50% to charity - generous or cynical?

pickarooney

I'm in two minds about whether this is a good idea. I'm thinking about doing it with my book for a month and giving the proceeds to Movember but is it just a cynical, self-serving exercise, fooling people into giving you money rather than just giving the whole lot away to the charity directly?

When you donate to something, do you like to get something back, even a sticker or a thanks or is it something you do on the quiet and tell nobody about?

smash

I guess sales are slow!

Dicky Pride

I hate the idea of anyone not giving money to charity for fear of what people may think or what motives they may question.

Consider the lilly...

In fact, no, don't. Consider this: A friend of mine put 50 cents in a beggar's hat a few months ago and the beggar scoffed at the lowly sum that was being given to him. I immediately said, why isn't he scoffing all the people who are walking by, giving nothing at all.

50% of anything is a very generous donation. We are not in times that can afford to be cynical.

Also, you'd be surprised at how little effect "charity" can have on book sales.

I'm generally of the opinion that if needy people are getting the money, then I don't care why the person is donating it.

fasttalkerchat

No recession in...

Ahem, yea... anything you can give is a positive!

upstairs for coffee

People invest in charity. Think about that for one moment. They invest;as if it is some sort of business enterprise. They create aninvestment portfolio that showcases the “brilliant charity” workthat they have done. Then when the person in question be it JohnTerry or Jimmy Saville, both of whom are strongly alledged ofcommitting heinous acts, their lawyers or spokespeople will trott outthe line “Just look at my clients previous good character; justlook at all the charity work he has done”. Ah bless, yes theirclient may have been a kiddy fiddler or a racial abuser but sure letthem off, I mean after all they did sign an autograph or two and thathas got to count for something, right?

Or as Radiohead succinctly put it, you'd just be topping up your moral bank account

pickarooney

I'm pretty sure I'm not a kiddy fiddler but just on the off chance I might double-check.

upstairs for coffee

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I'm not a kiddy fiddler but just on the off chance I might double-check.

Oh sorry, of course not. Kind of went off on one by mistake. No offence meant and best of luck with the book

fasttalkerchat

upstairs for coffee wrote: »

Oh sorry, of course not. Kind of went off on one by mistake. No offence meant and best of luck with the book

I giggled at that!

itac

I'm sure whatever charity you choose would be happy to have 50% of whatever money you can get rather than 0%!

From my pov, if I saw two items for sale, one at 9.99 and one at 9.99 with a sticker saying 50% of proceeds go to (insert charity name here) I would be more inclined to pick up the second one. It might not have entered my head to donate to that charity before, or I might be buying a present for someone, and so that money wasn't going to charity anyways, but either way, the charity's better off than they were before.

I don't donate because it makes me feel like a better person, I donate because I hope the money I'm giving can contribute toward making some difference in that area, be it hospice, be it a local sports centre, whatever.

TL, DR?
If the peoples who need the money get it, that's the main thing. If, as you're donating, it makes you feel like you're doing something worthwhile, then it's a win-win scenario

blue note

It can be either. I remember my mum bought the help Haiti cd (everybody hurts) and was horrified when she saw only a euro, or it might even have been less, went to charity. That was something done specifically for the cause and should definitely have all gone to it, or all profits go to it. I remember a college fashion show as well which advertised that "proceeds go to charity". They never said "all proceeds" so saw nothing wrong with hanging onto 2,500e.

On the other hand, sometimes people might just want to give something back for whatever reason. Then I think it's grand if it's just a portion.

pickarooney

I could do it without telling anyone (bit late now!) which would obviously be fine, but then that's not really going to encourage anyone to contribute. Or just give all proceeds away, might be more honest.

fasttalkerchat

Out of interest, what do you write?

the groutch

to quote Joey Tribbiani: "there's no such thing as a selfless good deed"

billybudd

Pick a small charity that most of the proceeds go to the intended destination rather than somesones bank account and put your name to it and be proud that you can and are making a difference, one should not be ashamed of being and looking charitable.

DavyD_83

pickarooney wrote: »

I could do it without telling anyone (bit late now!) which would obviously be fine, but then that's not really going to encourage anyone to contribute. Or just give all proceeds away, might be more honest.

Yep, my first thought reading OP was: If you're concerned about fooling people into giving you money, then just don't tell anybody in advance. Make the decision, and at the end of the month or whenever suits just donate 50% of the sales you have made. Maybe announce it then, so that you can at least get the plaudits for your generosity.

To me, this would encourage people to support the cause thtough example. I do always think there is something slightly cynical about people saying buy this and i'll give some of your money to charity.

As above, what have you written? I'm curious now, and might make a purchase. But only if I don't know in advance where my money is going
Otherwise, I'll just give the price of the book to the charity and work out an elaborate heist-movie-style plan to get the book for free.

HeyThereDeliah

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm in two minds about whether this is a good idea. I'm thinking about doing it with my book for a month and giving the proceeds to Movember but is it just a cynical, self-serving exercise, fooling people into giving you money rather than just giving the whole lot away to the charity directly?

When you donate to something, do you like to get something back, even a sticker or a thanks or is it something you do on the quiet and tell nobody about?

if it helps you sell your book and give a little to charity then go for it. good luck with it.


I prefer to donate privately i never take those stickers they hand out. I prefer to give to local charities or smaller ones because I think they make better use of the money.

Capt'n Midnight

If it's over €250 don't forget the whole tax back thing, if necessary find someone on in a higher tax bracket to donate through to maximise this.

girl2

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm in two minds about whether this is a good idea. I'm thinking about doing it with my book for a month and giving the proceeds to Movember but is it just a cynical, self-serving exercise, fooling people into giving you money rather than just giving the whole lot away to the charity directly?

When you donate to something, do you like to get something back, even a sticker or a thanks or is it something you do on the quiet and tell nobody about?

What's the book?

joydivision

I hate the way celebrities turn up at world disasters get a few pictures then feck off . I think it was Neil Young I heard was the only one who did anything in Haiti . The rest were gone as soon as the cameras were .
But feck it op if using charity to get sales helps you and the charity I dont see a problem . If publicly stating you are giving 50 per triples your sales the charity gets 3 times as much .
You will then get a better book deal on your next contract because of the higher sales.
Im now going to ask you what this book is and where its available . This will help you get free boards advertising.
This is my charity work . See how its totally for the good of the charity .
Hey dude where is this book available and whats the amazing cause that you are supporting ?
God Im such a great charity worker.

joydivision

I hate the way celebrities turn up at world disasters get a few pictures then feck off . I think it was Neil Young I heard was the only one who did anything in Haiti . The rest were gone as soon as the cameras were .
But feck it op if using charity to get sales helps you and the charity I dont see a problem . If publicly stating you are giving 50 per triples your sales the charity gets 3 times as much .
You will then get a better book deal on your next contract because of the higher sales.
Im now going to ask you what this book is and where its available . This will help you get free boards advertising.
This is my charity work . See how its totally for the good of the charity .
Hey dude where is this book available and whats the amazing cause that you are supporting ?
God Im such a great charity worker.

pickarooney

Mentioning the book now would make this whole thread seem like a transparent ruse...

Screw it, I will give 100% to charity for the month and if anyone likes it and leaves a comment on it for future says then it's win-win. Right? Or still a bit too self-serving?

phasers

Just tell us what the book is!

Wait, is it This?

I'm totally buying this later

pickarooney

Yeah, that is it actually.

I know creating this phasers account six years ago would eventually pay off.

subway

are there endorsement issues if you keep some of the money for yourself?
i.e. you are using the charity as a way to increase sales, would they have to agree to it?

pickarooney

subway wrote: »

are there endorsement issues if you keep some of the money for yourself?
i.e. you are using the charity as a way to increase sales, would they have to agree to it?

Good question. Would a charity refuse donations if they thought they were being acquired nefariously? That kind of thing could hurt the charity ultimately.

Fr_Dougal

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm in two minds about whether this is a good idea. I'm thinking about doing it with my book for a month and giving the proceeds to Movember but is it just a cynical, self-serving exercise, fooling people into giving you money rather than just giving the whole lot away to the charity directly?

When you donate to something, do you like to get something back, even a sticker or a thanks or is it something you do on the quiet and tell nobody about?

Why don't you just do Movember like everyone else? Grow a mo' for sponsorship?

To be honest the way you're going about this book proceeds "for a month" makes it look like all you want to do is promote a book and use the charity for extra exposure.

Buy a scratch ticket sir? 10% goes to chadadee.

Micky Dolenz

This is worse then any hidden link spam I've ever seen.

Jimoslimos

upstairs for coffee wrote: »

People invest in charity. Think about that for one moment. They invest;as if it is some sort of business enterprise. They create aninvestment portfolio that showcases the “brilliant charity” workthat they have done. Then when the person in question be it JohnTerry or Jimmy Saville, both of whom are strongly alledged ofcommitting heinous acts, their lawyers or spokespeople will trott outthe line “Just look at my clients previous good character; justlook at all the charity work he has done”. Ah bless, yes theirclient may have been a kiddy fiddler or a racial abuser but sure letthem off, I mean after all they did sign an autograph or two and thathas got to count for something, right?

Or as Radiohead succinctly put it, you'd just be topping up your moral bank account

Most charity in some way or another is self-serving when you think about it. Lots of people raise money for cancer or heart disease charities, usually as a result of a close relative dying or suffering from it. Given that genetics is a strong risk factor for many illnesses you could cynically say that charity is simply an insurance policy, guarding against the likelihood they (or children) will suffer the same disease at a later date.

pickarooney

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Why don't you just do Movember like everyone else? Grow a mo' for sponsorship?

To be honest the way you're going about this book proceeds "for a month" makes it look like all you want to do is promote a book and use the charity for extra exposure.

Buy a scratch ticket sir? 10% goes to chadadee.

It takes me about 8 months to grow a moustache and I don't live in a country that recognises Movember. You're probably right though.

DavyD_83

OK, I just bought the book in spite of any cynicism. Happy to support a boardsies efforts, and book sounds like it could be a good read.
Do with the proceeds from the sale as you will.
Good luck with the book anyway!

Dravokivich

I'd say it all depends on your motivation for donating really.

-Because you can?
-You have an interest in the area you wish to donate?
-Publicity, free publicity, the take is vast?

For all of'em, if the charity is decent enough, it's a win-win for them if they really need the funding.