OK, that’s pretty funny.
Justification? There is no justification. I signed up for an event without knowing that it had a fundraising requirement. And the responsibility for knowing that there was indeed such a requirement is mine and mine alone. I do not dispute this one bit- I don’t know what you think I’m trying to “persuade” you into thinking.
The issue is simply that an “entry fee” that doesn’t get you entry and a bunch of people yelling in my ear while I’m trying to work and no up-front delivery of either of those conditions- my own culpability aside, it’s a piss-poor way to run a charity event.
I agree with the pitting. It actually made me double-check the AIDS walk here in Denver. The OP probably thought he was going to do something Warrior-Dash like for a good cause. Bummer.
Also. I can relate to the OP being a bit peeved about misundestanding the whole 400 dollars or else thing (though he shoula read more carefully). And I can very much relate to being pissed about getting what sounds like irritating telemarking like calls at work about it.
But I really don’t like this idea of you have to raise a minimum of X to particpate. Is this a charity or a shakedown?
But if he’s not fundraising what benefit is he providing to the cause? That’s why these things have fund raising requirements. They are not putting on these events so you can have a good time, that’s a side benefit. They exist to drive fund raising.
Then what was my “entry fee” for?
A portion of Gladiator entries go to Talk About Curing Autism. Tough Mudder gives a tiny refund on entries if you raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.
My default setting is the assumption that the giving is built into the fee; that is, if it costs them 50 bucks all told to have me participate, the entry fee is along the lines of 75 bucks. I’m cool with that, and would totally have been cool with that here.
I didn’t read the fine print, which explained that my assumption was incorrect. But based on past experience, it was a reasonable assumption.
Well, you’re out of the race, you might be out the fee— but worst of all, you’ve failed to persuade Inner Stickler.
I don’t know if you’re coming back from this one, man.
I’m going to be reading the fine print on entry forms from now on. I’ve always assumed the entry fee went to whatever cause the event was about. If I pay $50 to run in a 5K, which isn’t an unusual amount, I would be very suprised to find that a good part of that money isn’t going toward the charity. Surely it can’t cost $50 a person to close the street for a couple of hours and hand out a few bananas.
The OP’s $35 does seem pretty low for an event.
Fuck that. I’m 100% behind the OP.
If they want to raise money, then they can raise money. If they want to organize a race, then they should be race directors and forget about trying to be a charity for a bit.
I run in a lot of races every year and almost every one of them is a money-raising event for something or other. But it’s pretty simple to run a race and make money - you don’t have to get $400 from every single sap in the race to make money for the charity. A $50 entry fee is plenty to make some money.
I hate these kinds of races and stay as far away from them as possible.
Isn’t it pretty much a given for charity runs? You sign up, then you ask people to pledge so much in order for you to run.
That’s the model, yes, but i have never before seen a charity run where you were required to raise a minimum amount of money in order to be able to participate.
Most of them have an entry fee, and then they urge you to raise more money on top of that, but it’s not usually a condition of entry.
Right, you don’t sign up and then bitch that it’s not like the other races you’ve done and pout in the corner.
It appears to be working for them and people who read things before agreeing to them.
You know, screwing AIDS is how most people got AIDS in the first place.
Wow I’ve seen exactly the opposite. In fact some of the two and three day events have fund raising requirements in the thousands of dollars. Here is the link to the registration form for the 2 day Ride to conquer Cancer from Toronto to Niagara. Riders are required to raise $2500, virtual riders (really just fund raisers for a team) are strongly encouraged to raise at least $500 and crew members are also strongly encouraged to raise at least $500. I just assumed they all run this way.
There’s also an Inner Stickler related joke in here somewhere as well.
Jesus.
When did fund raisers turn from something moms and dads and boy/girl sprouts did on a weekend to something that sounds more like its being run by Donald Trump and Tony Soprano?
A two- or three-day team ride, with crew members, complicated logistics, and food provided is not exactly the same as your typical 5k or 10k charity run/walk. i’ll bet there are far more of the latter than the former, and in my experience many (most?) those shorter charity runs don’t have specific fundraising requirements; they simply ask you to raise money in addition to your entry fee.
I also sort of resent the idea that it’s not enough to contribute some money and some effort to a charity; you have to reach a predetermined minimum amount or you don’t get to play at all. Way to encourage the spirit of cooperation and involvement!
It’s unethical bullshit. The $400 undertaking is buried toward the end of the fine print of the release and waiver of liability on the back side of the contract. Yes, it is there, but it sure as hell is not something one would consider to be a release and waiver of liability, and therefore not part of what one would normally read in detail, for all one needs to know about a release and waiver of liability is that you can’t sue when something bad happens. They scammed you.
Huh?
I agree that they’ve gone about this rather unethically, but while the signature and the release/waiver are on the back, the front of the form states very clearly:
I’m not sure what is ambiguous about that statement.
I don’t like their requirement, and i think they should be clearer about it on the website, but it’s right there on the front of the form.