Adam's bike challenge. Stage 6: The sweet glow of watching the cash roll in
Adam Bradbury
17 November 2011
Honey runs off the spoon. Money runs out of my hands. It's just the way things are.
I've never seen myself as a fundraiser, or been good at making money full stop. It's a law of physics that cash flows downhill and away rather than uphill towards me.
Last week I set up a page on Justgiving to fundraise for my London to Edinburgh bike ride. A few clicks, a few words, and done. My target £2,000.
Some hope, I thought, and turned to musing on other strategies. Collect pennies. Bake muffins. Sell the cat. Dress up as a banana. Bathe in cold beans. Bathe the cat in cold beans.
I'm interrupted from my reverie by an email - someone has made a donation. A test email, surely, from Justgiving to show what would happen if someone did donate.
But no. Someone did donate - to me. OK to Friends of the Earth, to the planet and its future.
But I bask in the halo. And suddenly I understand why the fundraisers around here always look like they've just been on holiday.
Then came another donation, and another.
Til by the end of the week I'd reached a colossal 2% of my target.
The real eye-opener was at the end of the sponsor's message: "£20.00 + £5.00 Gift Aid". You give £20 and Mr Osborne slaps £5 on top.
Maybe I can get honey to flow uphill after all.
Adam Bradbury, Publishing & New Media team
PS I've worked it out. Hold honey-covered waffle higher than spoon and pour. Gravity does the rest.
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