RNLI spreading their operations overseas?

[Lucky Duck]

I was rather surprised to read an advert on the underground this evening from the RNLI asking for donations for their work in Africa and Asia where apparently 200,000 children die in the water each year.

Maybe I am being rather parochial but that wasn't quite where I had expected my subscriptions to be spent.

 

[sailorman]

Empire building

 

[mainsail1]

Yep, it tells you all about it on their website.

 

[sailorman]

No doubt they will be fund raising in those areas then

 

[pvb]

Like any big business, the RNLI needs to constantly expand to increase its profits.

 

[mainsail1]

Nope. It's supposed to be a charity.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Like any big business, the RNLI needs to constantly expand to increase its profits.

Does it though ?

Thought that the RNLI needed to cover operating costs, development costs, new craft costs .

There are no shareholders, are there ?

 

[pvb]

Nope. It's supposed to be a charity.

It has charity status.

 

[pvb]

Does it though ?

Thought that the RNLI needed to cover operating costs, development costs, new craft costs .

There are no shareholders, are there ?

No shareholders. But the organisation needs to constantly seek new forms of revenue.

 

[mainsail1]

No doubt they will be fund raising in those areas then

They talk about working in areas of poverty. Someone doing a bit of 'blue sky thinking'?

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I thoroughly approve.

RNLI is a very rich charity, spends a lot of money on new equipment - when plenty of countries have nothing like that level of gear, and would dearly love to be able to afford stuff that UK lifeboatmen would consider obselete.

 

[Hydrozoan]

As an Offshore member, I have no problem with "... one day’s worth (or 0.3%) of the RNLI’s total annual spend" being applied to helping low and middle income countries benefit from its experience and expertise (more information here: http://rnli.org/aboutus/International/faqs/Pages/FAQs.aspx). Quite the contrary.

 

[sailorman]

I`ll raise you Life Governor & see you

 

[mike h]

There must be limits on how much dosh RNLI can hold? They've got to spend it and can't just save it up so may as well splash out on the very best gear and why not help out the 3rd world a little.

It'd be a marked improvement if they took on our fire and rescue services too...

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

I too feel that it is right and proper that the RNLI share its expertise elsewhere..... but i'd rather it did it after some new fundraising with a clearer message of its intentions, rather than divert funds that may have been previously raised from people who might not support that kind of activity... however, i'm not going to lose sleep over it.

 

[planteater]

I thoroughly approve.

Me too. They claim to be the"charity that saves lives at sea". Well that's 71% of the Earths surface!

 

[fien397]

As far as im aware the RNLI is not expanding its services outside of the UK and Ireland, what it is continuing to do, as it has done for some years is offer training and advice, to enable emergency services around the world to become much more aware of the dangers around water, especialy swift water/flood rescue. i also believe the rnli is paid by local governments for some of this work.

 

[Bru]

As a skint (aka tightwad) Shoreline member I'll add my teeny voice to the chorus of approval

 

[Hydrozoan]

I`ll raise you Life Governor & see you

I wasn't boasting about the membership, just making clear that I am a member who is happy to see 0.3% or so of his fees and other contributions go in that direction. I appreciate that, as a Life Governor, you have made a greater personal financial commitment (though my wife and I have been members for many years). However, as such you have voting rights at AGMs which enable you to help shape the RNLI's future, and I wonder therefore if you have additional information from AGMs or elsewhere to explain in more detail your view that it's "empire building".

I appreciate that the focus of the RNLI should be - as it is - on the UK and Eire, and I'm not an uncritical admirer of all charities by any means. However, yours seems a harsh judgement upon a move to enable low and middle income countries to benefit from RNLI expertise, given that it is such a small proportion of income, does not involve overseas operations, and does not involve UK government money.

 

[Juan Twothree]

i also believe the rnli is paid by local governments for some of this work.

Sort of.

Where the RNLI has beach lifeguards in a particular area, the local authority pays the RNLI to provide that service.