The Ineffectiveness of Charitable Skydiving

Sponsored skydiving for charity, where participants raise funds by jumping out of planes, is often ineffective and sometimes causes harm. A study showed that out of 120,000 pounds raised, only 45,000 pounds went to charity after deducting the diving expedition costs. Most skydivers were first-timers and ended up with a total of 163 injuries, leading to 610,000 pounds being spent by the Health Service for hospital stays. This resulted in a net negative effect on resources as the Health Service spent about 13 pounds for every one pound raised for charity. The irony was that many of the charities supported health-related causes.