RNLI - getting greedy?

[martini]

Not sure what it's like elsewhere but down here there's quite a large number of rnli crew, when the bleepers go they need to be need to be down the boathouse PDQ if they want to get out on the boat. Summer weekends they'll be camped out down there in order to be at the front of the queue. A lot of money will have been spent on training these guys up.

If it was a profit making, private company I think things would be done a lot differently.

[willk]

A local Volunteer crewman known to me personally has just PM'ed me and said "shut up and pay the €20 or I'll post your MMSI on the Ops Room noticeboard".

I will not be silenced!

[chewy]

It is bad manners, cheeky gits.
They probably pay some company to recruit new "members".

[willk]

Originally Posted by chewy

They probably pay some company to recruit new "members".

They most likely do.

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by willk

Doesn't matter, the RNLI covers it all, even here.

or do you mean the CG? Are you on the "stuff" again? ;-)

Mm yeaaaas .. early onset alzheimer alert .. nurse !

[jambo]

Originally Posted by willk

A local Volunteer crewman known to me personally has just PM'ed me and said "shut up and pay the €20 or I'll post your MMSI on the Ops Room noticeboard".

I will not be silenced!

Now I wonder who that might be?? Maybe I know his uncle??
J

[Festinghouse]

big fan of the rnli - have been since being a kid. like others on here i pay £120yr and up until now all ive had is an annual letter of thanks. on principal, if they ask me for more i will feel the need to use bad language and cancel on the spot!
i hate charities - they all have people running around for them with collection tins etc whilst the people at the top enjoy huge salaries. a member of my family used to work for a very well known childrens charity, his house is worth well over a million and god knows how much his house in france is worth! my argument is that there must be equally capable people who believe in the charitable cause who would be more than willing to do their jobs for a fair and reasonable salary. if you want to make money then go into the private sector and make it for yourself, and not take it from peoples generosity - there, thats my rant done with!

[Max...]

I often wonder how much of average Joe's £1 dropped in a box actually reaches the 'sharp end'? I know for some charaties the percentage is ridiculously low - especially when they are paying companies for indirect sourcing of funds, ie via old clothes in bags through the leterbox etc...

[EnglishLes]

Originally Posted by Max...

I often wonder how much of average Joe's £1 dropped in a box actually reaches the 'sharp end'? I know for some charaties the percentage is ridiculously low - especially when they are paying companies for indirect sourcing of funds, ie via old clothes in bags through the leterbox etc...

To see how much the RNLI spend on raising funds, rescues, trading etc look at Charity overview.

The pie chart shows that about 80% is spent on "Charitable Activities" and 15% on "Fund raising".

This can be used for any UK charity by using the search facility.

[biffer]

A couple of years back I tried to volunteer my services and myself. They basically said we've got enough people we just want your money.
When I pointed out what I did for a living and my experience The words were blimey you are over qualified. Needless to say I don't do a lot for them. We have inshore rescue down here

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[Erin]

Originally Posted by Anchorhandler

To give you an idea of the difference between the two (RNLI Vs SNSM) then just take a look at the SNSM's annual operating budget.....in 2011 it was a mere 21 million Euro's. That compared to the RNLI's budget of over 110 million pounds

Yeah, but don't you have to pay to be rescued? Does the £21m include all the punters' donations.

[Poly]

Willk,

Our beneavolant dictator started a pretty major thread a while back which whilst stimulated by different factors was essentially getting at the same point: http://www.rib.net/forum/f8/dont-sup...i-5204-14.html

I'm not a "member" of the RNLI - I've never really understood the marketing for why I would want to be. I'll donate to them when I see a tin, or have an urge but generally would rather give my money to a charity with a greater squeeze on it.

You have a few options:

- tell them to stick it (which would be best done by writing to their head office and explaining the reasons).
- cancel your membership but simply donate the same money (either straight in the tin, sending a cheque or by asking HQ for their account details to make a standing order to) without being a "member" and so getting the bumf.
- cancel your membership but give your money to one of the other independent lifeboats.

Originally Posted by festinghouse

i hate charities - they all have people running around for them with collection tins etc whilst the people at the top enjoy huge salaries. a member of my family used to work for a very well known childrens charity, his house is worth well over a million and god knows how much his house in france is worth! my argument is that there must be equally capable people who believe in the charitable cause who would be more than willing to do their jobs for a fair and reasonable salary.

I've been the trustee of a pretty large charity (household name sized) and there is a really difficult balance between running it professionally like a business and remembering that it has charitable objectives. No matter how sexy your organisation or how good its cause is - it is impossible to get a decent senior management team without paying reasonable salaries. The top guy in any charity though is not going to be earning anything like as much as he would in industry with the same "turnover", "headcount" or "responsibility" but the days of people doing that sort of job for the love of it are long gone (and to be honest its not clear that they were really that good at it).

Originally Posted by biffer

A couple of years back I tried to volunteer my services and myself. They basically said we've got enough people we just want your money.
When I pointed out what I did for a living and my experience The words were blimey you are over qualified. Needless to say I don't do a lot for them. We have inshore rescue down here

I'd guess that Gafirs or one of the other local independent boats could probably do with your skills much more that the RNLI who will have a very structured maintainence / training / support / management system.

[biffer]

Yep have done a couple of bits for gaffirs and the closer one is hamble rescue. Haven't been to see them yet but I will get round to it. Not sure if they are top heavy already. If you know what I mean

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[simonnud]

I must say that I am disappointed to read some of the comments left on this.

You give what YOU feel is right it is not just charities asking for more money banks, mechanics, shops, all do the same as someone said it is a business and times are hard.

Sea Starts membership starts at £135 per year very good value and not saying the RNLI are in the same business but when you think that they will come to your sinking boat or patrol a beach or even come to your town far inland to help victims of flood £200 odd quid a year is not bad.

I will always stand up for the RNLI as I am a part of it and I make no apology for this. There are many things wrong with the organisation but the things they get right far outweigh the things they get wrong.

Instead of paying money out yourself you can always support any charity by raising money for it !!

[Anchorhandler]

Originally Posted by Erin

Yeah, but don't you have to pay to be rescued? Does the £21m include all the punters' donations.

Only about 16-20% of the budget comes from direct donations.

Intrestingly enough though, the French government contribues a large proportion of the funds at around 30-35% of the total operating budget. Good to see that they consider the safety of life at sea something thats worth investing in.

You only Pay the SNSM for call outs not involving a risk to life ie; mechanical breakdown or fuel starvation etc....of course if this then leads to a Mayday situation then the sevice is absolutely free.

Last i recal, they used to charge 80euros for a call out although it has been a few years since i last spoke to someone who had to pay them.

Simon

[Poly]

Originally Posted by simonnud

You give what YOU feel is right it is not just charities asking for more money banks, mechanics, shops, all do the same as someone said it is a business and times are hard.

not really though. If a service provide puts their price up the first thing normal people do is look around to see if they could get "better value" elsewhere. The RNLI have a near monopoly on the saving lives at sea market but not on the charity sector. I'd love to give £200 to every charity that did good work, but I'd be broke - so if you are going to take my money:

- don't waste it sending out crap I won't read (or make it easy for me to opt out of this / get electronic versions etc)
- don't be perceived as rude by asking for more money without a good explanation. By all means if there is something specific then say so - I might give you a one off donation. If my suppliers put up their prices they always explain where the extra cost is coming from and come with an apology.
- times aren't really hard for the RNLI - they continue to have a cash surplus. Is demanding more money squeezing it out of the pockets of poorer charities who don't have the marketing and sales clout to do it.

when you think that they will come to your sinking boat or patrol a beach or even come to your town far inland to help victims of flood £200 odd quid a year is not bad.

if beaches are bringing visitors and visitors are spending money I'd expect the local council to be subsidising the lifeguard provision. I expect our national emergency services to subsidise their requirements for responding to major incidents. I'm not sure that's how i would want me "RNLI Offshore Membership" spent, if I were persuaded to join.

I will always stand up for the RNLI as I am a part of it and I make no apology for this. There are many things wrong with the organisation but the things they get right far outweigh the things they get wrong.

Instead of paying money out yourself you can always support any charity by raising money for it !!

I have to say that comes across as "you lot aren't doing your bit" which is not really any different from the letter Willk got telling him to dig deeper.

[simonnud]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I have to say that comes across as "you lot aren't doing your bit" which is not really any different from the letter Willk got telling him to dig deeper.

You don't like other people with there own opinions do you ?

All I was saying was you do not have to GIVE money to DONATE to a charity.

Originally Posted by Polwart

if beaches are bringing visitors and visitors are spending money I'd expect the local council to be subsidising the lifeguard provision. I expect our national emergency services to subsidise their requirements for responding to major incidents. I'm not sure that's how i would want me "RNLI Offshore Membership" spent, if I were persuaded to join.

Tell that to the injured soldiers who are given help from charities.

The bottom line is that this country needs charities of all types or we would be in even more trouble.

[biffer]

To be fair the soldier should be sorted by the company he's working for. It's not right to expect a charity to pick up the slack. The soldiers commit 100 percent so should the management
This is getting close to politics which we don't do

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[willk]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Willk,
You have a few options:

- tell them to stick it (which would be best done by writing to their head office and explaining the reasons).
- cancel your membership but simply donate the same money (either straight in the tin, sending a cheque or by asking HQ for their account details to make a standing order to) without being a "member" and so getting the bumf.
- cancel your membership but give your money to one of the other independent lifeboats.

No so many really. My first instinct was option 1, but I'd never do it, I have far too much respect for what they do. Some marketing low-life made that decision and I'm not going to stop supporting the RNLI because of it. However, if I felt that way maybe others do too. Maybe THEY will stop giving. That is my main concern. I wonder what the requests for more money actually netted the RNLI - I guess they know what they're at?

I used to give a few quid to the collectors, but it would never have been as much as a year's worth of S.O.s. It isn't missed this way and adds up over the years. I didn't like it being "sniffed at".

There really aren't any independent outfits here, if you exclude the suicide teams and the body recovery guys (sorry guys, too late for me )

[GJ0KYZ]

Originally Posted by willk

You should've flipped him the Bird...

I like that; that's funny. I think you're right here regarding the RNLI. I did an origami demo for the WI about two years ago and asked them to put a fiver in the RNLI tin after they offered to pay me for my time. Ever since, I've been getting begging letters from the Lifeboat asking me to become a doner.