Charity races

Claude Burgundy

With so many races on all over the country week in and week out and so many them claiming to be for charity i have a question to ask.

What do you consider a charity race to be ?

Is it a race that has a charity partner ?

Is it a race that gives 10% of profits to charity ?

Is it a race that gives 50% of profits to charity ?

Or finally is it a race that gives 100% of its profits for charity ?

There's been a lot of negative media in the last two weeks for "charity races", i'm involved in a charity race in July and with the whole REHAB scandal and the negative media about races it makes it so much harder for honest charity races to get sponsorship and entries.

RayCun

If a race is for charity, that means all of the proceeds are going to charity.
If a race has a charity partner, it should be able to say how much money - what percentage of the entry fee, or what amount in total, is going to the charity.
If none of the entry is going to charity, just sponsorship runners on top of their entry fee, it isn't for charity.

menoscemo

Like Ray I think a charity race is one where 100% of the profits go to charity.

I would consider club races to be like proper Charity races. After all clubs do not try to make a profit and generally do great work in the local communities especially for children...you can be sure all profits in club races are going to a good cause (unlike many charities ).

barryoneill50

RayCun wrote: »

If a race is for charity, that means all of the proceeds are going to charity.
If a race has a charity partner, it should be able to say how much money - what percentage of the entry fee, or what amount in total, is going to the charity.
If none of the entry is going to charity, just sponsorship runners on top of their entry fee, it isn't for charity.

Here here!

pointer28

menoscemo wrote: »

Like Ray I think a charity race is one where 100% of the profits go to charity.

I would consider club races to be like proper Charity races. After all clubs do not try to make a profit and generally do great work in the local communities especially for children...you can be sure all profits in club races are going to a good cause (unlike many charities ).

+1

RacoonQueen

Charity races

http://www.calcuttarun.com/
http://www.communityresponse.ie/event.aspx?contentid=165
http://www.stjames.ie/funrun/
http://www.aware.ie/fundraising/events/10k-and-5k-christmas-run/

robinph

Exactly what others have said above already ... a charity race is either being organised by a charity, or for 100% of profits to go to the charity. There is no other acceptable definition of a charity race.

Although not legally classed as charities, a club organised event is equivalent to a charity race, it's just that the "good cause" that they are raising money for is themselves. Nobody in the club is making a personal gain out of it.

Claude Burgundy

Thanks for all your replies and great to see my view is the same as yours ( mainly )

The only place i would differ is that i don't believe a club race is a charity event. That's my own personal feeling as i've seen clubs where some of the members are coaches and are charging for their coaching so are gaining personally from it and i don't agree with that. I feel those hours should be given for free. But as i say that my own personal belief.

adrian522

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies and great to see my view is the same as yours ( mainly )

The only place i would differ is that i don't believe a club race is a charity event. That's my own personal feeling as i've seen clubs where some of the members are coaches and are charging for their coaching so are gaining personally from it and i don't agree with that. I feel those hours should be given for free. But as i say that my own personal belief.

But surely they are not gaining personally from the races in that case?

RayCun

I think charging for coaching is more common in triathlon. There are athletics coaches who charge for coaching, but they are outside the club structure. I don't know of any coaches within clubs who charge, but that could just be my limited experience.

(It's the difference between clubs and coaches in a sport with a large juvenile base, and clubs and coaches who are training only adults, in my opinion)

groovyg

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies and great to see my view is the same as yours ( mainly )

The only place i would differ is that i don't believe a club race is a charity event. That's my own personal feeling as i've seen clubs where some of the members are coaches and are charging for their coaching so are gaining personally from it and i don't agree with that. I feel those hours should be given for free. But as i say that my own personal belief.

To be honest I'd rather support a club race where the money is going directly to the club rather than a charity these days. I know I shouldn't tar everybody with the same brush but after the recent scandals of the top up payments and all the sh1t about Rehab which looks more like a company than a charity I really find it very difficult give money towards these so called charities. If anything, races associated with charities put me off supporting the event.

menoscemo

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

The only place i would differ is that i don't believe a club race is a charity event. That's my own personal feeling as i've seen clubs where some of the members are coaches and are charging for their coaching so are gaining personally from it and i don't agree with that. I feel those hours should be given for free. But as i say that my own personal belief.

I don't know of any 'Athletics' club where the coaches charge for their coaching. Not my club anyway.
Sometimes a club might hire in an external professional coach to give a specialised class or session to a particular group?
Otherwise you just have hundreds of volunteers giving up their time for free.

RayCun

Triathlon clubs are not always clubs as we know them.

munkee

RayCun wrote: »

Triathlon clubs are not always clubs as we know them.

Awesome thread.

RacoonQueen

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies and great to see my view is the same as yours ( mainly )

The only place i would differ is that i don't believe a club race is a charity event. That's my own personal feeling as i've seen clubs where some of the members are coaches and are charging for their coaching so are gaining personally from it and i don't agree with that. I feel those hours should be given for free. But as i say that my own personal belief.

It is very unusual for an athletics coach to charge for their services. It is done, but most coaching, even in clubs where there is a coach that charges for their services is done voluntarily. Athletics clubs, by and large, have a HUGE juvenile membership which requires the time and supervision of a large number of people. Athletics clubs are not run as businesses. Anyone with a strong affilliatoin to a club will not charge a penny for their time and it costs them.

Find that statement a bit odd.

groovyg wrote: »

To be honest I'd rather support a club race where the money is going directly to the club rather than a charity these days. I know I shouldn't tar everybody with the same brush but after the recent scandals of the top up payments and all the sh1t about Rehab which looks more like a company than a charity I really find it very difficult give money towards these so called charities. If anything, races associated with charities put me off supporting the event.

+1

Knowing two people who are employed by charities further increases my disinterest in supporting charities financially.

Timmaay

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies and great to see my view is the same as yours ( mainly )

The only place i would differ is that i don't believe a club race is a charity event. That's my own personal feeling as i've seen clubs where some of the members are coaches and are charging for their coaching so are gaining personally from it and i don't agree with that. I feel those hours should be given for free. But as i say that my own personal belief.

Clubs are specifically suppose to be non profit, in terms of no single person within the club or like a committee member should benefit directly from the club. Anyways, I can see your distinction between a club and a charity as such in fairness, for any club races that I promote I like to specifically mention that all proceeded go directly back into grassroute athletics, to fund juvenile athletes and club amenities etc etc. Most club athletes take that for granted, however it is zero harm at all to let the wider public know that specific fact when they might be debating doing a club race, pure commercial race, or one of these farces of "charity races" where 0% of your entry goes to charity!

Claude Burgundy

Timmaay wrote: »

Clubs are specifically suppose to be non profit, in terms of no single person within the club or like a committee member should benefit directly from the club. Anyways, I can see your distinction between a club and a charity as such in fairness, for any club races that I promote I like to specifically mention that all proceeded go directly back into grassroute athletics, to fund juvenile athletes and club amenities etc etc. Most club athletes take that for granted, however it is zero harm at all to let the wider public know that specific fact when they might be debating doing a club race, pure commercial race, or one of these farces of "charity races" where 0% of your entry goes to charity!

Great post !

On other posts it sad to see that REHAB are harming all charities and i do agree on you don't always see where the money goes BUT i have gone a long way to research the charities i am raising money for and 1. where the money goes and 2. what their admin costs are.

One of the charites employ a lot of staff BUT these staff are nurses who work with cancer patients so their work is very specific and needed.

One of the charities is only open three days a week to reduce admin costs with staff coming in off their own bat the other days to keep it going.

Some charities are a shambles, so are some races:(