# Best days of their lives, most expensive of ours

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/09/08/best-days-their-lives-most-expensive-ours/
- Published: 2009-09-08T19:33:19+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

It’s started already. And we are only a few weeks into the school year here in Scotland:
you lucky southerners might just have a few weeks’ more respite….

 

So far I have received two different requests to raise funds (I like to think of
them as guilt trip treatises) for the wee man’s school. And there’s still the book
fair, the ubiquitous race night and the all important Christmas fair to come. The
latter is a particular favourite, for not only will I be expected to supply donations–
homemade apricot chutney and ginger loaves I’ll have you know – but I’ll also be
invited to pay to get in, then spend a small fortune buying up all my own donated
goods.

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Last year I worked out that between donations of goods and cash, I gave in the region
of 150 pounds to the local school. Which frankly was money that could have – and
perhaps should have – gone to other more deserving good causes.

 

And it’s not just schools – everyone is trying to raise money from the local community
these days. I could spend every Saturday from October to December at some sort of
Christmas fair eating my body weight in mince pies.

 

The question is – does such extremely local fundraising hinder or benefit the fundraising
efforts of bigger charities and causes? Particularly in such financially straitened
times, does it lead to fewer or more donations? And should we care that genuine 
bona fide charities are increasingly finding themselves competing for people’s hard
earned cash with publicly and taxpayer funded services and activities?

 

 * **[Yellow Moon raises £2.9 million in eight years](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/09/09/yellow-moon-raises-29m-eight-years/)**(
   9 September 2009)
 * **[Epilepsy Action fundraise around National Tea Break](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/09/30/epilepsy-action-fundraise-around-national-tea-break/)**(
   30 September 2009)
 * **[Sign the petition to No 10!](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/10/28/sign-petition-no-10/)**(
   28 October 2009)