gattm99

A couple weeks ago my Mom called to tell me some guy from Germany was riding across country and camped in our town, she thought I might want to go meet him as she knew I was interested in one day riding across country. It was too late, he was already gone, but I googled the name he'd gave her and came up with nothing. In the process I came across Fat Guy Across AmericaFat Guy Across America At first I was like, wow that is so inspirational a few minutes later I'm like, there's no way that guy rode across America. I started looking him up and not surprisingly the whole thing sounds like a thinly veiled scam.

Just the other night a group of people came through our town called "Riding For World Health." Riding their bikes across America to promote world health. Their catch phrase is "A Ride Across the Nation to Meet Needs Around the World." I couldn't help but laugh when I read that, how does a group of people riding their bikes across america meet needs around the world? They have raised 60,000 dollars though, which is pretty awesome.

Is it cynical of me to think that some of these charity riders are using charity to fund their own personal vacations? I remember when I was in grade school a couple people stopped at our school and gave us short speech about some charity and said they were riding across the country to promote the charity. I can't remember the charity but I did think it was awesome they were riding across country so they at least promoted cycling.

I know that several good charity bike events exist and raise alot of money, but I'm kind of skeptical about the bicycling and charity connection sometimes.

Hugh Morris

People who self-fund their tours and give 100% of money raised to a reputable charity are exempt from this discussion; we're talking about people who take cuts from donations to fund their ride, right? Even if they make that abundantly clear to the people donating- which I don't think is always the case- it still seems a bit like a free, or even paid, vacation for the rider(s).

Using a charity for any kind of personal gain really rubs me the wrong way, preying on unsuspecting kind souls, even if there is a substantial amount raised and donated to a good cause.

It's sort of a win-win for the rider who gets a paid vacation, gets to donate to a charity, and gets people singing their praises. Maybe I'm just cynical though, and I do concede that good can come from even the deception-ridden rides.

...so yeah, I am often skeptical as well.

EDIT: and yes, skeptical of all charities and their liberties with overhead costs.

CliffordK

I think it all depends.

If the people are upfront about it, and do shoestring expenses... then why not.
Couch Surfing, Camping, Budget Food, etc.

On the other hand, if they're staying in the Hilton every night, then the fools are the donors.

It is not uncommon for a charity to have 10%, 20%, 30%, or more "overhead". And CEO's of Non Profits often rake in huge profits.

So, say your bicycle tour raised $60K for charity, and spent $6K in expenses, then their fund raising to charity percent (90%) would rank among the top few charities, unless there is also a second tier of people with their fingers in the pot.

Consider donating to your local church.

82% of your donations get swallowed up by the facilities and salaries, so 18%??? might actually go to charitable causes.
https://holysoup.com/2013/08/06/the-...hurch-budgets/

Rowan

There is a LOT of hard work involved in riding across any country for charity. At least, for the ones who are doing it seriously, and are committed to their causes. If they claim legitimate expenses from the donations, I do not see a problem.

Dave Cutter

Yes. But.... believing that people are motivated by self-interest or being distrustful of human sincerity or integrity. Is normal for most adults (as well as the definition of cynical).

As I understand it.... some (I have no idea of percentage) cyclist enroll through a network of churches. They email, post to Facebook, and/or blog while doing their cycling tour. All the time asking for donations to a church group. In return.... the church group/network finds the cyclists volunteer host family's that allow them camp in the back yard... or use the spare bedroom. Get a hot shower, wash some clothes, eat a hot meal, whatever.

Sometimes the "host family" is a church basement.

The host family's do provide much needed (and free) shelter that make cross country trips much easier and more affordable (for the cyclists). And as I understand it... the hosting family's church gets a portion of the donations (as does the cyclist church). Some (generally foreign 3rd world) church will also be a benefactor of the donations as well. So... if you kicked-in on some recently [on-line] reunited high school buddies cycling donation drive... now you know the mechanics behind the money.

If anyone "profits" from this activity... I wouldn't be able to say who. Brown-nosing up to God is pretty much an expected activity in churches. It's a slick arrangement! But maybe more FUN... than charity... IMHO (like charity can't be fun?!?!?). But not a scam.

Cychologist

I support cycling tours by the Fuller Center. The founder helped start Habitat for Humanity. You ride a bit then take a day off and build. Well organized and certainly not a scam. You give of your time more than your money. Ride Across America | Fuller Center Bike Adventure

Machka 

There are good ones, like the Habitat for Humanity mentioned above, but there are also the ones we see here on BF now and then (not so much recently) where people do want someone to fund their holiday.

One of the differences between the two is how much the person or people are willing to do. Are they willing to build houses, do promotional speeches and organise fund raising dinners, etc. etc. etc. along the way? Or are they just setting up a Go Fund Me under the name of a charity and then having a 3-month holiday?

Another is how much of the money is going to the charity. Is their website set up so that the money goes directly to the charity? Or does it go to them, out of which they snaffle a bunch for their holiday before sending a small handful to the charity?

Another is how well associated they are with the official charitable organisation. Does the American Diabetes Association or the American Cancer Society or whoever actually know about these cyclists? If the cyclists are cycling and working (doing the promotions, organising the dinners, etc. etc.) their way across the country, the charitable organisation should know all about them, and should be working with them.


So those are some of the things to look into.

CliffordK

There is a lot to say for publicity too...

As long as someone actually notices.

A blog on a bike forum might not cut it if one is really trying to get non cyclists interested in alternative commuting.

alan s 

This. If you are using charitable contributions to fund your vacation and are skimming let's say 25% off the top, then the charity is skimming another 25% off that, the amount being actually contributed to those in need is greatly reduced. No idea what the real numbers are, but I've seen charitable scams that yield pennies on the dollar. Here's a recent example.

Wounded Warrior Project accused of wasting donation money - CBS News

saddlesores

add me to cynical. seems to me most of these
charity things are done not to accomplish anything
more than feeling good about oneself.

typical doo-gooder types we get over here like
to visit orphanages full of little yellow and
brown babies, the more pathetic the better.
spend an hour or so taking selfies with
damaged children, so they can go home and
show slides of their adventures (do they still
make slides?) in the basements of their
mcmansions after the tupperware parties.

see, they DID something! they sure did.
they helped support unauthorized "orphanages"
full of kidnapped children, some of whom have
limbs hacked off to increase the pity potential.

not quite the same as a scammer taking
donations to fund his ride to raise awareness
of world hunger. they're not actually hurting anyone,
and the donees do get to feel good about themselves.
still, they're taking limited funds away from the
few real charities.

Miele Man

then there are the bicyclists who are quite willing to post fraudulant documents in order to promote their cause. Cynical/ Maybe but I feel it's more like caveat emptor. I will NOT donate to any bicyclist without checking their credentials with the charity and also checking on the charity itself to be sure they are legitimate and that the vast majority of funds go to good use and not paying people.

Cheers

CliffordK

Maybe I should start a charity to fly me to San Marino, then ride across the entire country of San Marino

I think there is at least one hill in the middle

Machka 

These days you don't need to start a charity for that ... charities are old school. These days it's all about crowdfunding ...

https://www.gofundme.com/


Here ... click on the Travel link ...
https://www.gofundme.com/Travel-Adventure/



With a genuine charity ride, the cycling is secondary to all the work involved in promoting the charity.

Rowan

Maybe I should clarify for those incapable of reading between the lines...

As Machka pointed out, if a cyclist or couiple is/are serious about cycling to raise money for charity, there is extensive planning of the route, and scheduling to be done before the tour even starts. There is liaison with the charity itself, to set up an account where cash can be deposited. Then there is organising venues to make presentations to communities along the way. Let alone turning up the venue after a day or more of riding in what might be inclement weather. Organising any audio-visual presentations, and handing out promotional material that has to be lugged along and kept in good condition, or sent on ahead.

I have read blogs of people who have entered into such arrangements, and often they have been exhausted at the end of their "holiday".

I am talking about the people who are seriously committed to their cause. But then, I am not surprised by the cynicism shown by some here as they display it like a badge of honour in almost every post they make.

As a footnote, Fat Guy Across America has been the subject of five or six threads across various BF sub-forums, and each and every one of them has been shut down because of the divisiveness that they have created. I am sure everyone here can identify some charity ride they can hold up as being a sham of some sort, but like most things, one bad example tars every good one with the same brush. Shame really.

alan s 

You do San Marino, and I'll do Monaco.

Dave Cutter

+1 I have actually been solicited to go-fund 2 weddings and the purchase of a home (by newly weds). I have no problem with church/religion based charity's. Those who wish to give... give.

An old friend of mine took one of the church organized tours. The amount of money he "raised" was tiny (like $300). And only a tiny part of that made it's way to fix the plumbing in a 3rd world church.... somewhere. What difference could it possibly make to me... if his home church in Florida got $12 more than the 3rd world church?

The money all went through a Web Site. He took no cash.... his only benefit was a handful of free nights stays where he didn't pay for a KOA site or crap out in a farmers field. I think what he did was more of a spiritual journey of self-discovery..... than a really long fun recreational ride.

I know a few bucks here and there... all adds up. But as far as this one aspect of cycling and charity... there just isn't enough money there to actually raise to the level of being a scam. Are these things a waste of money? I am pretty sure not one red cent I've ever given to a religion has ever made it's way to God's hands. But then... what would God need with money? The giving is an offering.

DropBarFan

Interesting subject, I think both many smaller & bigger medical charity rides/walks etc are basically scams. I read about a young kid from California who wanted to climb Mt Kilimanjaro: his parents helped him create a foundation to give shoes to African kids which helped him get free equipment from clothing/gear makers. A year later the kid/foundation website was defunct. No mention about how many African kids got shoes. Of course some folks honestly do charity rides for Big Med causes but they're dupes who don't realize that it's all going to corporate profit & the puny monetary contributions mean little.

CliffordK

Not doubt a lot of big charitable organizations do a lot of good, even if they could tighten their belts some.

And, a lot of kids have participated in organized events like bike-a-thons which can be big revenue generators for charities.

As far as individuals, it might be hit or miss. But, perhaps one is best off donating a couch to sleep on, a warm shower, and a hot meal. And, realize that perhaps getting more bikes on the road is better for everyone.

indyfabz

Just a warning: I believe every single BF thread about Fat Guy Across America, and there were several, ended up being locked. I wouldn't go there.

mev

A few thoughts:
1. It is important to be *very* clear to your donors on where the money raised goes. Blurring the line into having folks believe they are assisting a charity when they are funding your vacation seems suspect.
2. Easiest to avoid co-mingling funds. For example, 100% of fund X goes to the charity and 100% of fund Y goes to bike trip expenses.
3. An easy way both you and your donors can see that 100% of fund X is going to the charity is to link directly to their pages (some let you be an affiliate type that tracks totals but otherwise goes directly to them), rather than having to hand over funds.

I've seen folks who have solicited 100% of funds raised goes to a particular cause they care about and the bike trip is one more way to get publicity. I say hats off to them in that case. I've also seen "charity rides" such as the MS150 or American Red Cross type rides where the organization at least has a financial accounting (990T) type and it is known there are expenses for cycling but riders are expected to raise X$ to participate. I've also met some folks on a "bike and build" (https://bikeandbuild.org/) where they raised funds and also contributed sweat equity. In general I don't have a big issue with these types when a substantial portion ends up going to charitable purposes.

Where I see more problems is the small scale folks without clear transparency or funding, perhaps a paypal or gofundme type campaign and there is a blurring of expenses as well as not clear transparency to account for funds raised. I think that causes a problem for the donor (you can't deduct charitable donation if not clearly to a charitable organization) as well as is an easy avenue for fraudulent behavior where the charity becomes the "bait" to solicit funds but really lions share is funding a vacation.

fietsbob

My Drinkin' buddy Writes for the Local Paper.. She gets so many 'Im riding across the country for charity ' people every year ..

the ones just riding for the Halibut are more interesting.

Happy Feet

That's interesting.

I'm doing a tour this fall and could just go as a vacation. It would definitely be easier, few people would know or care about what I did, I could make some posts on FB, write a blog and it would be a distant memory in a season or two having only benefited myself.

This time however, I've decided to attach an awareness campaign to my tour. I work in a facility and industry where the issue exists, along with belonging to several large social networking circles, and people get intrigued when I mention the ride: Believe it or not, not a lot of 50+ people are bicycling like we do. So I could just talk about me.. which I do enough of, or I can talk about the cause. It also gives my residents something to think about (life in care settings can be pretty boring) as they follow along with me through pre planned activities. And, it is teaching/allowing me to be outward focused in a community sense, which is a pretty important basic human desire for some.

There are a lot of positives that can come out of this stuff if one is honest and forthright about it. I'm not really effected by this discussion because I have made it very clear that I am not fundraising in any way, just raising awareness by promoting an existing campaign/idea. There is no downside to what I do (as long as I don't act like an idiot) and even if I only motivate a handful of people to learn more about the subject it is a positive gain overall.

I am finding it to be a very instructive experience in how to leverage an activity towards a larger goal.

fietsbob

Of Course there is a Lot of 'Charities' that Take in the money and spend most of it trying to get more money

and/or administer it to perhaps have a tiny % even trickles out..

Haitian relief Funds built a Hotel, while still leaving the population in squalor and Plastic tarp tents.

CliffordK

One has to realize, of course, that one can't take a few pennies from 300 Million Americans (or the portion that donate) and make 7 billion people on the planet live like kings.

At least the individuals working with organizations like Doctors Without Borders do a lot of good work in the clinics they visit, but they're still not giving unlimited free medical support to everyone.

Some groups like Christian Missionaries both have positives and negatives. Schools & etc are great. I don't like the idea of only supporting those that share their beliefs, and teaching traditional faith is wrong.

jefnvk

Sure does, but I am right there with you, so don't feel too bad. I've never got this idea that someone must be doing some sort of adventure to get people to donate to a cause.

I like how a lot of bike charity events are setup: you pay the registration fee, which covers the cost of the event, and then also have a fundraising minimum that goes to the charity, specifically because it segregates what money is going to the event and which is going to charity.