Charity Events - A modest proposal for those road cyclists charitable at heart, but not in action.

Hey folks, sorry about this serious thread. And please excuse any holier-than-thou vibes you get from this thread. I'm writing this with the best of intentions and in the hopes that it makes road biking a more satisfying hobby to us all while helping those in much worse situations than us.

If you are like me, you are well-intentioned when it comes to charitable giving, but you never actually give anything, except a pittance here and there in those uncomfortable moments when you're put on the spot (a homeless person on the street, a friend doing a fun-run, or something of that sort). And if you are like me, you probably spend thousands of dollars a year on cycling gear and trips. And if you are really like me, you sometimes feel guilty about the ratio of money donated to charity to money spent on cycling. (In my case, the ratio is something like $0:$3,000 this year.) I've been wondering how to assuage this sense of guilt, and I think I've got it figured out.

My plan is to donate $100 for every $1,000 I spend on cycling purchases. It's not a lot -- I had originally planned on $200:1000 -- but it's a start. I think there's something very tidy about tying charitable giving to hobby spending.

If you feel the same way, you may find yourself wondering which organization is deserving of your hard-earned cash. This question can be fatal to the efforts of the well-intentioned but lazy donor, particularly now, when a number of charitable organizations are allegedly inefficient or corrupt.

May I suggest the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx). Everything I've heard about them leads me to believe that they will put your money to good use. If you have other organizations that you think are worthwhile, or if you know something I don't know about the Gate Foundation, please feel free to post it up.

Thanks for reading this.

Or, you can do at least an annual fundraiser ride and hit a goal of $1000 for the years fundraising, which by your proposed ratio = $10,000 for guilt free cycling purchases. :p

I vote #2.

Works for me every year, fundraising for the American Diabetes Association. :)

I figure at least 10% of the cost of my new Zipps will go out into the Indiana economy, helping the midwest when it needs it most. Done.

Or, you can do at least an annual fundraiser ride and hit a goal of $1000 for the years fundraising, which by your proposed ratio = $10,000 for guilt free cycling purchases. :p

Do you donate more than the sign-up fee yourself? I ask because I feel like I'd have a pretty hard time asking people to donate money to a cause that I didn't donate to myself.

Give blood. No amount of cash will help someone in need of blood. It only costs you an hour or so, and you get a drink and cookies afterwards !!

I figure at least 10% of the cost of my new Zipps will go out into the Indiana economy, helping the midwest when it needs it most. Done.

This is a very good reason (as if I needed another one) for my next bike to be a Crumpton, Moots, or Parlee. :thumb:

Donate the value of all freebie stuff from sponsors and all winnings from races.

That way you have to get really good and the better you get the more charity gets. So that way buying zipp wheels is really contributing to charity cause it will help you win. Then when zipp gives you free wheels you can donate the value. Its a win-win

Please consider Soaring Wings Ranch (http://www.soaringwingsranch.com) as a potential organization to which you may donate. It's a Christian home for Arkansas children who are in DHS care and don't have the hope of being reunified with their families. It's purpose is not transitional placement but to provide a permanent home...they provide cars for the older kids, help them get jobs, assist with college expenses, all the kids participate in extracurricular activities or sports, etc.

The best thing about the ranch is that they operate 100% debt free ($2000/month/child) through funds donated by private donors. Since its inception they've not borrowed one red cent. This allows you to be certain that your money is going directly to the care of those kids rather than throwing it into an interest pit.

Do you donate more than the sign-up fee yourself? I ask because I feel like I'd have a pretty hard time asking people to donate money to a cause that I didn't donate to myself.

Yes, I donate my own funds, but don't count them toward the fundraising total goal for the year, and I donate a couple hundred hours or so a year as well.

Can't we just eat the poor Irish bairns?

And if you are really like me, you sometimes feel guilty about the ratio of money donated to charity to money spent on cycling.


Not to bust your chops, but why would I. I work hard for my money.

I don't feel guilty at all. Nada. And I'd never give money to one of those people with the cardboard signs . . . if they really want to work, they could get out there and hustle. Nope, it's more profitable to panhandle.

Gates? I've already given them more than my fair share for operating systems that crash. They can afford to donate all they want without my help.

Why Bill Gates? Local food bank can use your help. A lot of kids depend on school lunches and you can during vacation season pack a bag for the kids to eat.

My wife has a not for profit org and she works with kids with cerebral palsy, autism etc by giving horse rides, They actually call it hippotheraphy once an OT is present. We donate as much as 2K a year from our own pocket to different causes and do a lot of fund raising. I worked for an NGO just after college and basically worked for free for a while. Yeah good idea but you might be hurting the bike industry.

Blood is good too. I get my wheezy on a couple times a year. Wish they take fat as welll and I get free lipo in the process.

Whoah! 3k on cycling stuff a year! Pfft, I spend about 200 and that includes lots of patches!

Not to bust your chops, but why would I. I work hard for my money.


I don't feel guilty at all. Nada. And I'd never give money to one of those people with the cardboard signs . . . if they really want to work, they could get out there and hustle. Nope, it's more profitable to panhandle.

Gates? I've already given them more than my fair share for operating systems that crash. They can afford to donate all they want without my help.

Not to bust your chops, but YOU are the problem.

If I only gave 10% of my cycling spend I wouldn't be giving nearly enough.

Oh and by the way ImReal, I work hard for my money too, I don't give out of a sense of guilt.

not that i feel cycling has ANYTHING to do with charity (i don't) but... a percentage of what I paid for my team kit, plus all of my winnings go to a good cause.

my conscience is clear.

Moved to Charity Events

can't we just eat the poor irish bairns?


:lol:

Moved to Charity Events

This was a poor moderation decision in my opinion, because my post was an appeal to the very sorts of people (including myself) who did not know and did not care that there is a charity events sub-forum.

This was a poor moderation decision in my opinion, because my post was an appeal to the very sorts of people (including myself) who did not know and did not care that there is a charity events sub-forum.

I left a one week redirect.

Perhaps if you were a mod you could have contributed to the decision and perhaps prevented us from our apparently poor performance. I suck. Thanks for volunteering.

I left a one week redirect.

Perhaps if you were a mod you could have contributed to the decision and perhaps prevented us from our apparently poor performance. I suck. Thanks for volunteering.

I would be happy to help out.

Give money if you feel like it. Give time if you actually care.

I ride at a place where plenty of familes ride with their kids on bicycles. When ever I see a kid or a family with a bike problem, I stop and try and help. Most of the time I put a chain back on in a minute, and hopefully change their view of Lycra clad cyclists from a-holes to nice guys. Little things like that can help counter the public view of us as red light running, road hogging, death wish lunatics

Not to bust your chops, but YOU are the problem.

Oh, please, DO explain...

Not to bust your chops, but why would I. I work hard for my money.

Why are you trolling this thread?

This thread is not about debating the merits of charitable giving.

When ever I see a kid or a family with a bike problem, I stop and try and help. Most of the time I put a chain back on in a minute, and hopefully change their view of Lycra clad cyclists from a-holes to nice guys. Little things like that can help counter the public view of us as red light running, road hogging, death wish lunatics
:thumb::thumb: Way to go Merlin55 - Not only an exceptional idea, but a case of Karma hedging. Sooner or later everyone on a bike has some type of problem. If you don't stop and help, how can you hope someone will help you when it's your turn to need that help.


Give blood. No amount of cash will help someone in need of blood. It only costs you an hour or so, and you get a drink and cookies afterwards !!
:thumb::thumb: Homebrew - another exceptional idea. I don't want to think of how often cycling accident victims need this. Comes to me same as with providing help, if you don't give, how can you ask for any when you need it?

Regarding the rest of the string - Between the American Diabetes Association, the MS Society, the Alzheimers Association, the Livestrong Organization, and a few other smaller charity groups, they easily get at least 10% of my cycling budget. If you toss in the couple of hundred of hours spent supporting the the various oraganizations outside of riding in charity rides - I've got no conscience issues.

Everyone has their own favorite charities for their own specific reasons, and I'd hope that 90% or better are really sound cases of need. I know that those I'm willing to supported have a good ratings overall and that's the only thing I'd ask people to check - That the charity they choose to support is a bonafide charity and not a profit center for too many people.

I would be happy to help out.

Duly noted...nice to see someone as dumb as me. :eek: ;)

You could donate 10% of what you spend on cycling to the Exit. Needs To Stop Racing Crits On a Bike Older Than He Is Foundation.



...jus' sayin'.

Thank somebody for not allowing this to go south.

Give blood. No amount of cash will help someone in need of blood. It only costs you an hour or so, and you get a drink and cookies afterwards !!

Every time you donate blood you can save up to 3 lives!! It's a great way to give back, but as for the donating if you do a charity run most of the time you have to raise 250 or 300 to participate so why not say you donate out of pocket 20% each time and in just those two runs you have already donated 110 bucks!

Boom

Scripture says God loves a cheerful giver. If you cannot be cheerful to give, then don't because it's not earning you anything. Treat others as you would be treated, be wise to whom and what you support - because again you maybe hurting more than your helping. If you do not trust an association or individual to wisely handle what you mean to be a gift to those in need, then find one that you do trust.

It is true that there are a lot of scams out there, but at the same time there are a lot of them out there who help people to get back on their feet, pay for medical bills, or make their last moments on earth a happy one. Donating blood is a gift of life, as is signing a donor card; however, for monetary funds it's best to support family first, then others (because your family responsibilities are to make sure they're not a burden on others). If everyone made sure their families had plenty, the world would be in less hurt. And by family I mean immediate & extended family, not just monetary support either.

Also I used to be gullible and help everyone out, but got tired of the BS scams people would pull for gas, booze, or cigarette money - or worse, so if I have the slightest amount of distrust - they can forget about it. I have a sister with 5 kids and a 6th on the way. I'd rather make sure they have enough to eat - makes me happy to help them out because I know how thrifty she runs their budget - none of the vices some of those on the street reek of (and I'm not talking about lack of a bath or shower - to be clear I'm talking about bad habits and addictions they chose to start). Sure they have a lot of kids (and he got snipped again), but they love every one of them and raise each of them to be respectful.

I'm glad to see this thread. There are an infinite number of ways people can contribute to good causes that vary in scale from locally to internationally. My own belief is that, because all but the poorest among us in the U.S. and other wealthy nations enjoy greater wealth and comfort than any people anywhere in the world at any other time in history, we have a duty to help those who are less fortunate. I am not here to pass judgment on anyone who disagrees or to debate the merits of my position. It is simply my own opinion, and I do not think I'm better than anyone else because of it. I only mention it to help explain how I came up with the idea for a fundraiser of my own recently. I give to a variety of charities, either monetarily or by volunteering, but I don't make much money, so unfortunately I don't have much to give. And then I came up with an idea...

I started bicycling mainly for fitness over the summer. One day, while out for a ride in the beautiful Flint Hills of north central Kansas (yes, we actually have hills here), I got to thinking about how I could turn my bicycling into something much bigger than simply my own quest for good health. So, I decided I would ride 500 miles during the month of August and ask people to make a donation to Habitat for Humanity to "sponsor" me. I called it "Pedaling for Humanity." The bike riding obviously didn't have anything to do with Habitat for Humanity, but by doing something that took a lot of effort - and believe me, it takes a lot of effort to ride 500 miles on a 14-year-old entry-level mountain bike - people were more willing to donate than if I had just solicited donations without doing something myself. My initial goal was to raise $1000, but donations poured in from so many people that I quickly raised my goal to $2000. I haven't quite reached that goal but I'm darn close.

Maybe this is a model that others can use to do their own fundraisers. And if you're interested in helping me reach my fundraising goal, or if you just want to read more about my effort, visit the following web page:
http://www.firstgiving.com/pedalingforhumanity

I get absolutely nothing in return, no matter how much money I raise.

I exist. Whatever you take away from it varies from minute to minute. Whether I make you upset or happy you got ME. When I die you got a memory.

This is what you should expect of anybody. If you get more than that, cool.

Charity is a personal choice and it involves belief and trust that you will honestly help. Money is by far the least useful form of charity.

I've paid to ride in plenty of charity rides but now I volunteer.