Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
***** Santas Strike Force 2015!!! ***** BEASTY BONUS MODE!! (Details in OP)
Options
Comments
-
Well a couple of independent people ARE involved in deciding where the money goes... and so far every admissible charity suggested here by the general public (eg: the children's arthritis ward in Crumlin just this year) has been sanctioned. I'm actually SHORT of admissible charities to support usually. In addition there is the oversight committee who I mail and who have input... I don't actually know many of them in person, I think I've met some of the mods once at a beers and I met Beasty once in a corridor
... These are some of the biggest donators to the cause and they are content about where the money goes.
On the other hand, I take your point about being "seen" to be transparent and I've been working towards getting presentable informal accounts done, as much for my own protection as anything else. I'll take that on board this year as something that needs doing. I'm not sure about publishing them publically but they should at least be available on request and sent to the steering group formally. I'll get that sorted.
Fair enough?
Sounds like a good plan to me.
It might be a good idea to update the following from the webpage to incorporate the changes:How do we know we can trust you
I guess in short, you dont. But I have a long track record of doing crazy stuff for kids charities and all the SSF people on Boards.ie trust me implicitly. You can check later with the targets if you like! (Temple Street, Crumlin and also Barretstown have been hit in the past two years...
That's where I ended up when looking for the info so that's likely where most other people will end up too. And I think maybe it could be reworked a bit - be a bit more concrete. If that mentioned that a number of independent people gave the okay on where the money went and that accounts were available on request I'd never have asked the question. Hope you don't mind the suggestion.
As I've said it was never about criticising yourself or SSF. Just a question which I'm sure many people here will be asking about charities for the foreseeable future. Have donated in the past and will be happy to do so again in the future.0 -
Join Date:Posts: 29920
Nope, I don't take it personally at all, in fact I'm happy to explain. The whole mailing list thing was set up by me because one day I just sat there thinking "jesus, people REALLY trust me... maybe *no one* should be trusted this much!" and I sorta force-volunteered the people on that list as an over-sight committee.
I'll change the website (it needs a remake anyway) and put in some updated info about our processes.
You're not wrong about accountability, its a good thing.0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Join Date:Posts: 29920
Actually.... I have been thinking about this. The reason I didn't make the account completely public is because I felt people might freak at the horrendously inefficient state of most charities in Ireland but maybe its good that you know. Let me explain...
We collect monies at Xmas but xmas is a REALLY BAD time for charities to deal with us and also pretty bad for me to deal with them. Everything is cheaper in the Jan sales so I wait until then and typically do one symbolic hit at xmas. Most charities don't operate over the holidays and the ones that do, do so because they are collecting. That makes it bad timing for us to rock up and take up their time sorting out a "not just cash in the bucket" donation, which is BY FAR the sort of donation they prefer. (I've been asked outright a few times by charities if they could just have the money and I've always refused... some then haven't bothered continuing contact I have to tell you).
So, we kick off in Jan really, and it goes pretty much 8 months or so before I can execute on all of the projects. This is almost exclusively because the charities are slow. And I'm being kind there when I say "slow". Some are beyond incompetent. The bigger the charity, the more bureaucratic they are and for them, I pretty much just bypass their offices and go directly to the "in the field" people. These are the people I really want to deal with anyway, they know best what would really make a difference and they are SUPER keen to get their hands on the goods they need (as soon as they get their heads around the idea of "just tell me and I'll go buy it for you". )
Other charities like Bumbleance are delayed because we are a small cog in a big endeavour. Their new Bumbleance was delayed being fitted out for example (there are a MILLION additional safety checks before you can turn what is basically a hi-ace into an ambulance). So we ear mark money for them and keep it in the SSF account until they are ready for us.
Some charities simply ignore us, others respond and then when they find out they have to do a modicum of work (just finding out what the field guys would want) we never hear from them again. 3k isn't registering on most of these charity's bottom line, they need 300K to get excited.
The best charities are the ones like Blossom Ireland, its run by 3 mums with kids with special needs and my god they make a little go a long way. They asked us for iPads for example, then they set about using them to get the kids to make films with them and play games against each other, educational uses and all sorts of stuff. They were so so ecstatic when we delivered the goods it was heart melting.
The exception to the "avoid the big ones" rules are Barretstown because wow are they efficient. I have a very good contact in there who is a group leader and knows exactly what they could do with. She keeps me in her back pocket for those times she needs something special which is exactly what we are here for. Barretstown is a machine, a machine which manufactures fun, but a machine none the less. They some how manage to raise 2M a year while at the same time really maintaining the ground view and never taking anything for granted.
Rehab... I have a contact on the ground there and I go straight to the front lines. I know they have a bad rep now but unless their head office is going to confiscate rocking chairs from their houses for autistic kids, we're safe. That's one of the best things about this, our donations cant be put in someones arse pocket. Unless that person really really wants a rubber dinosaur in their back pocket. I dunno, some people are weird that way.
But this stuff is tricky. Its slow and its a pain and frankly some of the charities need a kick in the backside. A the time of writing I still have 7k ish left in the account. Now I've ear marked at least some of that for a charity that I have had to chase a few times. I cant spend it until I either hear from them, or I abandon them and find a new target. This means that the money sits in the account while these people twiddle their thumbs. I poke them, they respond and tell me they will get me the details... nothing happens. I poke them again, rinse and repeat. Its frustrating and the only positive is that at least we earn some interest on the money (which accrues into our SSF account).
No one is ever going to write back and say "free stuff? nah, we'll pass" so I am faced with a choice: Axe them and move on (which risks them coming back late to find Santa is broke now) or keep hanging on while they twiddle.
When people donate to SSF , they want to hear the good news. They want to feel like they did good and see the fruits of their donation. They don't want to hear the logistics I have to go through (and we haven't even discussed the trials and tribulations of "delivery" here)
So before I have kinda drawn a veil over that but perhaps I shouldn't. I do think that if you go on a ferris wheel, you don't necessarily want to know how its oiled and serviced.0 -
Guys I want to gauge interest (already spoke with DeV about it) on using some of SSF funds to help Féileacáin.
Féileacáin are the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death association of Ireland.
Up until two people very close to me lost babies at birth this year, I had absolutely no idea the number of parents who lost children in this way.
Féileacáin supply much needed support to these bereaved parents in many many ways, the way I think that SSF can help though, is by donating blankets/teddy bears/cameras to put inside memory boxes given to parents while they are still in hospital so that they can create some special moments with their little infant.
500 of these memory boxes were given to parents last year, that's 500 little babies who never made it home after birth. It would be so great if SSF could help keep these boxes going.
Would it be something you guys would be happy to see your money go toward?0 -
Story Bud? wrote: »Guys I want to gauge interest (already spoke with DeV about it) on using some of SSF funds to help Féileacáin.
Féileacáin are the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death association of Ireland.
Up until two people very close to me lost babies at birth this year, I had absolutely no idea the number of parents who lost children in this way.
Féileacáin supply much needed support to these bereaved parents in many many ways, the way I think that SSF can help though, is by donating blankets/teddy bears/cameras to put inside memory boxes given to parents while they are still in hospital so that they can create some special moments with their little infant.
500 of these memory boxes were given to parents last year, that's 500 little babies who never made it home after birth. It would be so great if SSF could help keep these boxes going.
Would it be something you guys would be happy to see your money go toward?
This gets a huge, huge +1 from me. This charity has helped far too many of my friends. Not only do they provide memory boxes and professional photographers, they also fund raise for cuddle cots, which allows parents to keep their much wanted baby next to them for just a few hours longer. Several boardsie friend have done a huge amount of fundraising for them.
They're an amazing charity.0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
Actually.... I have been thinking about this. The reason I didn't make the account completely public is because I felt people might freak at the horrendously inefficient state of most charities in Ireland but maybe its good that you know. Let me explain...
I wasn't expecting to post on this thread again until my next donation but I really don't see how any of that matters. I don't think anybody would really care if there is a balance left at the end of the year. The reason just doesn't add up imo.
End of Year - 2014
Balance as of 1/1/14: €15,054
Donations in 2014: €16,023
Spend:
Charity A: €890 (3 Playstations + extra controllers)
Charity B: €3,000 (monetary donation)
Charity C: €1,200 (clothing - 18 uniforms)
Charity
€7,000 (mini-bus)
Charity E: €500 (25 specialised eye tests for children)
Charity F: €895 (40" tv)
Charity G: €1,200 (medical equipment - wheelchair accessories)
Charity H: €300 (food & drinks - Christmas party)
Charity I: €1,800 (monetary donation - 65 food parcels)
Total 2014 Donations: €16,785
End of Year Balance: €14,292
Surely even something as simple and basic as that would not only help with accountability but also make for fantastic and rewarding reading for all those who have donated.
Each donation could even be linked to a very simple blog post on the website. eg:
Charity E
RexMaher from Boards.ie posted on the SSF thread in January last to nominate Charity E as a worthy source for some funding. TrishX, Bob2 and Exxxeell replied and agreed, all having some experience with the charity.
I contacted them in February and got chatting to a lovely woman called Mary. Mary runs the charity with her friend and they raise money for families who can't afford proper eye care for their children. They were absolutely delighted to get the call.
They shortly reported back that each eye test costs €20 and they expect to require 50 in the next 12 months.
Myself, X and X discussed and agreed that we'd be happy to cover half of these expected eye tests and we would be in contact again next year. The charity were absolutely delighted and sent this kind letter:
Dear SSF,
etc etc etc etc etc
" " " " " " " " " " " " " "
" " " " " " " " " " " " " "
Thanks so much to everybody who donated to SSF.
Fondest Regards,
Mary C - Charity E
<photo of happy kids>
Forgetting accountability (I'm done on that and still not doubting anybody)- I think there could be a fair bit of improvement in clarity on where and what the money is for - just some very basic reading for those considering donating and those who have already donated. I'm not saying you don't do it, I know a lot gets posted in here. But try and find it!
That shabby example I posted took 5-10 minutes. I'd love to hear how making something like this or something similar wouldn't be a good idea.
(And glad to see my previous bump brought a donation or two! As I say I will be donating again too).0 -
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Lady is a tramp wrote: »NILMDTS might be one to consider as well as Feilichean ... they do photoshoots of stillborn babies with the parents etc. Perhaps the money could be used for camera equipment etc?
They work directly with Feilacain
http://www.feileacain.ie/now-i-lay-me-down-to-sleep-photographers/
Wonderful group of people.0 -
-
In case anyone who follows this thread missed this posted in its own thread it is worth a look
And a bit of a reminder that we can start saving to donate for this year
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=20576588230 -
-
-
Advertisement