MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you ask for the sponsorship money back?

stogiebear

I would feel cheated so yes, I would want my money back.

Charities in the UK are a scam anyway, so I wouldn't have done it in the first place.

Still - it makes the idiots with extra cash feel good about themselves so I suppose it's harmless.

Bertiewoo

I'd ask for some of the donation back - if they only completed half the course then I'd ask for half my donation.
However, I'd then pass this onto the charity directly so they didn't miss out so they would actually get extra as mine had already been given before the race and this way the person who'd not completed the event would effectively be fined.
If though the runner had been ill and really couldn't compete I'd let it go and say nothing.
By letting people off the hook they get away with this kind of behaviour and will no doubt try it again with a new lot of sponsors another time. There can be a lot of competition between people all looking for sponsors from the same office / club and I think this person would be cheating the other runners as well as me if I turned a blind eye

Taffybiker

No, I regard a sponsorship for charity to be the same as a charitable donation. The charity can keep the money I paid, but I would be asking my "friend" for direct reimbursement.

geri1965_2

gibby wrote: »

I wouldnt throw my money away to Cancer research in the first place

they admitted last year that they have got no further forward and that 99% of their research is a waste of time

donating to cancer research means you give to very highly paid scientists to test on animals - often without care of pain killers
they do this massively, cats, dogs, rabbits, primates etc

I totally agree with you Gibby. I upset one of the women at work last year when she asked me to sponsor her in the Race for Life and I refused because I don't agree with testing on animals. I think the cancer research industry is one big money making exercise with no proven successes that I am aware of. I do however contribute to local cancer hospices.

Anyway, back to the thread - no I wouldn't ask for my money back, if it was going to a charity I agreed with in the first place. I would give the friend a bit of a ribbing though!

[Deleted User]

No way would I ask for the money back. Charity is charity and they still ran 1/2 the marathon - that's still an achievement. I have worked along side Cancer research UK sponsored PhD students and I do not think their work is a waste of time.

Most biological scientific research does not result in a direct medical benefit to people immediately but given time, the cumulation of research knowledge can

cypher915

I agree with previous posts and would not ask for my money back. I would NOT support my friend in the future and would make them painfully aware that I felt they had not fulfilled their end of the bargain.

wardmw

No. If I sponsored them per mile then I would pay them that much only, but since I sponsored a lump sum to do the run and they at least tried then let it go. The money has gone to charity after all. If you have budgeted well enough that you can sponsor someone £50 for charity then you should be prepared to shell out that much to the charity in question.


|\/|artin

ryandj

I would let Cancer Research keep the money but would insist that the runner matched my donation!

gibby wrote: »

I wouldnt throw my money away to Cancer research in the first place

they admitted last year that they have got no further forward and that 99% of their research is a waste of time

As a research scientist myself (not in cancer but in pharmaceuticals) i think this is slightly misleading. Most scientific research ends in failed experiments, but that is not to say it is a waste of time - mistakes and what does not work can be learned from and used in future research so it is not a waste of time, it all contributes to the learnings and future cures.

There is nothing wrong with paying 'highly paid researh scientists' - and I am not too sure what you count as highly paid, as compared to bankers/ investers which is arguably less skillful and less beneficial than cancer research- scientists get paid less!

suzithefloozy

I am one of these so called 'highly paid scientists'.

I have spent 8 years doing a BSc and then a PhD. After my PhD finishes I am looking at a salary of £25k per year. Do you think this is highly paid? My husband earns more as a lorry driver and I'm sure he didn't have to study for 8 years to learn to do that.

Not all of us test on animals either. I personally wouldn't, probably for similar reasons to most people. However, I take paracetamols when I have a headache and antibiotics when I get an infection, all of which have been tested on animals, so I don't get on my high horse about it. That would be a bit hypocritical?

Just goes to show people who know sweet FA about a subject are still willing to give their opinion on it.

I just hope those people never need to use the benefit of our 'waste of time' research.

As for the question asked, no I wouldn't ask for it back (but I probably wouldn't have been able to afford to give as much as £50 in the first place even though I am so 'highly paid') as it's for a charity and I would have already budgeted for it.

The knowledge that my friend was in pain and discomfort after a night out drinking and then trying to run a long race would be enough. They would obv. get the mickey taken out of them for a long time to come too!

lil_me

If I donated to a charity via sponsorship it would be because I wanted to donate rather than just because the person was sponsored. I would therefore not ask for the money back however I think the suggestion of the person making an additional donation, maybe what a night out costs, would be a good idea.