Donations, Websites, PR Companies

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

OK, So I try burning my boat to the waterline, I try blowing myself up, I try suffocation from toxic fumes, I try splitting my head open with a large engine room hatch, I try scarring myself for life by trying to get two large batteries to explode in my face and I haven't yet had one damn cent. What does a guy have to do around here to earn this so called "donation"?!?!?! ;-) :-)

You need to film all these events, and send them into "funniest home videos". You could make a fortune.

[S/V Elusive]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

You need to film all these events, and send them into "funniest home videos". You could make a fortune.

Yeah Wheels ... re-enact those for the video ... NO NO NO NO ... geeeeeesh ... Just kidding.

Here's a donation for you Wheels ... next time you are in California, come collect .. AND, I'll buy you a beer!

[ssullivan]

And another case in point. Check out how much of this trip has been sponsored and supported by donations:

N.Y. duo sets sail on 1,000-day cruise - Yahoo! News

Is anyone else just getting sick of these people, or is it just me? I mean I would never go for sponsorship for another reason... I wouldn't want to have to answer to all my "bosses" who donated. But this is getting a little out of hand.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

And another case in point. Check out how much of this trip has been sponsored and supported by donations:

N.Y. duo sets sail on 1,000-day cruise - Yahoo! News

Is anyone else just getting sick of these people, or is it just me? I mean I would never go for sponsorship for another reason... I wouldn't want to have to answer to all my "bosses" who donated. But this is getting a little out of hand.

"55-year-old Reid Stowe and his 23-year-old girlfriend, Soanya Ahmad"

1000 Nights? - I wonder whether he thought of this voyage before or after the 23 year old girlfreind turned up on the scene

Fair play to him .........but I would be very very surprised if they make it to the end of the 1000 days..........

[benjiwoodboat]

This thread cracks me up and I think its a great point Sean... When we finally meet up -- let's work on a plan for a new site

[bvimatelot]

Sean - I sort of tried to tie in this thread with the current Donna Lange thread - but no-body sparked....oh well. But, in fact, is there anything really different?

At the end of the day, I suppose, some people find it boring and unnecessary and just prefer to get on with their sailing in their own way and therefore will not contribute (that's my and I suspect your, position); Others find it "inspiring" and will therefore feel like contributing. Who is to say what's right? And does it really matter? After all, we're all in the same boat and end up dead very much longer than we are alive........

Peace to all, Tony

[AdamY]

My .02 on this is that as a cruiser who maintains a website I am providing an entertainment service.

I have had many friends and readers of the site ask me why I dont have a paypal link so they can donate to our cause. I tell them it is because we are cruising self-sufficiently and our kitty remains viable. And when our kitty dries up we'll go home and work.

I dont think cruising is a neccesity, it is a luxury, and therefore I dont expect anybody else to pay to bail us out. Heck food and water are neccesities and I never expected anyone to give me that either.

That said, if we hit that point when we are going to come home to work due to kitty failure I will put up a donation link and state that it exist for anyone who wishes to pay for continued content. When we go home to work the web page will stop for a period of time and I see nothing morally questionable with offering readers the option to pay to delay the day that the updates cease. IMO this is payment for a service rendered.

In any case, since our plan is to "commuter cruise" we should be pretty sustainable. Run out of money, get a job and make some more. I dont think anybody is making money solely off of donations and another thing to keep in mind is that there are people who will never get to go cruising and like to feel like they are a part of a cruise by donating to it. I also see nothing wrong with that. I also tend to be a judgmental person (working on remedying that) so I understand where it is coming from.

Another reason I have no paypal link up on the site is I think it is ineffectiive. When it lives there perpetually it is white noise. If we say "okay we're going home next month if you want us not to here is the link" then it will get more attention.

There it is, my .02 donation.

[CSY Man]

"I'm curious... how many of us on this board are "accepting donations" right now? "

I am...Loud and Clear.

Don't be shy here guys, send donations to CSY Man's beer fund...The more the better. Have PayPal, ready to roll, keep it flowing.

[little boat]

i went to bristol for donna's welcoming event and had a wonderful time. donna was overwhelmed with all the awards presented her and the sailors who support her. she wanted to post here and thank everyone for their good wishes; she could log on, but somehow not post; she says she will work on it when she's emptied her computer a bit and has more time to figure out cyberland... here's a couple of pictures i took; d with her mother and pat henry.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by AdamY

My .02 on this is that as a cruiser who maintains a website I am providing an entertainment service.

I have had many friends and readers of the site ask me why I dont have a paypal link so they can donate to our cause. I tell them it is because we are cruising self-sufficiently and our kitty remains viable. And when our kitty dries up we'll go home and work.

I dont think cruising is a neccesity, it is a luxury, and therefore I dont expect anybody else to pay to bail us out. Heck food and water are neccesities and I never expected anyone to give me that either.

That said, if we hit that point when we are going to come home to work due to kitty failure I will put up a donation link and state that it exist for anyone who wishes to pay for continued content. When we go home to work the web page will stop for a period of time and I see nothing morally questionable with offering readers the option to pay to delay the day that the updates cease. IMO this is payment for a service rendered.

In any case, since our plan is to "commuter cruise" we should be pretty sustainable. Run out of money, get a job and make some more. I dont think anybody is making money solely off of donations and another thing to keep in mind is that there are people who will never get to go cruising and like to feel like they are a part of a cruise by donating to it. I also see nothing wrong with that. I also tend to be a judgmental person (working on remedying that) so I understand where it is coming from.

Another reason I have no paypal link up on the site is I think it is ineffectiive. When it lives there perpetually it is white noise. If we say "okay we're going home next month if you want us not to here is the link" then it will get more attention.

There it is, my .02 donation.

Hey Adam,

Thanks for that post. I do agree with you in principle. Heck, I think I might agree with you 100%. Yes, in fact I do agree 100%. Nothing wrong with that.

I think the issue lies elsewhere... apart from the sailors themselves.

Possibly the issue is one of the donor, rather than the recipient. Everyone is free to donate to anyone they wish. However, those who are donating to "needy" yachtsmen (and women) seem to have missed out on something somewhere along the way. They have been so spoiled in life as to think that any of us living on our boats could in any way be "needy." Needy people have no food, have children to support on a WalMart income, no home, are getting killed in foreign countries, etc... etc...

I find it utterly disgusting to see people who "have" donating to others who also "have", which leaving the "have-not's" to die. Yes, to die. Many do.

This is yet another huge defect in our western society (not that there are any better societies). The suffering, death and hardship others have is of so little concern to the "haves" that they brush it off, scoffing at the less fortunate, blaming them for their situations.

I mean look at Iraq. Does anyone stop to think about what it would be like to actually live there? I doubt many do. We (as Americans anyway) are conditioned to just brush off their lives as insignificant, while we press on with our own problems, like helping impovershed sailors out. See where this is all so wrong?

What happened to those ideals we found in the 60's? Did everyone turn their backs on them in favor of the greed?

[markpj23]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

...What happened to those ideals we found in the 60's? Did everyone turn their backs on them in favor of the greed?

There are those who abuse people's charity... and that for me is reason to be suspicious of those who solicit. Sad but a fact of life.

How many local news stories must we watch about the guy who spends all day panhandling with a cardboard sign at a busy intersection... only to quit for the day, walk 2 blocks and get into his shiny new SUV?

How many telephone solicitors for the "Police Officers / Firefighters 'xxx' society" actually provide more than 20% of their collections to the group(s) for which they solicit?

The ideals are still alive... it's just that folks are much more cynical due to all the abuse of charity. Damn shame.....

[AdamY]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Hey Adam,

I find it utterly disgusting to see people who "have" donating to others who also "have", which leaving the "have-not's" to die. Yes, to die. Many do.

Thanks for the kind words, I agree with your well meaning sentiment but you are on a slippery slope. I mean the casting stones kind of slope. Everybody could do more to help the truly needy. Any one of us could do more good selling our boats, moving to some impoverished west african country and giving all of our time and skills to saving the world. Most of us do not and that doesnt speak to some moral defect within us.

I understand where you are coming from and I totally agree with the principle that nobody cruising is needy. Many people out here forget that but we try to help wherever we can.

Also, we tend to relate to the people who are like us so we're far more likely to give some money to some cruiser than we are to spend $250 to put some young mexican child through a year of school. Again, not an indictment of our morals just the way things are.

Ghandi said to be the change you want to see in the world and I think he was also implying that to verbally indict the world doesnt do anybody any good.

One could easily say the very act of going cruising is morally corrupt since we arent contributing to society and are being self absorbed wasters of the worlds resources.

Anyway, just wanted to lighten the thread up a notch. We're all imperfect. ;-)

Originally Posted by ssullivan

I mean look at Iraq.

Lets not and keep the thread on track and civil ;-)

Cheers,

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

Hey Adam,

Thanks for that post. I do agree with you in principle. Heck, I think I might agree with you 100%. Yes, in fact I do agree 100%. Nothing wrong with that.

I think the issue lies elsewhere... apart from the sailors themselves.

Possibly the issue is one of the donor, rather than the recipient. Everyone is free to donate to anyone they wish. However, those who are donating to "needy" yachtsmen (and women) seem to have missed out on something somewhere along the way. They have been so spoiled in life as to think that any of us living on our boats could in any way be "needy." Needy people have no food, have children to support on a WalMart income, no home, are getting killed in foreign countries, etc... etc...

I find it utterly disgusting to see people who "have" donating to others who also "have", which leaving the "have-not's" to die. Yes, to die. Many do.

This is yet another huge defect in our western society (not that there are any better societies). The suffering, death and hardship others have is of so little concern to the "haves" that they brush it off, scoffing at the less fortunate, blaming them for their situations.

I mean look at Iraq. Does anyone stop to think about what it would be like to actually live there? I doubt many do. We (as Americans anyway) are conditioned to just brush off their lives as insignificant, while we press on with our own problems, like helping impovershed sailors out. See where this is all so wrong?

What happened to those ideals we found in the 60's? Did everyone turn their backs on them in favor of the greed?

Huzzah! I made a similar post over my blog. Rebel Heart - The boat and her crew - Blog - how sad it is to be a white middle class yachtie

But seriously.. how about Doctors Without Borders? MSF-USA: Make a Donation These are people, where 85% of the money goes directly to medical supplies or delivering those supplies, to people who are dying all over the world. It is shameful, no matter how slice it, that $5,000 was donated to Bumfuzzle's wealthy-as-hell crew to jaunt around the world, rather than save lives.

I find it difficult to spend my own money so openly on yachts. Taking "donations" is shockingly out of touch.

[RichT]

[QUOTE=markpj23]There are those who abuse people's charity... and that for me is reason to be suspicious of those who solicit. Sad but a fact of life.

The ideals are still alive... it's just that folks are much more cynical due to all the abuse of charity. Damn shame.....

Mark, Rebel, et al,
As one who grew up in the 60s/70s, I often ask the same question "what the h*** happened to the ideals we had back then. We had dreams of making this a better world, we distrusted everyone over 30, and we were "rebels". Now we are the ones saying the same things our parents used to, "young people today, etc."

But I can relate to Mark's cynicism. The first year I came to Califunny, my biker "bros" talked me into doing the "Love Ride", in spite of the fact that I nearly choked handing the lady my $55. But, it was "for charity, and a good cause", right, so I bit the bullet. Funny thing about Cali, they require not for profit organizations to provide a financial statement, which I received with my admission ticket and folder. As part of the promotion for the event, they kept saying how the ride had raised almost a million dollars for charity the previous year. Wow, great...

When I got home and read the statement, here is what I found. They "took in" just under a million bucks, around 985K if I remember correctly. However, they "spent" over 850K just putting on the run, for bands, police escorts, etc. So, they actually only donated around $120,00 to charity.....12 % ????

So, this year, I told my current lady friend I would not go on the ride as a matter of principle, I thought she was going to have kittens...she just did not see what the big deal was. She is a bit of a princess....

Every year I donate a substantial sum to a mission house in Omaha Neb., where I used to live, for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the needy and homeless. They say they can feed 10 people for around $13, because the food is mostly donated, and the servers and staff are all VOLUNTEERS, NO ONE gets paid. To me, this is much more deserving than a bunch of yuppy, hog riding show offs, who only ride to be seen, not because they are doing anyone any real good....

I'll get off the soapbox now, and if anyone really wants to contribute to my sailing kitty, make the check out to the Susan G. Kolman Cancer Foundation, and you can forget the paypal, and send it directly to them....

Here's to the memories......

Rich

[Boracay]

Surely we can differentiate between charity, donation and sponsorship.

Virtually all sport and outdoor activities involve some sort of sponsorship. It would not be possible to run them otherwise.

What's wrong with putting together a package which provides a return to a sponsor.

I'm thinking those who might never cruise but enjoy living the dream vicariously. (They don't have to be up to their armpits in epoxy.)

Or those companies that can get an image boost by sponsoring a cruiser.

Can we think of some companies/organisations that need us?