Discussion
ALTERNATIVE OBJECTIVES FOR THE ROUTEMASTER RAMPAGE
The current alternatives for the Routemaster Rampage include doing the rally for the following reasons:
- Simply for the fun of it;
- Doing it to raise money for a good/charitable cause with additional fund raising to cover costs;
- Doing it as an event to make a profit for the organisers.
1. Simply for the fun of it:
No rules, no bad press. Just get on the bus and have a good time. Each participant would cover the cost of their own contribution to the Rampage.
DG My experience on the Mongol Rally was that covering the cost of Rallies such as this out of one's own pocket can be very expensive - this is therefore not for the faint hearted.
2. For a good cause/charity:
a. Charitable purpose
Running the Rampage for a charitable purpose would involve spending a significant portion of the time preparing for the rally fund-raising, and coming up with creative ways to raise money from the endeavour.
DG My experience on the Mongol Rally was that, even with a designated charity to support for fundraising, it was difficult to raise money from entities. The leadtime to convert effort in to support is a long one. The ideal method would be to focus on key potential sponsors for the endeavour, pitch an idea to them and shape the Rampage around a theme that suits their corporate/philanthropic objectives allowing the Rampage to take a mutually beneficial form.
b. Good Cause
Running the charity for a good cause would mean, for instance, doing it in an ecologically friendly way, by for instance fitting the bus with an eco-friendly bio-diesel or ethanol engine. How we fill it up is merely a logistical problem...
SE Firstly you don't really need an environmental angle for it to be charitable, however it is nice. But remember that bio-diesel and ethanol is far from environmentally friendly! It is only renewable in the sense that you can keep growing more, as opposed to running out of rude oil. Slashing and burning vast areas of rain forest to clear for production of bio-diesel is not environmentally friendly!
c. Ethical Issues:
DG The Mongol Rally was done for charity, but now is run on a part-charity/part-profit basis. The two objectives become intertwined which isn't ideal for charitable beneficiaries - i.e. people donating will donate cash, that can be passed through to a charity, but will also donate labour, parts, etc., which contribute to charity indirectly in allowing the rally to take place. A lot of charitable help therefore seems to end up benefitting the participants in the rally rather than the beneficiaries of the intended charity.
SE The problem with the Mongol Rally is not that the individuals receive help with parts etc. Firstly because parts for the cars helps the event to take place (and ultimately are donated at the end) but secondly because a sponsor making such a donation is under no illusion as to the effect of their donation. The problem with the Mongol Rally now lies with the value in the overall event. If participation is high, then overall sponsorship is valuable and what happens to the proceeds of that sponsorship is the key question. A charity event can use those proceeds to cover the cost of running the event (this is the cost of the fundraising for a charity). The big problem (legally and morally) with the Mongol Rally is that such proceeds are to be used within a company, which includes paying dividends to the shareholder(s), and the organisers are very coy about what money is coming in... to the casual observer it looks like a charity event when it clearly isn't to anyone who has been more involved or who reads between the lines.
d. Legal Issues:
If the rally is set up for charity, then doing so will mean creating trusts to hold the charity property, and ensuring oversight and accountability so as to comply with the correct ethical and legal standards.
SE There are also considerable tax benefits for taking this route.
3. For profit:
The rally being for profit would mean finding a way to cover the expenses of the rampage through commercial sponsorship, TV coverage, or another means, and participants would need to establish a way to deal with excess profit. A part-profit/part charity rally could be run covering this.
SE You largely lose any tax benefits with this structure. If you decide to give the 'residue' (and I do not use the word profit on purpose) to charity, then there is no benefit to this option, only the loss of tax benefits and loss of interest from people who prefer charity events.
DG There are also drawbacks in terms of fundraising, and obtaining backing from major sponsors for the event if it is for profit. Many of the larger businesses and organisations would not consider funding a for profit enterprise such as this, whereas the charitable objective opens the door. To ensure success, it would mean that we would need an objective/mission statement.
