Kate Murphy using Gofundme to get her coaches to Eugene

NoVA No wrote:

If they are so damn supportive then why don't they raise the money among themselves rather than solicit strangers online?

I assume they're not expecting strangers online to donate to her. They're using the "internet" as a convenient infrastructure to organize donations from within the community, instead of organizing a phone tree or a quilting bee or whatever you think they should do. They're not trying to mobilize a nationwide campaign for her or anything. That's quite different from, say, the Ethiopian runners in the car accident, where the goal is specifically to raise money from people outside their immediate circle.

As for the people suggesting they should fly out there for two days, stay in Portland, and drive down for the race, you're missing the point of having her coach there. He's presumably going not so he can cheer for her during the race, but so that he can support her *before* her semi (and, possibly, between her semi and final).

I'm not connected to any of these people. Heck, I live in a different country. And, for what it's worth, I wouldn't set up a go-fund-me site to raise money to bring a massage therapist. But I always find the vitriol on these threads to be weird. There's this sense of "If I wouldn't do something, nobody should."

Gift tax is paid by the person making the gift not the recipient, the 14k is an amount you can give per person, you could argue the coach/massage therapist have taxable compensation if she pays them for services but that's a separate issue

Excessive wrote:

I think this would be a taxable gift, but I'm pretty sure the yearly limit is $14,000 so they'd be ok on that front.

The median household income is $121,508 in Burke, VA where Lake Braddock is located.

Yep, every single household in the Burke, VA area earns exactly $121,508. NOT SO!

Yep, every household in Burke, VA has a daughter who, in high school, runs 4:07 for the 1500m. NOT SO!

In the Burke, VA there are filthy rich and dirt poor, and everything in-between. There is a nation-leading high school distance runner and a slowpoke plodder who always finishes last in gym class runs, and young runners who fall in between those extremes.

So, pathetic dodo posters, without quoting from the Murphy household's tax return, please wash your minds out with soap for DECIDING that Kate Murphy is a privileged queen bee who sleeps on satin sheets in her parents' palacial estate...and, thus, can afford to bring her entourage with her to Oregon. You don't know!

And I guess it needs to be repeated again: SHE DIDN'T SET UP A GOFUNDME ACCOUNT!! WASN'T HER!! She's not responsible for some adult's attempt to raise money! WASN'T HER!! Yet some peabrains are choosing to dislike her because they don't approve of someone else's fundraising actions.

Go, Kate, go!!

... DIDN'T SET UP A GOFUNDME ACCOUNT!! WASN'T HER!!

Fair point. They can always turn down the excessive money if they want or donate it to a worthy cause. Just use what is absolutely needed instead of flying first class and staying at the Ritz Carlton. Right?

This is just entitlement seeping down to the young ones. Me so special so let me ask the internet fairy for $7500. This is the most selfish shiit I've read on awhile.

Agree, pathetic!

Moo Goo wrote:

This is just entitlement seeping down to the young ones. Me so special so let me ask the internet fairy for $7500. This is the most selfish shiit I've read on awhile.

How many times do people have to say, SHE NEVER ASKED ANYBODY FOR MONEY, HER COMMUNITY SUPPORTS HER AND IS RAISING IT FOR HER AS A GIFT. You have no right to call her entitled since it wasn't her idea. Yes, I agree that there is TONS of entitlement among young people today, but the gofundme was not set up by her.

If people want to give her money, then good for them for being so kind hearted, especially since it was never solicited by her

She ought to tell her "people" to knock it off then. IMO, of course..

cwcsa wrote:

If people want to give her money, then good for them for being so kind hearted, especially since it was never solicited by her

Here is the problem, I want to give and probably many others as well. Whenever there is a young athlete who needs financial support, someone needs help with medical expenses, help an underprivileged parent gets to a meet, the family has done a bake sale, but didn't raised enough, etc., but this situation is none of the above. A young athlete only needs a parent at this meet. Its nice to have your coach and support staff there, but it is not necessary and it's not something other people should be paying for. And, if someone is asking for donations, (Yes) I expect them to be doing the trip as least expensive as possible. If someone had simply said Kate and her father are coming up short of money getting to the USOT...doing a $50 GoFundme would have been a slam dunk for me.

Btw, me and my wife just got back from a 5-day trip to Miami. We stayed in a hotel in the heart of South Beach, ate at nice restaurants, we went out every night, paid a couple dollars to participate in an event, my wife even went shopping and we only spent a little over $5000.

Okay I'll give you that, your reasoning makes sense. I suppose there isn't a reason to be asking for so much and it would be polite to minimize spending when using other people's money.

Time to give it a rest.

Up to 5065 wrote:

Time to give it a rest.

Sorry didn't think I was that out of control, just stating my opinions and opening my mind to allow them to be changed per the last poster's insight.

Jesus I'm on a 7-day trip to the freaking ITALIAN RIVIERA and between airfare ($1600 to Florence), a few train tickets ($50), and a $125/night apartment in Manarola (Airbnb), I'm spending $2400, without food. They want $3500 each to go to Portland? An INSANE waste of money.

I'd happily give money to people who know how to stretch a dollar. I'm not giving anything to someone who only knows how to waste one.

So why'd you post ?

Hi everyone,

I am a friend of Kate Murphy and these comments actually make me incredibly sick to my stomach to read through. To call her entitled, or selfish, or anything along those lines when you don't even know her seems incredibly out of line. A Lake Braddock alum was the one who set up the GoFundMe page, and perhaps he did not correctly do the math before asking for the full $7500, but he did so because the entire NoVA community is incredibly supportive of their athletes. He wanted to find a way for the community to show their support. She has made no public request for money herself, not on her Facebook, twitter, instagram, or other social media, so please stop acting as if she has done some terrible evil. In actuality, Kate is a very sweet, thoughtful, and very team-oriented person who strives to help others become the best people and runners they can be as well. I am not even on her team, but after racing against her and going to camp with her for a couple years I have come to appreciate the respect she has for both her teammates and competitors. She is not entitled, and she is not selfish. She is also one of the greatest high school athletes of all time who is competing in the OLYMPIC TRIALS!! I hope she does not see the negativity on this page and goes and has the race of her life in Eugene. I generally believe the running community is very thoughtful and supportive, so let's please keep it that way and not spend so much time micro analyzing the teenager who didn't ask for this money in the first place :)

Paragraphs are your friend.

When I had to get to Eugene, I used up most of my travel money on a ridiculously abbreviated two day trip where I flew to Portland, rented a car--shared the rental, got in after 2:30 a.m. after driving through pea soup fog on the Interstate, stayed in two different fleabag hotels, and essentially got to be there for just a day of the conference. For the two coaches for five days--not sure how long they'll need to stay for heats and possible final--they need either two or three rooms, she may need to pay for the coach who is the massage therapist, then their two airfares would be about $800 probably total, their two rooms $1000 (@gouging $100/night, not really that much more than I had to pay for my fleabag hotels), then food at $50/day/coach, that's another $500, plus rental car and gas for the duration, probably $250. So, that's at least $2550. Add 8% and you are in the vicinity of $2800. I'd say that $7k is more than it should cost but who knows what other expenses there might be.