Edmonton is No Good XII: "I Dunno.. it's Just Not Good."

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by CgyFlamesftw

Funny enough there is a thread at HF on this. Oiler fans flocking to post a picture of flames org putting 30 cents to every dollar made to charity to distract posters and make Calgary flames look bad lol..

I haven't seen this, but that has been the criticism of the Flames foundation. They hoard the money and don't give it away very timely. Which is both true and not true.

This year they took in about $6 million and gave away $5 million. Last year though they gave away $500K more than they took in. Year before that they kept about $2.9 million more than they gave away.

It's not like the CSEC owners keep this money, it just sits in investments at the Flames foundation. But the foundation is now sitting on about $14 million of cash and investments. A small part of that has been "pledged" to various causes but IMO that is too much money for them to be keeping. There are a ton of worthy causes out there that could use money now.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by VilleN

How can we be raising so much less than Edmonton? That doesn't make sense to me.

Gambling addicts who burn through their pockets the first Oilers game after a paycheck. Give them anything they can bet on or throw money at and they're they're lining up to open their wallets.

There is less participation in Calgary in general because of the state of the team but I also think people here are just more frugal and responsible.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

More like the Sulky!

Maybe it was a typo all along?

Because Draisaitl would be my frontrunner for the Sulky too, and the season hasn't even begun!

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

That article is enlightening.

The Flames foundation includes their financials on their website. Their total expenses in 2024 were just a little over $500K, nothing compared to the Oilers foundation.

On the one hand, you have to give credit to the generosity of Oiler fans, raising $102 million in 2024. The Flames raised less than $4M. Administering and disbursing over $100 million is an order of magnitude more complex than what the Flames are doing frankly so you have to expect a much higher level of expense. But there needs to be some transparency over how the Oilers foundation is spending that kind of money, that is an absurd amount.

It's also a good reminder that when all these clubs advertise their financial commitment to the community, they generally are talking about their foundations. The clubs themselves don't contribute much to these foundations, in fact they typically charge back things like rent and salary costs. The overwhelming majority of the donations are sourced from fans through 50/50 draws.

Expenses would be a bit higher but should not be massively higher.
The first step reviews requests for funding, most of which are at a large request level. I would expect 1-2 extra staff above the Flames, at a $50-60K salary for entry level vetting would suffice.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

Expenses would be a bit higher but should not be massively higher.
The first step reviews requests for funding, most of which are at a large request level. I would expect 1-2 extra staff above the Flames, at a $50-60K salary for entry level vetting would suffice.

I would hope if the Flames foundation found themselves with an extra $100 million in funding that the response would be more robust than adding a couple of clerical staff to review grant applications.

With all due respect, that is kind of low effort philanthropy and helps feed the perception that these foundations exist more to serve their sponsor with PR and photo opps than to further a meaningful cause. Which is also why some people get irked that the Flames foundation is sitting on $15 million in cash that could be put to use in the community, especially when the community has been so generous to the Flames.

But none of that has much to do with what is happening with the Oilers. I sure hope this story has some legs. I do believe there are legitimate costs associated with running and promoting a $100 million lottery throughout the season but that number seems outrageous. And the Oilers response was laughable, defensive and completely lacking in substance.

Wouldn't it be delicious if this was funding back door payments to McDavid to circumvent the salary cap a la Kawhi Leonard?