Comic Relief: Worst since 2007

[ClingFilmApplications]

The Times reports that Comic Relief is set to have it's worst year since 2007.

This is being blamed on the David Lammy "White Saviour" debacle, but I'm sure that it also doesn't help that they've just given £190,000 to Allsorts - the Brighton & Hove charity that supplies school packs with case studies in transitioning children as young as six.

Parent of a Six-Year Old:
My child’s primary school have been fantastic with her transition and were very supportive right from the word go.

The BBC has reported on the £190,000 Comic Relief Allsorts donation with a video story of a teen wandering around the Museum of Transology (I kid you not).

liverpoolresisters.wordpress.com/2018/08/16/the-bbc-and-transgender-children/

The depressing thing is that it won't be gracefully retired because so many cushy jobs depend on it - I think the figure I read was 30 jobs over 60K.

(Can that really be right? It seems an awful lot.)

That is a lot!

Population of Africa is predicted to be 4 billion by the end of the century. It's utterly hopeless and unsustainable. I'm quite depressed by the while thing these days.

I think some of it will be down to fewer people watching live t.v in general and more specifically the beeb nowadays.
Also I imagine red nose sales were hit. There were threads on here about single use plastics and our school sent out a letter saying they wern't encouraging buying them for that reason.

The people I talk to now tend to support small local charities. They do more with your money. People with less to give like to see it spent wisely (and so do those who give more).

The big charity sector is seen as wasteful, with big bills for wages and chugging, cold calling etc - there has long been speculation on how much they spend on getting people to donate.

It is amazing how many 'executives' seem to hop from one charity to another, implementing the latest must-have rules and practices. The BBC charities are even worse for this as they get to choose where your money goes too.

The depressing thing is that it won't be gracefully retired because so many cushy jobs depend on it - I think the figure I read was 30 jobs over 60K

Yup. this is from the latest Annual report I could find - 2016/17

apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends68/0000326568_AC_20170731_E_C.PDF

go to page 76 to have your mind blown

total wage costs in that period = £11,904,000
no of staff in that period = 295
mean salary = £40,352

30 people earning £60k or over

it's a very useful gravy train

I didn't give to Comic Relief this year specifically because of their support for organisations which harm children.

Mumsnet is not to be trifled with, even by the "great" BBC.

Thanks Bernard.
Bloody hell.

I've avoided both Comic Relief and CiN for years now. Hate the programming and all the pleading for donations, all very manipulative and upsetting tbh.
I m sure good things have been done with the money raised, but I prefer to support smaller charities too now. I think they spend their income more carefully.

I've avoided both Comic Relief and CiN for years now. Hate the programming and all the pleading for donations, all very manipulative and upsetting tbh.
I m sure good things have been done with the money raised, but I prefer to support smaller charities too now. I think they spend their income more carefully
^^
this

You do know smaller local charities have to pay staff and rent/ lights /expenses too these charities have to pay out before they can help I understand that bigger charities are corperate but smaller charities don't run for free

Yeah, there are running costs and reasonable wages for full time workers, and then there are absolutely grasping gravy train salaries made up from lots and lots of £3 donations from kind hearted people who believe they are helping suffering people or keeping the lights on and the admin ticking over.

Capitalist principles sit very oddly in the charity sector.

yes MrsJayy, of course we know that.

I was just reading a piece on Bill Gates and his various projects in Africa and several presidents were saying he isn’t a white saviour type, he’s not telling them what to do etc he just goes to a lot of meetings, listens to what they tell him and tries to act on it, eg improve healthcare with vaccines etc. But obviously he doesn’t need to fundraise! Just interesting in the current climate.

captainmarvelsbunting you are right capitalism and charity doesn't sit right so huge salaries and probably bonuses isn't the same as my point.

*Grace I know i stated the obvious but did I deserve an

MrsJayy, no, but the specific issue being discussed was huge salaries for charity bods, not the running costs of a charity which we all understand exist. I volunteer for a charity, and my boss there is a paid employee for whom it is one of two jobs she does. I don't begrudge her a penny and I understand very well the basic costs of doing charity work. That's not the same thing as 60k salaries at all.

I haven't watched any of this crap for years or donated to it.

1. I don't have a TV license or watch live TV
2. I'm very dubious about huge corporate charities, who tend to spend most of their money on marketing and get too politically involved - like when Save the Children gave TONY BLAIR a fucking award! When he was literally responsible for the deaths of millions of children....
3. Plastic tat. And apparently the Comic Relief T-shirts worn by the celebs were made in Bangladesh by workers paid a pittance....
4. I've actually heard several people say "if we're giving all this money to Africa, why does the problem of poverty never reduce or go away?". Plus, we give a lot of foreign aid through our taxes anyway.

I have a monthly direct debit to a local hedgehog rescue shelter and go charity shopping a lot. My partner supports a local charity helping disabled/abused/vulnerable young adults get jobs and independence. I think most people prefer local charities these days rather than these huge corporate charities who do questionable things with your money.

Also, I find the whole comedy-interspersed-with-starving-children format pretty manipulative.

The Four Weddings sketch was a travesty.

It was unbelievably, embarrassingly awful. I couldn't believe how shit it was. Haven't seen anything else - was the Mamma Mia spoof any good (the first one they did was superb)?

Agree with many of the reasons cited above although I am disillusioned with charities overall after the oxfam misconduct scandal which is the main reason why I am not donating any more.

I also noticed my dc’s schools did not participate this year and I wasn’t sorry. The format is old hat now and my dc haven’t watched television for years so would have no awareness or interest in it at all.

Whilst I agree with some of the sentiments here with regard to comic relief I think it a pity if we can no longer feel compassion for those so much poorer than ourselves. Either we give aid or trade. We will not be the only ones who suffer from Brexit so it looks like no trade or aid for some of the worlds poorest people

www.odi.org/comment/10741-brexit-and-global-development

Perhaps also this will show how lucky we are:
The risk of caesarean section.
dawnsdigest.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c7684b3c158b2913a3b143158&id=59ae201171&e=f8c9a086e8

I think it a pity if we can no longer feel compassion for those so much poorer than ourselves.

There isn’t a single comment saying anything remotely like that. Just loads of comments about other charities we’re giving to.