The nonprofit world is competitive, there’s no doubt about that. As a result, some charities are looking for unique and creative ways to raise money. But for however noble the cause, the means of raising money is sometimes… questionable. Take a look at the controversial ways that people have raised charity funds in the past.
Prostitution
Back in 2007, Chilean prostitute Maria Carolina auctioned 27 hours of sex to raise money for Teleton—the country’s largest fundraising campaign. A client of hers quickly took her up on the offer, raising nearly $4,000 for poor, disabled children. In response to widespread criticism, Carolina stated, “There are people who are going to be donating money that’s a lot more questionable than mine. The only thing I did was publicize it.” Do note that prostitution is legal in Chile, whereas it’s not in the majority of the U.S.
Dangerous Stunts
Nick Le Souef of Australia made headlines back in 2010 when he pledged to live amongst hundreds of poisonous spiders in the name of charity. For three straight weeks, Souef locked himself inside a 12×4 ft. enclosure littered with deadly redbacks, tarantulas, huntsmen, and house spiders in an attempt to raise $50,000 for children’s charity. But Souef is no stranger to danger. He’s also spent long periods of time locked inside of a shark tank and a snake pit!
Just Plain Odd
There’s been a recent epidemic in the U.S. where people from all over the country are seeing creepy clowns. But long before the creepy clown sightings there were naked clown sightings. Fortunately, these were benevolent clowns, and the only intention that had was to help raise money for multiple sclerosis research. The naked clowns posed for pictures in a 2009 calendar. The calendars sold for $20 each and all proceeds went towards the Judy Finelli Fund. The lesson to be learned here is that bizarre behavior gets attention, and attention is the first step towards raising money.