From Where I Sit...

You Gotta Spend Money To Make Little Money

In Chicago there have been two stories in the news regarding "questionable" fund raising events and organizations.

The first was about a "Caddyshack" Reunion golf event to raise money for military families. The second was about a charity with Chicago legend, Mike Ditka's, name on it, Ditka Hall of Fame Trust Fund.

Both stories were pointing out, in part, the costs involved of the charity golf outings each group was sponsoring. The Ditka story pointed out the irony of paying appearance fees to current and former football players to help raise money for former football players in need.

Both stories fail to criticize the people ASKING FOR AND TAKING the appearance fees.

I have had some experience with fund raising and charity events. In the end, its all about money. It is great to raise money. And to raise a lot of money you either need a lot of great volunteers and/or a big name draw (aka a celebrity or a sports figure). These are the facts.

I'm not suggesting these people should be doing all these events for free. I just want people to know that even charities have costs. You can look here to see which charity does the most for your money.

I have personally benefited from three major charities, Catholic Charities, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Shriners Hospital. While my family and I have received thousands of dollars in assistance we were never asked for a penny in return. Without these three charities I probably would have died many years ago at most or be extremely sheltered at least. And I would have never met my son.


While I doubt any big name celebrities or sports figures read my blog I will still offer this message. Even though your appearance might be adding tens of thousands to the total collected remember the bigger your check the less that charity can do for others.