If you are one of the parents suffering from fundraising fatigue and are annoyed by the pressure to have your children tout their wares to stangers, you aren't alone.
I dread the beginning of the school fundraising year. Just the act of being a student, from kindergarten on will make a fundraising campaign booklet appear in your hands. In some ways, I understand the need for funds. After all, many school districts, even after passsage of the No Child Left Behind Act are cutting educational funding! I have a duel problem with this:
- John Stossel's report on the American Education system found that America currently spends more per student on education than any other country in the world with extremely poor results. (Which would suggest a massive mis-use of funds) and
- In this time of worry over sexual predators,our young children are being asked to peddle their wares to mere strangers for pennies!
To be fair, school officials do the "PC" thing of the moment and tell all of their students and parents not to sell to neighbors, but the reality is, they get the children in a fundraising pep rally and show them all of the wonderful things they can win for selling , say , $500 worth of wrapping paper. Truthfully, is your family, or anybody else's going to buy $500 worth of wrapping paper they can get at the store for much less?
The pressure is on and as a by-product, students face a feeling of failure as early as the age of 5 for not being the top wrapping paper salesman. UGH!
A parents first reaction is to take a look at their bank account and figure out just how much over-priced wrapping paper they can afford and their children take that one sale to school. In the case of my children, who never lived next to family, the money in my account was slit six ways, and believe me, it was "slim pickens!"
This year, my son's football team sold cards that offer discounts to businesses around the area. Businesses I wil never use. Businesses that I will forget to take that card into and use when I do visit.
Now, here's the kicker: The card was also good for a free football game - the first home game of the year. I was thrilled! In our district, the first home game of the year is parents night. I get in free anyway!
So, what is the solution? Current spending trends among school districts dictate the need for more funds. My mother always taught me that if you aren't a part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Perhaps parents need to take charge of the fundraising instead of letting the burden rest on their children's shoulders who are better off spending the time at the library studying.
I see two paths we could take as parents: (besides homeschooling and forgoing all of the above!)
- Make your presence known on a regular basis at monthly PTA meetings, school board meetings, and city budget reviews to better enable yourself to track educational spending -lobby to find out the specifics of how district budgeting is done. The school board reviews this on a continuing basis and it is open for public view. If you have a suggestion or see something you think ought to be changed to more effectively put to use your tax dollars and educate your children, speak up!
America is wonderful that way: We get to tell our politicians what to do with our
money! You may have to garner the voices of friends but in the end, the results will be
worth it!
- If we do not want our children going from door to door, suggest that parents do the fundraising. I'm not talking about schlopping the newest wrapping paper to work and bugging co-workers. (Since many companies are on to that method of fundraising, they've banned parents from doing that anyway-thank goodness!)
Think BIG! Think simple! A popular fundraiser in a Chicago suburban school district is a monthly raffle. One raffle ticket purchase for $25 at the beginning of the year is good for 15 raffles that are done monthly. Three additional raffles are held on identified holidays (The fourth of July, Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.) The raffle ticket is in the back of a simple calendar. (No fancy pictures or other nonsense) Purchasers enter the monthly drawings by removing the postcard and sending it to the high school.
Each raffle winner is awarded $50. If you win, you are notified, a check is sent and your card is put back into the bin for the next raffle. There is no limit to the number of times you can win.
The three "bonus raffles" award $500 each! The raffle draws are monitored by strict rules and a minimum of three Athletic Booster board members must be present at each drawing. (This fundraiser happens to be the brain child of a past Athletic Booster Club President and benefits the high school's athletic programs).
BAM! The fundraising for the year is done.
If I'm not mistaken, this one time fundraiser nets a healthy profit of about $40,000! Go to your principals office today. Ask him if he wants $40,000 and see what he says.
Of course, you will have to decide how many tickets to print, based upon what you would like to earn and then you have to set the minimum amount of sales necessary in order to pay the raffle winners. Everything above the printing costs and raffle awards is pure profit. These raffle tickets are great gift ideas, but have to be sold from September to December time frame for purchasers to get the most value for their money.
I don't know about you, but if someone told me I would only have to participate in one fundraiser per year, Iwould jump at the chance! But for today, I am looking down the barrel of a fundraising catalog loaded with tissue paper...and it isn't looking good!
