Home › Forums › Open Discussion › School fundraisers – am I the only one annoyed?
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April 3, 2012 at 11:20 pm #602755
skeeterParticipantSchool fundraisers – am I the only one annoyed?
Here comes a rant.
It’s happened to me twice in just the past couple days. A friend or coworker (or both) has come to my house and/or office cubicle with their child asking for a donation for a school fundraiser. It really bothers me. I feel that parents should be responsible for their children’s education costs. I don’t wanna feel cheap saying “no” while the kid is right in front of me.
I’m not a mean Grinch. I swear! I love getting invited to kids birthday parties and I’m happy to bring a gift. I also enjoy office pools to get a wedding gift for a co-worker. I give to several charities that I support. But the school fundraisers really, really bother me. I’m put on the spot with a kid with an outstretched hand and a parent (often a friend) standing right behind the child looking at me. I just don’t feel any moral or ethical obligation to support the child’s school, whether public or private. But it upsets me when I say “no” to the friend.
I have a toddler now, and I *promise* I will never ask a friend or a coworker for a donation for school. If my child’s school has a fundraiser, I will ask what the expected fundraising per child is. I will then write a check on the spot for that exact amount of money. My kid, my expense. If I cannot afford it, I will send my child to a less expensive school.
Two questions. First, how do other people feel about school fundraisers. Am I the only one bothered? Second, what is the history on school donations. I never recall fundraising. If there was a school activity that cost money, I would ask my parents for the money. Sometimes they would say yes. Other times no. But I never started walking around their office or our neighborhood asking for other folks to pay for my education.
April 4, 2012 at 12:17 am #753748
luckymom30ParticipantIntereesting article on Seattle School Fundraising
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017363624_ptafunding29m.html
April 4, 2012 at 12:21 am #753749
luckymom30ParticipantSeattle School Fund Raising History:
http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2012/01/money-our-schools-and-ptsas.html
April 4, 2012 at 1:51 am #753750
CaitParticipantI can tell you with certainty that kids HATE doing this.
April 4, 2012 at 2:15 am #753751
SmittyParticipantTo me, it depends on if it is public or private and how close I am to the family.
Public? I already pay, sorry. Fix the expense side of the ledger before you start asking me for more, especially if it’s a straight handout.
Private? Depends. If you choose to send your kid to private school then you should pay the cost. Exceptions being auctions and similar where you actually get something in return for your time and treasure. I also make exceptions for families with little means who want the best for their kids (uh oh, I am in trouble now!).
I am sure the libs feel the opposite. Public schools need more money and private are sucking our community of much needed wealth and wisdom.
April 4, 2012 at 2:17 am #753752
JoBParticipantIf you don’t want to give.. don’t.
if not feeling like you look like a jerk to the kid and their parent is more important to you than not giving.. then give.
as for what you will do when that toddler comes of age… good luck with that
April 4, 2012 at 2:43 am #753753
Myr-myrParticipantSkeeter, Thanks so much for your candor and for sharing your feelings about this inappropriate kind of “fundraising”. LuckyMom, thanks to you for the links to such provocative articles.
What ever happened to the good old idea of kids EARNING money by running errands or doing small chores like walking a dog for neighbors or personally creating something special to sell? In an earlier post here I invite West Seattle Art Teachers to explore this alternative. Perhaps it’s the right time to invite the whole community to take a look at a unique West Seattle pilot fundraiser – one way kids can create and earn and be genuinely proud of their contribution: http://oozandoz.com/fundraisers/
April 4, 2012 at 2:59 am #753754
Ms. SparklesParticipantYou are not a jerk; the parent who brings their kid into your work place to guilt you into giving is. By saying “no” to them you are teaching both the kid and their parent an important lesson – that type of ham-handed emotional black mail is cheap and ineffective.
I have a child in a public elementary school and I write them a check each year when the PTA announces the fund raising goal per child -I do this mostly because I’m fortunate enough to be able to, but also to absolve me from selling junk no one wants or hitting up neighbors and co-workers.
I agree that the schools are not funded correctly, but that isn’t “Skeeter’s” problem, it’s mine, the Seattle School Board’s, and my state and national representatives’ problem.
April 4, 2012 at 3:22 am #753755
karenParticipantI can only speak to my child’s school. the fund raising there has paid for an extra teacher to keep class size down. We have funded an art program and we have used the money to keep the cost of field trips down. This is a public school. Sure, the state should be taking care of the schools, but there are so many gaps. Many children could not afford to go on field trips if they were not funded through the PTA. Did you know that school now have to rent buses to take kids on field trips?
I totally agree that the school fundraisng thing stinks. From a parent view, there is so much pressure to do it. In a typical year we sell, paper, cookie dough, have a book sale and a day at Barnes and Noble, we have a walk-a-thon, a read-a-thon, movie nights with bake sales, wreath sales, t-shirt sales, Chinook books and an auction.
You’re not alone, we are all annoyed. But until the state picks up the ball, I will keep fund raising because my child, all children, deserve the best.
April 4, 2012 at 3:38 pm #753756
skeeterParticipantThank you all for the responses. Luckymom, I found your articles very interesting. Thank you. PTA groups funding teacher positions?? Opens up a whole new debate doesn’t it?
As for the fundraising, I’ve calmed down a bit. Both families that asked for money are fantastic folks. There must be a lot of pressure to fundraise.
I’m 99.9% sure I will stick with my “promise” of never asking friends or coworkers for school contributions. (Even though JoB doubts me!) I’ve been blessed with a good-paying job and a substantial amount of financial wealth. The Mrs. has a high paying job as well. It just wouldn’t seem right for me to ask other people for money for my child’s school (public or private) when I’m able to pay myself. Like Ms. Sparkles, I plan to just write a check.
April 4, 2012 at 4:34 pm #753757
WSratsinacageMemberWhat annoys me is that parents have to raise 100k per year just so kids can have the basics and the schools still suffer (ie the high school students post recently about the cleanliness of his school).
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I think a lot of people who do not have kids don’t realize the state of education in WA. Not a put down or anything like that, I was unaware as well until I had children. The state keeps slashing money for education each year and parents have to continually make up the difference. Yes, the state could manage money much better but until then (when hell freezes?) the money has to come from parents and it’s great if the community helps out .. the whole it takes a village thing .. but if you don’t want to donate, no harm/no foul, I’m sure people understand and don’t mean to hassle anyone.
April 4, 2012 at 5:12 pm #753758
herongrrrlParticipantThe other thing that drives me crazy about these fund raisers is that they are just selling worthless, overpriced crap, and there is a whole industry devoted to pushing it to the schools for their own profit. The companies who are selling the fundraising products usually pocket 50% or more of the money, which means that when you pay $15 for a tub of overpriced, nasty, frozen cookies (for example) maybe the school makes $7.50 for it. These companies have paid representatives that go into the schools to get the kids excited about being unpaid hucksters for all their worthless, unsustainable or unhealthy stuff, too, and all the worthless prizes they will get if they sell a lot.
My compromise on fundraisers for my own kids’ schools is to write a check directly to the PTA (and yes, not everyone is able to do that, the equity issues here are another huge problem), and to support fundraisers that don’t sell any products, like read-a-thons or walk-a-thons.
April 4, 2012 at 5:18 pm #753759
dbseaMemberFirst, it’s not cool or considerate to cold call your co-workers with your child present. I sell GS cookies at work and I only inform staff that I’m their local pusher and how they can order from us. That’s it, up to them and I don’t want to pressure anyone. However my daughter will come in to deliver and personally thank all her customers which I think is appropriate.
As for the parents having to supplement school funding, I don’t like the necessity. But I love that enough people care enough to do it. And I’ve seen the benefits first hand.
Like everything else there are “right” ways and “wrong” ways to do things.
April 4, 2012 at 5:29 pm #753760
skeeterParticipantGeez. The more stories I hear about the state of public schools in Washington the more I think we’ll send our little girl to private school. We have a couple years to figure this out so we need to do more research before making a decision. Private school might be a win/win for everyone. Daughter gets a good education (win) and one less child in the public school system means more money for the children in the public school (win.)
April 4, 2012 at 5:30 pm #753761
WSBKeymasterWhat ratsinacage said.
Ours is a high-school sophomore now and has attended a co-op preschool, a private preschool, and then four public schools along the way. Oh, and two years of online public education too. We have seen it all.
We are very proud that as a business, WSB can and does donate to a variety of nonprofit causes over the course of each year, including school-related ones around West Seattle. Interestingly, we have not been asked as parents to chip in for anything for quite some time. But from a news-coverage standpoint, it is shocking how schools are increasingly left to their own devices to deal with the basics. Sure, you can say that in theory, they should figure out how to better deal with the hand they’ve been dealt. In practice, if you have a kid in a school RIGHT NOW that is dealing with falling-apart desks/chairs or tattered textbooks, are you really going to say “Sorry honey, you’ll just have to suffer”? Even if you’re not a parent, you might consider whether you want to deal in 10 or 20 years with a world run by kids taught in rundown schools. Generally, these fundraisers are no longer for “extras.” They’re for “basics.”
P.S. That said, I think fundraisers should be routed through the parents, not given to little Su or Sam to try to pitch relatives or Mom-n-Dad’s coworkers to buy Sally Foster wrapping paper (ugh, we just wrote a check those years on behalf of what our kid was given, and said “we don’t need the wrapping paper”).
April 4, 2012 at 6:46 pm #753762
IrukandjiParticipantThough I know we are fortunate to have the choice, we chose our school in large part BECAUSE there is no fundraising. The tuition is adequate to cover all operations. No auctions, no junk to sell. I am so grateful for that.
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Decades ago I did my small part fundraising for public school, standing outside grocery stores with kids holding ‘Will Run For Money’ signs and having them call their supportive family members for contributions. Never door-to-door, and never in-office. There was some good teaching that happened in learning the ASK, but it was only with the few were willing and able to tolerate the experience. Mostly, our contribution was spending time assisting teachers with whatever they needed done.
April 4, 2012 at 9:04 pm #753763
Ms. SparklesParticipantWell said herongrrrl and dbsea!
April 4, 2012 at 10:03 pm #753764
SueParticipantI’ve never been a big fan of being solicited for fundraisers in person. At my job we have an email list for people sharing info/selling stuff/etc. and that’s where people usually mention the fundraising. “Come see me if you’re interested in buying X.” No pressure, because if I don’t want it, nobody comes asking, but I know where to get it if I do.
April 5, 2012 at 2:39 pm #753765
Myr-myrParticipantWhat’s the goal of fundraising? See what Boston has to say!
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