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[RC] Sponsorship Thoughts - katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxWendy said: Any how, I think the question of "where were the American companies?" is a dam good question. Since the Western States Trail Foundation has been garnering support from US sources for decades now (the ride is, after all, 50 years old), one presumes that any American companies who have provided this support have done so without drawing undue attention to themselves in the process. It would be a mistake to think that just because the UAE Endurance Village is the only supporter that drew enough attention to itself to attract unwanted attention that it is the only entity to have ever provided support to the Foundation. Not having been there, I cannot say what it is that they did to draw enough unwanted attention as to be considered offensive; however, the fact that this discussion is going on is proof that they did. Personally, I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as a tasteful way to "plaster your name" all over the place (_I_ find even the embroidered polo player on Ralph Lauren shirts to be tacky, and I just got done picking the Pikeur label off of the pocket of my dressage coat...it is beyond me why people are willing to pay money to be a walking billboard), so Christoph?s assertion that it was done with class is an oxymoron to me :). Whether the way that this sponsorship was handled is likely to increase or decrease future financial support to the Foundation is unknown. It depends on whether the number of people who withdraw their support because of it is more or less than the number of people who increase their support. It is possible that the "small time" contributor will no longer feel the need to contribute because the Foundation now has a big name sponsor making large donations, but it is also possible that the publicity associated with making a big donation is sufficient to attract more large donors. It is also possible that the Foundation could have accepted the donation from the UAE Endurance Village without displaying its name in places that many of the attendees considered inappropriate or offensive while at the same time providing sufficient appreciation to a large donor in such a way as to encourage other large donations from others. However, the answer to the question "Where were the American companies?" is: "We don?t know, because none of them, if there were any, felt the need to make their donation so obvious." Personally, I do my giving anonymously and/or in private and will tell recipients that they may use the fact of my donation in publicity if they think it will help them to garner further support for something that I consider to be a worthy cause but that I didn?t make the donation so that I could get attention for having done so, and therefore, it is not necessary to publicize it on my account. I one expects publicity and/or reward for a "donation," it ceases to be a donation and ought not be called such :). kat Orange County Calif. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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