Everest Endeavor

[KyleBingham]

Maybe you spotted it in the Everett Herald a couple weeks back but I wanted to share my website and project with you guys. I've set out to climb Mt. Everest in 2015 to benefit the Children's Cancer Association and climb a couple big ones on the way. I'm headed to Denali this May and then back to Rainier and Kili then onto Cho Oyu and Everest. Check out the website at www.everestendeavor.com and the blog at www.goendvr.com

 

I'm happy to chat about what we've got going on and hope to see some of you guys out there!

[num1mc]

Do you pay your way, and 100% of donations go to cancer care, or does Everest Endeavor pay your way to these fun trips, and cancer gets a lesser amount?

[num1mc]

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20131226/NEWS01/712269964

 

So this is all going to take $98K just for overhead - which is presumably sending him on a number of climbing trips. Where does this $98K come from? Is it from EE, and is removed first as an overhead item?

 

So by my math, to raise $110,000 for cancer, the public will need to cough up $208,000.

 

Maybe Kyle could comment

[tvashtarkatena]

This does leave me wondering why someone wouldn't just donate directly to the charity in question rather than filter it through this or any other 'climb for…' project. I do a fair bit of fundraising for a large non-profit, but I must confess I never really understood the advantage of donating indirectly in this manner. The PR value of climbing peaks that have been well trampled seems minimal. I can see the value of 'fun runs' where donors pay to participate in an event, and some of that goes to charity - those tend to be big celebrations that can make a splash, particularly if they become well-known annual events.

 

Our fund raising model is a bit simpler - we point to our track record and ask for the money. The donor gets nothing other than the knowledge that we'll take that money and efficiently do what we say we're gonna do with it, and they helped make that happen.

 

Edited January 24, 2014 by tvashtarkatena

[keenwesh]

awareness climbs/expeditions/fundraisers are so idiotic. What does climbing everest have to do with children dying of cancer?

 

If anyone wants to give me money I'm doing a trip to AK this May with 3 other dudes to raise awareness for rape prevention.

[num1mc]

awareness climbs/expeditions/fundraisers are so idiotic. What does climbing everest have to do with children dying of cancer?

 

If anyone wants to give me money I'm doing a trip to AK this May with 3 other dudes to raise awareness for rape prevention.

 

Better than raising awareness of gay sex in the snow

[tvashtarkatena]

The mission statement of CCA is "We Prescribe Joy".

 

Joy is good, but the charity does not fund cancer research nor subsidize treatment. After Live Strong, its hard not to be more skeptical about today's huge field of cancer charities and what they actually do.

 

[Comrade]

This does leave me wondering why someone wouldn't just donate directly to the charity in question rather than filter it through this or any other 'climb for…' project.

 

I don't get it either when there is a significant overhead incurred. But there are a few ones like this where all the donation money goes to charity and climbers have to pay for their own climbing costs.

[tvashtarkatena]

Agreed. Volunteer service is just what it sounds like - you're not getting compensated in any way for your service. And that's the basic question here - are donations covering the costs of YOUR activities outside the core mission of the charity, or are you being reimbursed for expenses incurred doing that core mission? If the former, you're just asking for someone to pay for your vacation, plain and simple. In essence, you're unreported overhead for that charity.

 

One could argue that the PR value would collect donations that wouldn't otherwise be made, but I can guarantee you that if this climbing team spent the same amount of time and effort in direct funding raising efforts - phone banking, outreach, key donor relationship building, etc, they'd collect a lot more $$$ for that charities core mission with much lower overhead.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2014 by tvashtarkatena

[num1mc]

The mission statement of CCA is "We Prescribe Joy".

 

Joy is good, but the charity does not fund cancer research nor subsidize treatment. After Live Strong, its hard not to be more skeptical about today's huge field of cancer charities and what they actually do.

 

Joy is good, even when common sense would indicate that maybe the monies should be better spent on the neccesary nuts and bolts.

 

Like this story:

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022750134_schooljerseyxml.html

 

But you see how happy the kids are, it all seems right.

 

Of coarse, the teacher didn't decide that he had to go to the SuperBowl to get the jerseys himself. Or seek funds so he could go to the SuperBowl to increase "awareness" that there are poor kids in the world.

 

The most disgusting example of ego wrapped in charity is Ranulph Fiennes - the Worlds Greatest Explorer and "The Coldest Journey" ( http://www.thecoldestjourney.org ), which failed to drive Cats across the Antarctic in winter. It cost about $6 million, and raised either $2M or $10M, in both cases not a good return on the dollar

Edited January 25, 2014 by num1mc

[DPS]

which failed to drive Cats across the Antarctic in winter.

And I thought dogs on Mt St Helens in winter was bad. Poor kitties probably froze their little paws.

[ScaredSilly]

This kid's "endeavor" is nothing compared to this guy's "mission" : http://www.mission14.org

 

Both are "exploiting the exploited" and are a "fallacy of the first".

[KyleBingham]

Hey guys, you all raised some great question and I'd be happy to answer.

 

To start off and to address the most asked questions about the money.

 

The logistics of the climbs are all privately funded with my own saving and our corporate sponsors. NONE of the money donated goes through, or to me. When you make a donation from our website or otherwise you are either re-directed to the CCA's website or it is collected directly by them. (Tax deductible) 100% of donations will go to them. I'll be even more poor when this is over.

 

Their a some great groups out there raising money for research but after sending time with some cancer survivors on Kili the biggest thing I took away was that they wished they had more support. I encourage you guys to look into the Children's Cancer Association and their programs. Take a peek at their ratings on Charity Navigator and look though their financial reports. Transparency is everything.

 

As for the reasons why and the link with climbing?

 

I feel that climbing has a great parallel with battling illness. Some of these kids see their cancer as a huge mountain they have to climb and just like us in the mountains some days you don't make progress, some days you get run off but if you keep working and keep going, you'll make it. I'm sure many of you have been touched by cancer in some way and can see the link. I just want to help shine the light on these amazing kids and help put some similes on their faces. Climbing in the big picture is a pretty selfish thing and like Yvon Chouinard said "Surfing and climbing are both useless sports. You get to be conquistadors of the useless" but I feel like if I'm going to spend a bunch of money I want it to benefit more than myself.

 

I'm more than happy to chat with anyone if they are interested in learning more!

 

You can contact me anytime at kyle@everestendeavor.com or (206)504-3105

[KyleBingham]

Also, here's a link to my interview with Q13 FOX this past Tuesday if you want to check it out.

 

http://video.q13fox.com/Climbing--Mt-Everest-for-a-good-cause-25564880