The RNLI, do you donate?

When I earned my first cheque I set up my direct debits to charities I wanted to support. Unfortunately the £5 a month I had allocated to the RNLI was too little for them to accept. As my earnings grew I have increase the DD's to all those charities and the RNLI continues to miss out because of refusing to take what I could afford at the time. I still donate regularly to them through charity boxes and I have raised money for them but they have lost considerable funds which I reallocated to Medecines sans Frontieres. Oxfam have also lost my support due to pressured cold calling to try and get me to increase my DDs. I accepted on the phone and then cancelled the lot. I was giving all that I could afford and did not appreciate the presure selling and I worry about elderly people who get forced into donating so I wrote to them to inform them why I cancelled, no reply.
 
The link between possibly using the services of a charity and donating to it is an interesting question. A friend was doing a door-to-door collection (well inland) for the RNLI. Quite a few people turned her away saying 'I never go to sea' as if the only reason for contributing to a charity was in case they might get some benefit. Presumably those people don't give to a charity that helps people abroad.
 
Your friend may have come across some inherently mean s*ds, but it is a surprising fact that inland areas generally contribute almost as highly as coastal ones when it comes to street collections etc. I know that there has been another thread talking about "Britain being no longer a maritime nation", but the population overall still seem to have an attachment to the sea and seafarers.
 
chanelyacht said:
They didn't try to sue, but an over zealous head of marketing did try to tell the indies they couldn't use the word lifeboat.

A few words were had higher up the tree and the person concerned was swiftly corrected.
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Err, so paying good money to managers does not always get the person that's really required, then does it ?:(

Puts a lie to the oft stated ... well to get the best you have to pay the most ...
 
BigJoe said:
Thats all we need ..................... another RNLI bashing thread..........................
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Err, rubbish comment kind Sir, tis a well contributed thread containing lots of opinions and comments with counter opinions and comments, suggest that lots learned and clarified by all readers.

Well I certainly have learned a lot even if you have not. :)

Anyways, suggest that we should not blindly support any organisation, whatever its purpose, without occasional scrutiny and debate, you are not, may I ask like some of the Muslim faith are you, blind allegiance etc ? Remind you Sir, that its not the British way
 
stevebrassett said:
I'm an Offshore member, so donate every month by DD.
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Me too. I regard it as being a bit like the AA, though I hope I never call them out for a simple breakdown!

No organisation will get it right all the time and I may not agree with everything they do, but I don't have a problem with paying for the going rate for good management or for good facilities. I've a vague recollection that that expensive Poole HQ has facilities that provides training to external organisations which is a nice little earner that a cheaper could provide, so it may just be a wise investment.

Thanks for the reminder about GAFIRS. The only time anyone came out to me, it was them. Not a life-threatening emergency, just a hooley, a falling tide and a broken shear pin, so we ended up on the mud between Hardway & Quay Lane, but we were both very glad when they got us to terra firma.

For those sailing out of Portsmouth, they're your local boat & can always use your support. You may even benefit from it! Go to http://gafirs.org.uk/lotto/ and sign up for a couple of quid a week. Not many places you can get a pint for that and it'll help to ensure they're there when you need 'em.
 
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I donate through monthly direct debit, local fundraising and I look for the bar-top box if I have loose change.
Its not altruism. I have a vested interest in helping the RNLI to maintain the service I might rely on as a sailor.
Nor do I mind what on the face of things might be considered largesse in spending.
If I was going out into the teeth of a F10 I would want to know the bean-counters hadn't been calling the shots.
 
Gordonmc said:
Nor do I mind what on the face of things might be considered largesse in spending.
If I was going out into the teeth of a F10 I would want to know the bean-counters hadn't been calling the shots.
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At that point how would you feel about spending on luxurious headquarters vs spending on more lifeboats?
 
JumbleDuck said:
luxurious headquarters
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Hmm. That's a bit subjective.
Are you referring to Poole or Swords?
Bringing various services under the one roof at Poole was projected to save £3m a year (2004 rates).
The hotel and functions facilities needed to be on par with equivalent hotel facilities nearby in order to be commercially competitive. Lifeboat crew-people surely should not be expected to put up with sub-standard College accommodation.
At the same time there are not many hotels with their own wave and capsize pools, engineering support workshops and deck simulators.
But... each to their own.
 
JumbleDuck said:
At that point how would you feel about spending on luxurious headquarters vs spending on more lifeboats?
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Those luxurious headquarters earn money as that is where they train foreign rescue services as well as their own people. You can also, as a member, stay there at a cost. Having been there and seen the facilities I do not have any problem. As others have said, if we expect them to go out in all and any conditions to save lives then surely they should have the best equipment, training and facilities that they can afford.
 
AndrewB said:
Not at present. RNLI is a worthy charity, but does appear to be quite adequately funded. And there are many other also worthy charities that seem more urgently in need of my donations. But I would go back to donating to RNLI if I thought they really needed it.
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Similar here.
But I seem to end up donating a fair bit via RNLI benefit events through the year.
Also, try to support the local guys like GAFIRS.
 
Capt Popeye said:
Err, so paying good money to managers does not always get the person that's really required, then does it ?:(

Puts a lie to the oft stated ... well to get the best you have to pay the most ...
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You don't have to pay the most, but you do have to be in the ballpark. Not all RNLI salaries are competitive.

I was offered a job with them last year, which from an ethos / satisfication viewpoint I'd love to have done. Sadly they were about 40% below market rate.
 
Gordonmc said:
Bringing various services under the one roof at Poole was projected to save £3m a year (2004 rates).
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And does it? Could it have saved evven more.

The hotel and functions facilities needed to be on par with equivalent hotel facilities nearby in order to be commercially competitive.
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Of course if they had been built to a more basic standard - college style, say - then perhaps the wouldn't have had to be commercially competitive. Chicken and egg, maybe, if they have to attract paying customers to cover the costs. And do't forget that nobody, in any organisations, gets promotions for turning a £10m project into a £5m project.

Lifeboat crew-people surely should not be expected to put up with sub-standard College accommodation.
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jokerboat said:
Those luxurious headquarters earn money as that is where they train foreign rescue services as well as their own people. You can also, as a member, stay there at a cost.
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If the accounts show that they make a profit, well done to them.

Having been there and seen the facilities I do not have any problem. As others have said, if we expect them to go out in all and any conditions to save lives then surely they should have the best equipment, training and facilities that they can afford.
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But not pay.
 
I'm uneasy about the way the RNLI portray themselves as lifesavers, exaggerating the dangers of recreational boating. The reality is that many of their rescues are to tow in boats which can't start their engine. But constantly stressing the danger aspect will lead ultimately to more controls over our hobby, with compulsory licensing, certification, inspections, etc.

It's a shame that so much of their money comes from little old ladies who don't have a clue what the RNLI really does, although I guess if the RNLI didn't get the money it'd go to a cats home or similar.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Of course if they had been built to a more basic standard - college style, say - then perhaps the wouldn't have had to be commercially competitive. Chicken and egg, maybe, if they have to attract paying customers to cover the costs. And do't forget that nobody, in any organisations, gets promotions for turning a £10m project into a £5m project.
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Before I dip out of this thread for good, I point out that its not just college attendees using the facilities. Functions include weddings and I can't see anyone attracted to hold their big day in "college style" basic standards.
These commercial activities are there to defray costs and avoid subsidy from the general fund.
I am out.
 
Gordonmc said:
Before I dip out of this thread for good, I point out that its not just college attendees using the facilities. Functions include weddings and I can't see anyone attracted to hold their big day in "college style" basic standards.
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Which again raises the question: do the earnings from these functions outweigh the extra capital and running costs needed to attract them? If they do, it's a Jolly Good Thing. If they don't, it's not. Little old ladies do not give their mites to the RNLI to subsidize weddings. Nor, probably, to give free tows to imprudent yachties who forgot to check their fuel gauges, but that's another matter.
 
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