Kidney Research UK makes me sad

Last July I enjoyed Kidney Research UK’s London Bridges walk; a seven-mile hike up and down the Central London section of the Thames raising important funds for kidney disease. It was a fun, family friendly event I was looking forward to doing again, so I was pleased to get a reminder email given the communications last year were decidedly hit and miss. But, having read this year’s terms and conditions I’ve reluctantly decided not to bother. 

Last year it was £10 to register and from memory there was a suggested sponsorship target of £60. £10 seemed a bargain considering it included a t-shirt so I made an additional contribution, and I covered the suggested sponsorship with donations from family and friends as well as out of my own pocket. But the important thing was that I didn’t feel under pressure to hit a target, I simply donated money as I received it. 

This year things have changed. When I followed up the email I found registration has increased to £15, which I thought was reasonable. However, there was now a £100 minimum sponsorship target with some rather wretched boilerplate text to the effect that people who cannot commit to it aren’t welcome. Since the original email I’ve checked back and the wording has been tweaked a few times, for example ‘minimum sponsorship’ was rebranded ‘suggested sponsorship’ and the FAQ have been modified but the boilerplate still essentially tells people who cannot commit £100 sponsorship to jog on. 

I know it’s in a good cause, that’s why I’ve previously supported it, and I could also cover the minimum sponsorship from my own pocket without hardship, which is possibly why I am so torn over this (if I couldn’t there wouldn’t be any debate), but I’m an analyst by disposition as well as occupation and the reasoning for this rather wretched policy just doesn’t stack up and that leaves a bad smell I just cannot ignore. I can afford to entertain this, but there are probably people out there who will be excluded even though they could make a positive contribution if they weren’t.

The original boilerplate (since amended) appeared to be copied over from other fund-raising events without sufficient copy editing to make it specific; for example it discusses the need to cover the costs of major events organised by other organisations such as the London Marathon, where places are highly coveted and very expensive (a charity place for the London Marathon costs hundreds of pounds). But this event is organised by Kidney Research UK and whilst costs need to be covered by participants they’re not on the scale of a marathon which requires road closures, policing, and significant support infrastructure from public sector bodies. 

More recent boilerplate covers the more realistic costs incurred by this event such as stewards, tents, snacks etc. This is perfectly reasonable, but after some cursory research into equivalent events I conclude that costs are probably covered by the £15 registration fee, with sponsorship being the contribution to the charity’s actual mission. For comparison Diabetes UK are running an almost identical event in September with a £5 registration fee and no minimum sponsorship, it suggests a sponsorship target of £120 which I have no problem with, but crucially it stresses its walk as a family event and doesn’t get heavy about minimums. 

The relationship between the actual cost of the event and the registration fee also explains the incongruous decision to allow late entrants to sign-up on the day for £25. Unless such entrants are only allowed to join with a pre-registered participant it’s unlikely they’ll have set up a sponsorship programme beforehand. If I’m right, the marginal revenue of £25 from a late sign-up more than covers the marginal cost of accommodating them, especially as by that point the costs are mostly sunk. 

I don’t have all the numbers, but my conclusion is that by being heavy handed about minimum sponsorship Kidney Research UK is estimating that participation numbers are relatively inelastic when it comes to sweating fund raisers for contributions. After all is said and done most of them will have experience of kidney disease, whether personally or through friends and family, and will shrug off the unpleasantness implicit in such calculations. For me though it’s too much of a spoiler. I’m still going to make a donation to Kidney Research UK, as I think the work is too important not to, but it won’t be as much as had it not been so grubby.

London Bridges Walk 2017

I’ve signed up for Kidney Research UK’s London Bridges Walk this coming Sunday. I registered my interest in it a few months ago, and received an email saying I would be contacted when registration opened. Sadly, no such follow up happened, but I remembered to check back periodically and registration actually opened late last month. I don’t know whether they planned to contact me but I got there first, but it does make me wonder how many other people expressed an interest but never got contacted? Online registration is closed now, but people can still sign-up on the day for £10. 

It’s a seven mile walk across many of London’s iconic bridges. It might sound a bit anti-social but I’m quite looking forward to doing it by myself, I enjoy walking, but usually there’s a very functional purpose like getting to work. I don’t often get the time to go for a good long walk without any distractions, my wife has her own interests she’d probably prefer to spend the time on, and I know the kids would only complain about being bored or tired or more likely both after half a mile!

Kidney Research UK sent through the route map earlier today, it’s fairly familiar territory as I’ve worked in and around Central London for over fifteen years, and the course skirts close to both my current and previous employers. I’m going to try and put together a topical podcast playlist I can listen to as I make my way around, I haven’t found the right ones yet, but I know there are a variety of London podcasts out there covering the mix of culture, history and folklore I’m looking for.

I was also hoping to sneak a few crafty beer stops on route, but I rather fear the pickings are slim without taking too much of a detour. There are a few pubs along the route, but a few of them are shitholes or tourist traps, what comes from hugging the river. It’s probably no bad thing really, I’d only have about five minutes to neck a pint and have a pee, and no doubt once the seal is broken I’d spent most of the seven miles bursting for another! I’m also not sure how endearing it will be to more advanced CKD sufferers who have restrictive fluid intakes. Besides, afterwards I’m meeting up with the wife and kids for an early birthday treat at Byron Burger so I can save my 'dead' calories for that.