I never understood all the complaints about fundraising .. Now I do..

[imagine]

I never understood all the complaints about the fund raising students do. In my world there was just a little bit done ( change here and there) Now I understand, my children just weren't big kids yet.

Son has to raise $1,200 for the high school Orchestra trip. If he doesn't get $1,200 in his account he can't go. It is all on a individual basses.

I talked to the teacher and understand better how it works. The fundraising is to help the students to be able to afford to go. Students do not have to participate in the fundraisers ( there will be plenty) if they don't want to. If they don't, their parents can pay the amount or the child can skip the trip. Talking to the parents, it seems most help pay and but some have their children skip the trip.

Son has approximately a year to come up with the money. He is going to fund raise. This will be limited because there isn't many places he can sell. He is planing on mowing lawns etc this summer for some money for the trip, he is diverting some of his weekly savings to the trip, and he figures some of his Christmas/birthday money can go to the trip too. Hubby thinks this will cover most of it but that we will chip in some at the end if needed. Working on finding it in the budget right now.

So basically all this to say, I get it now. I understand the complaints. I have have a big kid now. Let the fundraisers for big cash amounts begin.

[pollypurebred39]

Imagine, I feel your pain. My son has to come up $2,500+ by mid Summer to compete in nationals.

The kids will be doing car washes and bake sales but every kid has to make up the difference of the $2,500+. That for each kid!

All I've got to say is after all the popcorn, candy, and wrapping paper I've bought from family, friends and neighbors over the years better be reciporcated.

[imagine]

Imagine, I feel your pain. My son has to come up $2,500+ by mid Summer to compete in nationals.

The kids will be doing car washes and bake sales but every kid has to make up the difference of the $2,500+. That for each kid!

All I've got to say is after all the popcorn, candy, and wrapping paper I've bought from family, friends and neighbors over the years better be reciporcated.

So the fund raising you have to do for national is a "all for one" deal (We are all in this together) not an individual bases? Everyone goes or no one goes?

Buddy sold cookie dough to the lady ( a friend of mine) down the street. She bought some and informed me that her daughter would be selling cookie dough soon with the cheerleaders Was she subtle or not? LOL I know what I'm expected to do when her daughter shows up at my door.

Nationals for what activity? That sounds so exciting.

Good luck with your fun raiser.

[stinkbug]

This drive me crazy.....

We constanly have kids coming to our door asking for money for *trips*...just asking for money! Saturday night two girls showed up (maybe 12 yo) saying they wanted to go to the Lego robotics world championship...blah blah blah and it was going to cost $10,000.
You cannot really expect strangers to go for this...it's asinine.

When my kids were in school, we either figured out a way to pay for trips or guess what??? They didn't get to go. It infuriates me that people send their kids out begging for trip money/sponsors.

[bumplett]

Nationals for what polly?

I don't mind the fundraisers if they are for something useful - like GIRL SCOUT COOKIES .... mmmm.....

:giggle:

[cjrn]

I have been involved in keeping our band program from getting the ax for almost 15 years. I know fund raising! I even consult on the topic. My advice is to do some of your own projects if the school is still stuck in the cookie dough and wrapping paper rut. Mother's Day is coming up and everyone...buys for Mothers Day. So, go to your local floral wholesaler and arrange to purchase flowers. If you don't have one nearby go to Costco or your local grocery store and ask them to order some for you. Place them in a cheap vase, they are $1.00 or less and sell them to every man and every kid you know. Kids will buy these for their moms and it gets dads off the hook. You can do roses or cheaper wild flowers. We did this and made over $1,000 dollars. Sell them at church, school, work, to friends, at high school baseball games to those in the stands, everywhere!

For Thanksgiving and Christmas you can do homemade rolls or pies. If you know someone with a restaurant ask them where they get their rolls wholesale. Most get frozen dough and them bake it. You can also get cinnamon rolls, pies and pastries this way and you just let them raise and bake them. I add maple frosting instead of vanilla to the cinnamon rolls and everyone thinks they are incredible! For Valentines Day roses...you get the idea!

Good luck!

[savininfl]

All I have to say is these are all the reasons I refuse to partake on the fundraiser commitee at my son's school! Good Luck raising the money

[pollypurebred39]

imagine, Yes everyone goes or no one goes.


Bumplett, He is in a performing arts group. They wrote a skit based on the wizzard of oz and they perform it on stage. It's called the lollipop kids.

They placed first in sectionals, only first and second place got to go to states. They placed in states and now they are headed to nationals. (we find out where they placed at states during nationals) They win college money, oh and bragging rights! LOL

The kids will do car washes and bake sales so no high pressure fundraising happening. I'm just hoping that as many girl scout cookies, boyscout popcorn, local school district wrapping paper and such that I've bought the last twenty years that when my son fund raises for the first time ever that all those we have supported through the years respond in kind.

[Dutchie]

I have never understood - literally - never understood, why it was called a fund-raiser (guess I have lived in Holland too long).

Here when they say that they have to do something 'to raise funds' then it is almost always that they do something, get money for it and the money goes to charity or a good cause (but always a communal good cause).

A couple of my kids have been in a school where the 'extras' had to be paid for by the parents (this included educational trips to other countries). End of story. No fund raising, no going to friends asking for money. Either the parents paid for it or, if you could prove that you couldn't pay for it but it was a compulsary part of the school curriculum, then a 'hardship' fund of the school was used.

I have a couple of questions.
Please do not take these as me putting anyone down or anything of that matter, this is simply curiosty because I do not know the system.

Do the schools pop these fund raisers on you unexpectedly or do you know beforehand about some of them that they are 'attached' to that school or type of school.

Can you refuse (as a group of parents) to go along with it or with anything that is going to cost such a LOT of money for the group?

Is this a normal thing for all schools or are there schools that do not do fundraisers? Is this something that is for a certain type of school, elementary school, high school, a special type of school (we have various types of all schools)?

Are all fundraisers so expensive? I mean the amounts that you are mentioning are HUGE!

I am honestly curious.

[imagine]

I have never understood - literally - never understood, why it was called a fund-raiser (guess I have lived in Holland too long).

Here when they say that they have to do something 'to raise funds' then it is almost always that they do something, get money for it and the money goes to charity or a good cause (but always a communal good cause).

A couple of my kids have been in a school where the 'extras' had to be paid for by the parents (this included educational trips to other countries). End of story. No fund raising, no going to friends asking for money. Either the parents paid for it or, if you could prove that you couldn't pay for it but it was a compulsary part of the school curriculum, then a 'hardship' fund of the school was used.

I have a couple of questions.
Please do not take these as me putting anyone down or anything of that matter, this is simply curiosty because I do not know the system.

Do the schools pop these fund raisers on you unexpectedly or do you know beforehand about some of them that they are 'attached' to that school or type of school.

Can you refuse (as a group of parents) to go along with it or with anything that is going to cost such a LOT of money for the group?

Is this a normal thing for all schools or are there schools that do not do fundraisers? Is this something that is for a certain type of school, elementary school, high school, a special type of school (we have various types of all schools)?

Are all fundraisers so expensive? I mean the amounts that you are mentioning are HUGE!

I am honestly curious.

I have a couple of questions.
Please do not take these as me putting anyone down or anything of that matter, this is simply curiosty because I do not know the system.[COLOR="Blue"]I take no offense /COLOR]

Do the schools pop these fund raisers on you unexpectedly or do you know beforehand about some of them that they are 'attached' to that school or type of school.Yes, fund rasier generally are popped on me at least. Some parents know they are coming because they have older children

Can you refuse (as a group of parents) to go along with it or with anything that is going to cost such a LOT of money for the group?Where I live fundraisers are always optional. In the lower grades they are for communal things like charity mainly but occasionally for something the parent's group wants for the children or the school ( like school spirit shirts or a field trip or new books -our elementary parents group. buys all the children books to keep for their own a few time as year). We generally know what funds are being raised for. Some of the fundraisers are programs by companies like turn in your used printer ink containers and we will give money to your school or a restraunt give X amount for the profits from a certain day to the school

Is this a normal thing for all schools or are there schools that do not do fundraisers? I'm not sure that it is normal for the school to do it ( they do gather for charity). Here is is normal for the parents group PTA not the school that does the fund raising. The children sometimes do the actual fund raising. If it is an activity in the upper grades (high school) like orchestra, cheerleading, soccer, band, etc then it is the booster club (group of parents and children) that does the fund raising Is this something that is for a certain type of school, elementary school, high school, a special type of school (we have various types of all schools)? Our fund raising is for a certain thing or for a certain extra activity.

Are all fundraisers so expensive? I mean the amounts that you are mentioning are HUGE! My experience little children's fund raisers are little fund raisers for little extras generally. One school did more because they wanted a new playground. The high school ones are more expensive it seems. The one we are working on is for the orchestra performance trip in the summer. It is completely optional. Generally everyone goes as it is a great opportunity. We as parents can pay for the trip but since we are a public school some children will not be able to afford the trip so that is why they do the fund raising. All fund raisers are not selling something.

That is my experience and I'm sure not all school's or parent's groups, or Booster clubs work the same

[Rhayne]

The only fundraiser I had to do when I was in school was for a 6th grade week long trip to a mountain campgrounds. The only thing the school provided us to sell was candy bars. Each student got a box of 100 candy bars and could pick up additional boxes if we sold the first one. I think our trip was somewhere between 200-400 dollars. This was 1992 of course so the price was not that bad. I took my box with me on thanksgiving vacation and my family and family friends bought all of the candy. I never went door to door with it. I think my parents only had to pay for some hiking boots which if I remember correctly were bought at Payless Shoes so they weren't that expensive.

[pollypurebred39]

You'd be surprised by what activites these kids are involved in and the price tag attached. Sometimes you know before hand, sometimes it's sprung on you.

In my DS1's senior year his English teacher decided (about 1/2 way through the year) that instead of the senior trip being in the states that she wanted a vacation to the islands. She convinced all the teachers to go along with her on this change of plans, I think it was a real easy sell amongest the teachers. Surprise, surprise less students to watch on a fabulous island and you've got the makings for a great paid vacation! It was called to a vote with the senior body and teachers and Wahla, the islands it was.

Problem was the senior trip price tag rose from under $1000 a student to almost 4 x's that much. No amount of fundraising is going to to cover that. Much of the senior class did not go, just a small handful of students whose parents could put out the money went. If the students had known before hand that this meant they would be ripped off of their senior trip they'd have NEVER voted yes on the ballot. The teachers and the few students who went had a fabulous time. DS1 did not attend

[McD]

On the subject of fundraisers, I got an email from my mother-in-law's friend. (not my friend, my mother-in-law's friend) She was fundraising for her daughter to get to go to Florida for some dance thing at the first part of 2011 and needed to raise $2200.

The options to raise the money were buy cookie dough, buy tupperware, coupon books, or donate money.

My first thought was -- it was pretty odd getting this email from someone I don't know. My second thought was -- that girl is old enough to be fundraising herself. (she is 14/15)

i just thought itw as really tacky to get an email from the mother soliciting funds like that. Am I out of line??

[pollypurebred39]

I don't think so. Fundraising has gotten out of control.