WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll ·
29/04/2020 15:01
At the end of the Big Night In, it was announced that the government was going to match the £28m (or so) that the public donated. The B&M Gates Foundation have done the same previously for things like Comic Relief.
Am I alone in thinking that, instead of being an encouraging thing to do, it's actually quite patronising - and just makes everybody's efforts seem kind of belittled?
Aside from the fact that they usually announce it at the end of the fundraising, so people couldn't have used the knowledge as a giving incentive if they wanted (why do they even need to trumpet it at all?); if they have an immense amount of money at their disposal (which the government and B&M Gates apparently do) just sitting there to be dipped into where a tiny fraction of 1% can be taken out without making a noticeable dent, the amount arbitrarily linked purely to what individuals give ("£20m? £50m? £100m, £150m? Yeah, whatever - just let us know"), what is the point in having the whole fundraiser - begging a great many seriously struggling families to give - in the first place? If they were able to budget for a certain amount at the beginning and then ask the public to give extra on top of that, it would be different - but just nonchalantly offering to match whatever is given seems to make a mockery of it.
It's the kind of thing that parents do to teach children about saving and encourage them to persevere by offering to match what they save towards a long-term goal from their pocket money or earn from their paper round - but that is motivated by self-interest and completely different from charitable giving, largely by adults. Or have I got it wildly wrong?