At my place of work it’s not uncommon to get sponsorship forms circulated or emailed. It’s the usual tale of a sponsored walk/run/swim/parachute jump/whatever for charity. Please give me money to do this.
They annoy me. It’s not that the charitable cause isn’t worthy, it usually is, but I just don’t follow the logic of the whole idea. If someone wants to do a parachute jump, then great, go for it. If I want to give money to this charity, then great, I will. But I don’t see how either the charity or I benefits from someone jumping out a plane. If you really wanted to help wouldn’t you be better expending that effort addressing the immediate problem, or in a proper job paid money that you could donate? It seems to me that the one benefiting most from all this is the jumper. Parachute jumps are great fun. Walking/running/swimming can be fun and is good for you too. In which case, why am I the one paying for it?
This takes me on to the second way they annoy me. What do people consider good sponsorship etiquette? You come back from your walk/run/swim/jump/whatever and go around your sponsors, politely asking for the money. Or… you come back and send an email around politely asking that all sponsors come pay you. I work on the principle that if you want my money; you come see me, not the other way around. That way I don’t get a guilt trip laid on me when you appear two weeks later asking why I haven’t paid.
So, what’s the general IMHO on this? (That’s why I posted here, I want opinions not rants. ) Am I miserable, charity-hating tightwad, or do I have a point?
I think it’s the same reason you have *any * “Activity for X Disease.” It raises public awareness of the problem, therefore, hopefully, increasing donations and attention. The runners, swimmers, skydivers, etc. then go back to their places of work wearing the shirt, and spread the word. By getting people to “sponsor” them, it looks less like a blatant hold-up for cash.
Best etiquette is to go around personally to collect the cash. While wearing the shirt. Email doesn’t cut it…if I promised you cash, I want to see the bruises and ask questions before I open my wallet.
In my job, I work with a lot (a LOT) of non-profit agencies who are always looking for ways to increase their revenue and keep afloat. Just yesterday, I was talking to an Executive Director at a homeless shelter and her comment was, “Everyone wants to give us SOMETHING like food or clothing, but what we NEED is money to pay the electric bill or pay the rent.”
Society has been conditioned to “buy” things–clothing, food, nifty little bottles of shampoo to donate to victims of domestic violence shelters, etc. We, as a whole, are reluctant to hand over the $10 to go towards paying to keep the electricity on in said shelter. Fund raising events are a way for society to contribute funds with that sense of “buying” something. Most of of the funds raised in this manner are unrestricted, which means they CAN go towards paying the rent on the shelter, or buying a new piece of equipment for cancer research, or using it for office supplies for an organization that offers counseling for victims of rape, for example.
Any non-profit organization worth it’s weight can tell anyone what they need (or they will have a “wish list”). Many may even be able to break down what a monetary contribution will “buy”. At one place I worked, we found great success in a fundraising event that went along the lines of, “$10 will buy lunch for 5 preschool aged children at our organization. $20 will provide GED classes for one person to obtain a GED certification.” (–before anyone rides me about free GED classes, you have to ask where that tutor is coming from–they need salaries–and the electricity and heating for the tutoring room, etc.)
Overall, people want to make sure their money is being well spent on worthwhile causes. With direct fundraising such as the Cancer Walks a person can contribute directly to a cause which may have personal connections.
One thing that I’ve noticed that is severely lacking from office fundraisers of this sort is any sort of follow-up. As much as others may hate it, I expect to get my name and address on a list if I donate for such a cause. In fact, I WANT my name on a list - because my donation dollar is expressing an interest and a concern for the particular organization/cause it’s going to. If the organization values me as a donor, I want to hear back from them to find out how they’re doing, and be given the chance to stay involved/informed.
The type of recognition a donor will get from a non-profit depends on several things. One is how big the donation was. A $10 donation will get considerably less recognition than a donation of $10,000. Groups, simply because the donation is likely to be a bigger amount, are also more likely to be publically recognized. At the very least, a thank you letter should be addressed to the donor, regardless of the amount or the donation itself.
A small non-profit will also be less likely to publically recognize a donation simply because the act of recognition costs money. They may also have less resources (like some of the major ones, like Red Cross or American Cancer Society) to publically state who their donors were. The awards banquet dinner for donor recognition isn’t free, and it may actually suck down more resources than a small non-profit is able to direct towards that area. Usually, donors are recognized via the annual report or newsletter which an organization distributes. Many non-profits will send yearly statements (for tax purposes) to any donors who either make signifigant donations, or make regular donations throughout the year.
The simple act of sending a thank you letter immediately is a must in the world of non-profit. A few years ago, I worked for a small non-profit community center. One time the Board President lost his mind and fired the Executive Director (it wasn’t the only time he lost his mind, but the only time he fired the ED). However, after the ED left, things were chaotic for awhile. One of the things that got pushed aside were the thank you letters. We had more complaints over that than just about anything else, and yes, donations dropped off signifigantly.
Probably more than you wanted to know, but there it is.
Everyone who comes into the non-profit organization, who asks about it, who acts the least bit interested, who even looks in the direction of the organization should have his/her name immediately put on the mailing list! The mailing list is a potential source for income for the organization and any who doesn’t put everyone on the mailing list (especially past donors!) are complete idiots at passing up a potential funding source.
I think those sponsorship things are lame. I’ve done plenty of 5k runs, and they’re always for charity, but I never need to get people to pledge or anything. I just pay my $15, it goes to the charity, and corporate sponsors finance the race. Works out well all around.
