Mumsnet Christmas Appeal - let's support three brilliant charities!

[JustineMumsnet]

Greetings all,

We’re pleased to announce the launch of this year’s Christmas fundraiser - this year we’re raising money for the Against Malaria Foundation, Trussell Trust and the Women Support Women group at the Prince’s Trust.

As with our previous Christmas appeals, we’ll match donations up to a total of £10,000 across the three charities.

We know this is an expensive time of year, but any donation at all will be greatly appreciated and WILL make a difference.

Please have a look here for more information about the three charities. We’ll keep you updated with running totals and post updates here.

Please click on the links below to

Donate to the Against Malaria Foundation

Donate to the Trussell Trust

Donate to Women Support Women at the Prince’s Trust

Thank you for reading and for supporting our appeals - we hope you’ll be as inspired by these causes as we are.

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas,

Justine and all of us at MNHQ

I always donate to Women’s Aid as I see so many ‘contact Women’s Aid’ posts on here. MN must be responsible for so many referrals! And it is so badly needed.

A friend of mine had her life transformed by WA last year.

@BIWI

Sad that you're not addressing my post, MNHQ.

Well I think we did respond tbh Biwi, viz, "Hands up - we didn't consult with MNers when we were choosing the charities. In previous years there have been one or two stand-out causes and the appeals for those went off without controversy. This year there weren't any obvious candidates so we thought we'd choose a few that we'd had dealings with over the last 12 months. That was a mistake and next year we'll make sure we consult with you, as well as launching the appeal earlier."

I honestly don't think this particular cock-up is a sign of any fundamental change Biwi; I can tell you that here at MNHQ the team talk about putting users interests' first a lot (in fact it's one of our 5 core values that I talk about in every quarterly team presentation). We've built a business around listening to Mumsnetters and trying to always stick to our principles and it's fundamental. We often still ask users for their thoughts on advertisers/ business decisions - Babylon and etoro spring to mind in the last two months, not to mention our commitment to the FWR board - and modify those decisions according to user feedback.

You might be interested to see our www.slideshare.net/Mumsnet/mumsnet-our-culture-107447221 Culture deck which we link to in every recruitment ad, and which I present to all new joiners at MNHQ.

Clearly we could have run this appeal, which is an attempt to do something unequivocally good, a bit better and we'll do it better next time. But I wouldn't read too much into an honest mistake as a result of being a bit rushed.

Thanks for replying, Justine but ... why the Prince's Trust with an income of over £70 million? Why not a couple of smaller charities that would be cock-a-hoop over donations of up to £20,000. MNetters could happily supply you with a list.

And, sorry, but I found some of the content of your response a bit depressing. I've been here long enough to remember when it were all fields round here your friendly posts where it wasn't shoved in our faces that we were the product around which a business has built.

@JustMabel - if you're getting something for free then you're the product. Nothing wrong with that and it shouldn't be a surprise.

@Justine

"in fact it's one of our 5 core values that I talk about in every quarterly team presentation"

Talk's cheap - like your £723 donation to charity.

[quote theoryBuilding]@JustMabel - if you're getting something for free then you're the product. Nothing wrong with that and it shouldn't be a surprise.

@Justine

"in fact it's one of our 5 core values that I talk about in every quarterly team presentation"

Talk's cheap - like your £723 donation to charity.[/quote]

Not been cheap at all to stick to our principles to be honest. We've turned away/ lost around £1m this year at a conservative estimate. And we're hoping the donation to charity will be nearer 10k.

@JustMabel

Thanks for replying, Justine but ... why the Prince's Trust with an income of over £70 million? Why not a couple of smaller charities that would be cock-a-hoop over donations of up to £20,000. MNetters could happily supply you with a list.

And, sorry, but I found some of the content of your response a bit depressing. I've been here long enough to remember when it were all fields round here your friendly posts where it wasn't shoved in our faces that we were the product around which a business has built.

The reason we picked the Princes' Trust was specifically for the Women Supporting Women bit which I gather is an entirely separate fund and which resonated but I take your point that Princes Trust is a well-funded parent org.

I'm not sure quite what you mean about me shoving it in your face tbh and I certainly wasn't meaning to be unfriendly. But we genuinely do try not to put profits before doing the right thing (we don't and never have sold individual user data or interfered with genuine user opinion, unlike quite a few of our competitors) and sometimes the general level of scepticism is a bit waring.

Overall, we believe that Mumsnet is broadly a helpful and positive thing - something that (in the main) adds to the sum of human utility and happiness. Given that, I don't think anyone should be ashamed that it's grown, employs a fair number of people and turns a profit.

It's not surprising that things have changed a bit as the site has grown (because lots and lots of people find it a valuable source of information, support, entertainment...). But personally I've always been very impressed with how MNHQ still seems to maintain a certain familiarity with posters.

But I was completely amazed a month or so ago when I got a PM from a member of the MN team. I've been posting on the cancer support thread for five years now, but I don't tend to post much on other threads and I'm not a well known poster. However the community team had read my posts and when I posted in December with bad news and the fact it would be my last Christmas they sent me the most lovely message, and even some flowers. I don't know of any other website where that would happen.

It's a shame that an attempt by MNHQ to do something positive has ended up like this

Very best wishes to you @WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo I'm sorry to hear your news.
That was a lovely gesture from MNHQ.

I’ve just bought a group 2-3 car seat (maxicosi rodifix) for my 4 year old. It says from 15kg but she’s only 13kg but height 99cm so getting a bit tall for the maxi coding pearl. What are your thoughts? Is it safe to put her into group 2 at 2kg below recommend weight? I’m guessing not but if it’s more about the height then I’d she safer in the rodifix?

Sorry I was trying to add a new post not reply to this thread...

if you're getting something for free then you're the product. Nothing wrong with that and it shouldn't be a surprise

@theoryBuilding - I think you misunderstood my post but I can't be bothered discussing this further

WhatWouldLesleyKnopeDo - it was a lovely gesture from MNHQ.

WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo. I'm so sorry to hear that's. I'm also impressed MNHQ did that x

hear that, rather.

Women's aid, unto women and children (DC?) are safe...continually in desperate need of resources to keep refuges open, save women and children lives through their effort to influence law and policy around abusers and their victims.

Why would any other women's group possibly be put ahead of this? Especially one who's parent groupnis so affkuent and who's specialism is unrelated and can only serve really to dilute funds from the proven experts in this field?

I also think the demise of the MN secret Santa is very sad indeed. It did indeed seem to create a lot of excitement, seasonal good cheer and goodwill. Focussing on MNers helping MNers!

As a women's group it would seem obvious for that to be our main focus, women and their dc.

I also would like to hear of actuals, tangible goods that can be donations as a pp also said. Like hug squares, and food donations, etc.

Ideally, I would like to see the charities suggested and chosen by us in early autumn, so that the Christmas appeal can be up and running by the 15th of November. Why so early? Because then if people want, they can make a couple small donations over the Christmas period, or budget it out of more than just one paycheck if they want.

I'd love to see some of the top 10 smaller charities suggested for the Christmas appeal (that don't get into the top 3) put on a separate charity appeal later in the year that is also matched by MN. Maybe a summer appeal or something. These charities need support all year round, and even a small amount donated is better than nothing.

Could you tell us anything about how you choose your beneficiary charities? I know one that might be of interest to you for next year.

@JustineMumsnet

I know part of what I'm sad about reflects the whole 'it was all green fields around here' mentality. It's inevitable that things will have changed as the site has grown.

But this:

I can tell you that here at MNHQ the team talk about putting users interests' first a lot (in fact it's one of our 5 core values that I talk about in every quarterly team presentation)

... absolutely typifies what I mean! This is corporate speak. It's all very well to say it, but I don't think the team lives this ethos any more. I read the slideshare presentation with interest, and it does make Mumsnet sound like it's a great place to work (I believe it is as well!). But that's about the company and not about the community that you have here.

Nostalgia isn't profitable, and it's no good me or anyone else moaning about how things used to be. But IANBU to be sad about how things have changed. I understand why Secret Santa was disbanded, even though many people mourn its passing - but the idea behind it was driven by the community here - as well as being largely (at least initially) executed by us. This last minute choice, 'foisted' on us without any consultation is what triggered my post - it confirms how 'corporate' Mumsnet has become.

I know you're a business, and I know you need to make money - I absolutely agree with that and applaud how you've run and developed things. I suppose this is just a plea from a long-term user not to forget the community and its value along the way.

And now I'm going to take my rose-tinted glasses off and go for a scrap on AIBU ...

Not.

I agree with that sentiment to a degree, because I do believe they at the towers do still live that ethos, and I've experienced that personally.

The demise of the secret Santa though was one of the highs of MN, and engendered charity to our own, women and families. I cannot think of anything to parallel this and still very sad that such a heartfelt sense of supportive community action has had to be dropped due to scrapping! Shame on those that made it so unwieldy that it had to go.

Can we now address the issues that were raised and set expectations better with a hope to reinstate for Christmas 2019.

This particular 'charity' was such a valuable community endeavour, that I believe it worth fighting for to bring back.

...and WA...??!

I get that MNHQ think they are brilliant charities, but I'm afraid they are not what feels most pressing for our domestic high profile issues right now.

I'd suggest future Christmas appeals should support three charities but in a different way.

Two smaller charities, both connected with helping children, decided on by the "membership". MNHQ matches the donation to each charity and then donates the same amount of matching to Women's Aid.

So if "we" raise £2.5k for Charity A and £2k for Charity B, Charity A gets a total of £5k, Charity B gets a total of £4k and Women's Aid gets £4.5k also. Cost to MNHQ = £9.5k total.

And I say that as a long-term male user of MN, single, with no kids.

Sounds good, (total outlay by MN would be £9k if I've followed your worked example as intended)

Yep. I added on an extra 500k just for the helluva it!