last night in aid of Cancer Research and got the feeling we are all struggling with sponsorship-itis.

A few years ago they hosted a 5K and a 10K, both of whcih were hugely popular and had been done on two days - Wed and Sun - at both distances. The last couple of years numbers are so down that they only host one 5K and numbers for that were down this year too.

I've been running it every year since 2004 [ironically the same year I was diagnosed with breast cancer] but although I raised lots in 2005, having finished treatment, I haven't asked for sponsorship since. The entry fee is quite hefty and I count that as my donation to the charity. I have a d/d set up anyway to donate to a Breast Cancer charity so I don't feel guilty. As a regular runner it is 'just' another 5K run for me.

I get fed up with being asked to sponsor everyone for all sorts of things, but it's a sad indictment of society and the recession that are we considering a sponsored run to raise funds for our hardship fund at work [I work for a charity helping vulnerable people and we need a cash fund to give to those who literally have nothing to pay for food/utilities], as our council no longer finances this; we are also finding that we can't extract donations from large companies or local businesses as they are pulling in their belts too.

It used to be that you would raise money for people less fortunate than yourself but now, everyone is almost as badly off as those we are trying to help and we have no spare cash either. The only campaigns that seem to work are the hugely media-promoted Comic Relief etc.

Can I also throw something else into the mix, which sounds awful to say but interested in others opinions [might be a AIBU topic!], but I don't understand why we should be raising funds for e.g. terminally ill people to go on balloon rides, have a trip to Disney, spend a week learning how to sail, etc. They wouldn't go otherwise and what about healthy people who'd love the chance to do these things but can't afford it? I've been waiting 18 months to get up in a hot air balloon but no-one will help sponsor it for me, I have to pay. I'd rather give the money to the charity as it must cost them a fortune anyway to run these things and I'd rather the cash went into research or health care than to finance a sailing trip?