Support your Game daylong

[barmar]

I've deleted the last few posts, I wasn't authorized to reveal these proprietary details.

 

BBO management is aware of this thread.

[shyams]

1. What is so proprietary about the so-called "charitable" activities of BBO?

 

2. On May 4 you wrote "Sorry, the CEO says he's not going to make financial details public". A day later, following some criticism from BBFers, you wrote "More information should be coming soon". Wasn't Management aware of why the information was being asked in the first place?

 

3. Am I supposed to back off now that BBO management is aware of this thread?

 

I must say I am now fully aligned with cherdano's previously expressed view. Personally, I too have decided to stop spending money on BBO.

[hrothgar]

I must say I am now fully aligned with cherdano's previously expressed view. Personally, I too have decided to stop spending money on BBO.

 

Same here

 

I was spending $50+ a month at BBO. I think those days have come to an end.

 

Just doesn't feel like the sort of place that I want to be supporting right now.

[cherdano]

Barry, thank you for your effort on this. I know this can't be a comfortable position to be put in.

[Vampyr]

I will continue to pay for my local club games and the EBU as well, provided someone will inform me how much of the entry fee (3BB$ and 1.5BB$ respectively), is going to the sponsoring organisations. Are BBO keeping this information private as well?

[cherdano]

Any updates?

[shyams]

My final attempt at bumping this thread.

[cherdano]

More information should be coming soon.

I take it we won't get such information after all?

[hrothgar]

I take it we won't get such information after all?

 

One interesting data point: As of 6:00 EST on 5/12, all of 38 people have registered for today's event

[hrothgar]

One interesting point came out on a different thread

 

https://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/82754-bbo-management/

 

Here's the creepy bit. When we were discussing the "Support your Game"

thread, I had discovered (link) that the chosen organisation for the 'support'

was Le Bridgeur!. I had no idea at the time that Le Bridgeur and BBO are

under the same management.

 

If you're talking about real charities, this type of double dealing is illegal in many jurisdictions.

[pilowsky]

Just played in a 'Cards for a Cause' game. I do like the idea that (generally) well off Bridge players support charity. My worry is that having had a lot to do with medical research charity it is worthwhile checking what the money is spent on. The link in the announcement to Alzheimer's was broken, but I think they mean the Alzheimer's Association based in the USA.

 

Here is what I gleaned from their annual report "Total revenue in FY2020 was USD409,478.000. Research is only the 3rd mentioned activity. In 2020 they spent USD82,909,000 on research - 20.24%."

 

An Australian meat pie must contain at least 25% meat. USD108,419,000 was spent on 'concern and awareness'. Concern and awareness included a special report that discovered that Doctors diagnose Alzheimer's." Here is a link to the report.

 

I have seen much worse in other charities. It is also impossible to work out from the report what reviewing mechanism is used before the funds are distributed.

 

The (medical research) charities that I like to support are the ones where the funds are distributed after peer-review in a competitive grant process.

In Australia, some charities use the annual NHMRC (like the NIH and the equivalent in other countries) to vet the grants as part of the annual review process.

Ranked grants are then funded if they are considered scientifically worthwhile AND come within the area of charity. This process ensures fairness and prevents small cliques from funding their 'pet projects'.

 

I also prefer charities where 'research' is the first-named goal (but that's just me. Charities objectives are similar to food-labels. The first objective (ingredient) is the largest component of the charities expenditure.

If research is not in the top two and the expenditure profile does not match, I look elsewhere.

 

Obviously, other people have different priorities. It may have no effect on your choice of tournament, but I think it is worth bearing in mind.