The plea Wednesday from the organizing committee of the World Baseball Challenge for the community to cough up at least $60,000 in support or the August tournament will be cancelled is the equivalent of a desperate runner charging the catcher at the plate, hoping to hit the catcher hard enough that they'll drop the ball.
Or cash, in this case.
The message from tournament organizers is simple - give us $60,000 right now or a bi-annual event that brings in players and scouts from around the world, along with an estimated $6-million hit to the local economy, is done. The World Baseball Challenge is run by volunteers top to bottom, so this isn't a greedy sports franchise owner looking to maximize profits by demanding more civic support.
This fundraising tactic, however, leaves a sour taste in the mouth for two reasons. Whether they mean to or not, tournament organizers are implying strongly that their event is more important than other events and charities that residents and businesses already support. And although they praise the generosity of the community with their words, their actions suggest they believe the community has cheaped out so far on its financial support for the tournament and local residents just need stronger encouragement to buck up another 60 grand or so.
While Mayor Shari Green encouraged businesses unable to be involved with the 2015 Canada Winter Games to help the World Baseball Challenge, it's unfair to connect the two.
They are both deserving of community support, although the Winter Games has size on its side. There will be more athletes in Prince George from across Canada in 2015 just to play hockey, never mind the other sports, than all of the players in the World Baseball Challenge.
But tournament organizers aren't competing with just the Canada Winter Games for funds and support.
At the very same time that tournament organizers were making their case at Citizen Field, on-air personalities at 94X and The Wolf radio stations were encouraging residents to call with pledges for Variety, as part of a two-day radiothon. Variety helps local kids with special needs and their parents to pay for those needs outside of health care, such as wheelchairs and other equipment, travel and accommodation costs to receive treatment, and so on. This year's event raised $xx, xxx.
The day before, Royal Bank, through the RBC Foundation, gave to $20,000 to Exploration Place to help support its after-school care program. The week before, Royal Bank gave $40,000 towards buying specialized equipment to help in trauma and emergency care. Wallets were opened wide to support the opening of the Kordyban Lodge earlier this year. In February, Telus donated $34,150 to the Prince George Public Library. Canfor is paying for the Canada Day fireworks.
All of these recipients are competing hard against each other and against the World Baseball Challenge and the Canada Winter Games for private and corporate support for their projects. So are UNBC and CNC. So is Two Rivers Art Gallery. So is the United Way. So is the Salvation Army. So are school teams and the teams in minor hockey, soccer and baseball.
Forced to make hard choices, businesses and residents are deciding what to do with their philanthropic dollars based on emotional connection and return on investment. In other words, they want a story about saving and enriching lives, particularly if those lives are young, old or vulnerable, and making the community a better place.
The best thing for the community would be for the World Baseball Challenge to continue. The tournament organizers have put tons of effort into making the event a success for the benefit and enjoyment of everyone. Just like the runner willing to run full-speed into a catcher to score a run and help the team win, they deserve great praise for their effort and their enthusiasm.
But if their plea for funding fails, it won't be because people are cheap or they don't like baseball.
