Raffle build
- Thread starter Tempest
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Death by Uberschall
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I'd buy 5 tickets twice a year if I could. :icon_thumright:
Nando Vallart
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To me it shall be a annual thing
AprioriMark
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I still think that we should have one annually like we have the last two years, but also add a charity build. We could all "buy" tickets to be the one in charge of a build which could be donated to a fundraising auction or ebayed/sold for a straight donation. We could vote on a short list of charities ahead of time and the winner could choose from them. It'd be fun, it would do a little bit of good in the world, and it would showcase our hobby.
-Mark
-Mark
Cagey
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Problem with the charity idea is say we raise $1,500 and build a $1,500 guitar. What's it going to bring on ebay? $900? $1,000? Plus, somebody's gotta build it for nothing. May as well just put out a call for donations to a particular charity. They'd get more money that way, and be able to pay more salaries since that's what most of them do with the money. Only a fraction goes to whatever their pet cause is. Then, who decides which charity is deserving of our support? No matter who you pick, somebody's not going to like it. If we vote on which charity should get blessed, then those who don't agree simply won't contribute. You could pick the charity after the money is collected, but the confusion about where the money's going will also put a major damper on contributions.
Anybody can donate to the charity of their choice anytime they wish. I don't see how we can leverage the community here to improve on that situation. For my part, charity begins at home. I have family and friends who are always in need of something, so when I have disposable income, that's where it goes.
Anybody can donate to the charity of their choice anytime they wish. I don't see how we can leverage the community here to improve on that situation. For my part, charity begins at home. I have family and friends who are always in need of something, so when I have disposable income, that's where it goes.
AprioriMark
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Cagey said:
I agree that it's not the most efficient use of our funds, time, etc. We would never, ever, be able to draw a line about "best," and in my vast experience, giving should be heartfelt and joyful. If this raffle inspires people to give to causes that touch their hearts, great. I still think it would be fun to build a UW community sponsored guitar to benefit people in need, even if it's not a million dollars, 500 bucks is 500 bucks. Even if it cost us a thousand.
I disagree about how money is spent in charities, and it's an educated opinion, since I work with many day in and day out. If you're concerned or interested, here's a great way to see how monies are spent: http://www.charitynavigator.org/ This reason is why I suggested that we could choose a short list of UW-approved charities ahead of time.
I know this discussion is a little uncomfortable, but everything worth doing generally starts out that way.
-Mark
Cagey
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AprioriMark said:
I appreciate and understand what it is you're trying to do, and it's a laudable thing. But, spending $1,000 to give a charity $500 still doesn't make any sense. It's like walking into the charity's office and saying "Here's $500, and tonight I'm going to throw another $500 in the fireplace and pretend I gave you $1,000 all told." That's essentially what we'd be doing if we built a guitar and sold it so we could donate the reciepts If you've got $1,000 to give away, why not just give it to them and let them decide whether they want to set fire to it or use it for something worthwhile?
AprioriMark
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I do charity auctions all the time. Honestly, it's more appreciated, in some ways, than actual cash. The point is that the community is active and involved in a meaningful way that relates to their lives. Most donated items and services sell for less than their value. Also, the phrase, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" comes to mind. We're likely to build a guitar; we're not as likely to raise 1000 bucks, because this a guitar building forum and not a charity forum. We don't need to feel badly that we're not giving every spare penny to starving former Warmoth employees, but we can do what we enjoy and still give back a little.
-Mark
-Mark
Nando Vallart
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If charity is wanted, I think that would be easier/better everybody donate together directly to a institution...perhaps one per year, each year the winner of the raffle chooses a local institution. don't know...
Cagey
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Long story short: If I'm going to donate $10 to a charity, I want the $10 to go to the charity. More to the point, I want the $10 to go to the recipients of the charity's focus, not to the charity. If they're only going to get $5, then that's all I'm going to donate. If all they get is half that, then I'll only donate $2.50. You can see where this is going, mathematically. That's why I don't donate to charities. If somebody needs $10, I'm much more likely to give them $10 than to give somebody else $10 so they can give person in need $5.
rockskate4x
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Could we cap the amount of winnings for the W raffle at, say $1500, and have what is left over go to charity? If this were the case I think we could definitely get more people to participate, because they know their not just burning their money getting someone a nice guitar.
AprioriMark
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Cagey said:
Two things:
1) I honestly won't give it more than a moment's thought if people here don't want to do a charity build, because I'm already active in many productive charitable programs as it is. I'm not here to try to force people into my chosen whatever. I only think it's worth talking about because I see several members who are also active in charitable work. As far as I'm concerned, this site is for building guitars, and if many of us who build guitars want to build one for a charitable donation, cool. If not, also cool.
2) Did you look at the link I posted for you? Here it is again: http://www.charitynavigator.org/. You can easily see where the funds are spent, and many related issues. There are quite a few charities out there who come close to getting the full ten bucks to a person in need. I won't get into a huge discussion here about this sort of thing, but it is a great site with a lot of useful information.
-Mark
Cagey
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I did look at the link; I didn't find it to be very inspirational. If I was interested in supporting a charity, that would be a good resource to use in making a decision as to which one. But, I'm more into helping people.
As to building a guitar in order to give away a fraction of its cost, not going to do it. Perhaps if the recipient got the guitar, such as might happen with something like the "Make a Wish" foundation, I'd think differently about it. But, as it stands, it looks to me like a losing proposition. Warmoth makes some money, some charity makes some money, and somebody who needs help gets some fraction of what we'd all donate.
Not gun doit... wouldn't be prudent...
As to building a guitar in order to give away a fraction of its cost, not going to do it. Perhaps if the recipient got the guitar, such as might happen with something like the "Make a Wish" foundation, I'd think differently about it. But, as it stands, it looks to me like a losing proposition. Warmoth makes some money, some charity makes some money, and somebody who needs help gets some fraction of what we'd all donate.
Not gun doit... wouldn't be prudent...
AprioriMark
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I sorta see where you're coming from. It's hard for me to not point out the fallacies in some of the hyperbolic statements you're making, so I'll let that drop. All I care about is seeing if people are interested in the idea, which it doesn't seem like people are. No skin off my back, I have a Bass VI on the way!
-Mark
-Mark
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