Led by the nose? Or the last laugh

In a week when I was feeling unbelievably gloomy as a consequence of Red Nose Day and Comic Relief in the UK – for folks elsewhere, this is when BBC celebs sing, dance and make us laugh all evening in return for donations which this year netted a staggering £52million (oh and everyone wears a red nose)  – well, in the week of this annual monster-fundraiser, my friend Andrea Encinas did actually use one of the tips from my first blog i.e. she looked up Comic Relief on the UK Charity Commission website.

Her reaction?

‘First thing that jumps out is the amount spent on raising funds, quite a slice of overall spend.’ (Actual figure £16.8million from the year 2020 accounts).

‘Second thing is that 35 employees are enjoying a nice pay day.’ (Reference to 35 employees earning over £60,000 and 3 earning over £100,000).

Now Andrea knows a thing or two about running a great community organisation serving a multiple number of purposes. She runs the multinational multicultural B.I.G choir. They too sing and dance and crack jokes (no funny noses though) and make a shedload of people feel good. Andrea just about keeps it afloat with membership fees and donations. The B.I.G choir are also generous enough to do fundraisers for small charities chosen by them knowing that the money raised will be utilised with a sense of urgency.

Meanwhile, according to the BBC’s own Panorama programme, the huge amounts and huge bureaucracy involved in handling so much money means that the Comic Relief charity ‘pays out money it receives to other charities sometimes over several years. That means Comic Relief holds tens of millions of pounds at any one time. The charity uses a number of managed funds which invests that money on the charity’s behalf, including in the stock market.’

 So here are my 5 tips for getting the best out of Red Nose Day…next time round:

 1.     Bless the primary school children in Cardiff and Cornwall who refused to wear the original polluting plastic red noses and forced Comic Relief to, only this year, come up with a biodegradable alternative.

2.     In recognition of these wise children and the huge impact their action had on an organisation run by adults, look around your own home and see what you can do to cut down on plastic waste.   

3.     Enjoy the relief of the comedy on offer on the BBC.

4.     If a tale about a homeless person moves you, then promise yourself that you will buy a warm cup of coffee and a snack for the next person you see shivering on the streets. You are guaranteed to smile and make smile with that timely act of kindness.

5.     Don’t feel bad about not giving. Smile and feel happy that Comic Relief are already sitting on millions and that, if you do NOT donate, you might just help them to actually spend what they already have, more quickly. As the late Clive James once said : ‘Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing.’

Lucy Mathen 

#commonsensedancing  #comicrelief   #ledbythenose  #outgrowingthebig  #bigchoir.co.uk