01/4/2012:
"There's another fund raising project out there and it's fairly new to the
southern region. It's a great idea and the name of the organization is
called UPLIFT. It's a high nutrition standard and a high return education
funding network.
"
12/5/2011:
"Somehow I am not convinced that any of the above can really make
difference for our schools. What about School Supplies, Uniforms and
shoes etc.? Recently for Back-to-school at my daughter's school we bought
school supplies from a local company and sold to parents at good profit.
Never called it a fundraiser, but we got the job done. Prices were not
bad, not as cheap as Walmart, but 100 times better than buying a $10
cookie dough. Parents were happy.
"
08/19/2010:
"Why not have a silent auction. Parents can donate items or you can
contact vendors. I came from a school who done this while having a school
carnival and they raised over $10,000. With the economy the way it is
parents cannot afford to match funds or pay out for everything the school
thinks the child needs."
08/19/2010:
"Here's the thing...I already contribute generously towards education by
paying my taxes. The teachers, although not all are great. are under paid
for the responsibility they are assigned. Where are the parent's and
their responsibilities? Not the ones that volunteer, or lead the PTA, or
assist their children with their studies and academic success. I'm
speaking of the ones that do not read to their children. check over all of
the homework, monitor their computer time. Shoot, it seems as a taxpayer
I'm even responsible for feeding some children their breakfast, lunch and
dinner! It may sound 'old school' but whatever happened to parental
responsibility to the proper raising, feeding, clothing and academic as
well as moral education of their own offspring? "
08/11/2010:
"Another idea for fundraising could be to sell school event photos online at
a premium. Snapizzi, a new online facility lets you do that very easily. The
number of photos taken at our schools is larger than ever and often the
crowd of parents each holding a camera at all these special school events is
quite impressive. From my experience as a mother, trying to capture that
perfect photo can be quite stressful while engaging actively in the event.
If your school has a photographer using the Snapizzi technology, photos can
be made easily available online to buy same day. If you price the photos at
a premium, - there you have it – a great fundraiser! Our children's
privacy is secured by a new patent pending 2D barcode system that offers
unique on-line safety features and the system allows different add-on
products like printed T-shirts, cups and hats. For many parents buying a
photo on line of your child's activities in school at a premium will by far
beat washing cars or baki!
ng cup cakes. The photos can also be a perfect gift for grandparents."
08/9/2010:
" In our school, they encourage parents to sell things online via Main
Street Fair(www.mainstreetfair.com), an online auctions and free
classified ads site that offers some of the lowest listing fees online.
The best thing about this site is that it donates a percentage of its
listing fees to the school of the seller's choice. With enough parents
involved, this is sure to be a successful fundraiser."
08/9/2010:
"We've recently learned about a creative school/private partnership that
returned $100K to the district by providing volunteers for a large event.
I don't think this was unique to Carmel/Pebble Beach but could be repeated
in many districts:
http://blog.volunteerspot.com/volunteer_guru/2010/08/fundraiser-volunteers
pot-helps-carmel-school.html "
08/5/2010:
"We raised $1,200 and $1,500 for the drama dept. at our kid's Middle School
last year in two days. we sent out emails to all of the drama parents and
a few neighbors and told them we were having a fundraising yard sale to
cover the costs of production and costumes for the Fall play and Spring
musical. We asked for donations to sell in our sale. People were extremely
generous and we provided pick-up service for bulky items otherwise they
dropped off donations at the MPR. The sale was held a parent's house and
all of the proceeds were donated. I mean who doesn't have a dresser full
of clothes that they don't wear anymore, or a garage full of stuff they
never use and just takes up space and collects dust? Leftover items that
didn't sell were donated to another charity - all shoes went to Haiti,
etc. We had one sale in the fall and one in the spring. "
08/4/2010:
"I agree with one of the posts below that although these generous corporate
donations are wonderful, they are serious long-shots and don't actually
fall under the term 'fundraiser'. My school recently set up an online
auction where parents could bid on donated items. In particular, items
like a dinner and a movie with a teacher were inexpensive yet 'priceless'
experiences worth more than the face value to our kids. Also, I am usually
opposed to selling products and services to raise money but I found The
VIP card was really successful because our school received $10 of the $20
price per card and the savings more than covered the cost after one or two
purchases. Let me know if you need details on either of these ideas. "
08/4/2010:
"GREATESTFUNDRAISERONEARTH.COM is a site that brings you to a company
creating a huge buzz in fundraising as well as personal revenue
generation. It's a turnkey operation that works together with Elite
Specialty Meats to create an ongoing, money raising effort for any
organization, charity, school system, or club. There is no start-up cost,
and the organization even gets a customized website to have orders placed,
sales tracked & profits tallied. It's truly amazing."
08/4/2010:
"The real reason why fundraising does not work….
In going thru the vigorous process of trying to enroll my kid in a
private/independent school I learn a few eye opening life events. 1st
discrimination still exists… if any one tells you otherwise they are
turning an eye blind. 2nd I notice that some of theses schools who were
fundraising while touring had a great of support from wealthy stay at home
“moms’ – whether in support of time or money. Unfortunately public and
lower end private schools do not have this structure support. Hence I now
have to work harder to make sure my kid is getting the education he/she
deserves. I will lead the way in making sure my kid’s school implements
some great visual ideas I that I gather from touring these schools. And you
may think he/she was not good enough to get in but when you see the
competition and those that have gotten accepted one begins to wonder? Well
that’s for other blogs. Simply said true fundraising may not work for all
schools…a change form the 1st statemen!
t line.
"
08/4/2010:
"What's being implemented at Tustin and Irvine Unified is absolutely
wonderful; however, these are districts that tap into a relatively
affluent population. When you have committed parents/families, the student
population will always benefit from that. Most districts, though, have a
mixed socioeconomic and diverse population, and a plan like that would
undoubtedly be shouldered a disproportionately smaller parent
population... far less than the 75-80% hoped for. Another thing to
consider is that when the community rallies to make up for the deficits in
the public education system, then state and federal governments will
continue to see that schools can get by with continued educational budget
cuts. And the cycle continues, where the burden falls upon the parents of
school-age children. I don't know what the solution would be in the end,
but I do agree you have to do the best with what you've got.
Unfortunately, for most schools and districts, that isn't very much. As a
teach!
er myself, I see how far-reaching and drastic those cuts are in the
classroom, and it's the students who get the short end of the stick every
time."
08/4/2010:
"Where is the flat-out request for money up front to fund the year? Our
school in Tustin Unified and the Irvine Unified school district, both in
Southern California, are asking parents to donate roughly $350 per family
(Irvine is asking for it per pupil) at the beginning of the year and
looking to completely eliminate bake sales, gift wrap sales, etc. No
hassles, no endless flyers asking for money. We're hoping to implement
this year. This method would raise all the funds necessary to not only
fund the things that the state doesn't pay for anymore (which isn't much)
but also after school programs, arts and a regular PE teacher -- you know,
the things that go beyond just teaching to the test. Things that used to
be taken for granted. A well-rounded public education is no longer free.
If even 75-80% of a schools familes would donate in this manner, it would
make a huge difference. Because here in California, the broken system of
funding schools, special interests, union!
contracts, etc. won't change anytime soon, so we have to work with what
we have."
08/4/2010:
"I couldn't disagree more with this post.
Savvy schools know not to waste their time with these fundraisers and
certainly not count on the income from them.
Now that I think about it, these aren't even fundraisers - they are
contests, grants, donation drives and affiliate programs.
Sorry but this just isn't what schools need today.
They need focused efforts that EVERYONE will get behind. If you're
searching for consistent big dollars, these recommendations fall short.
Still love you guys though!"
08/4/2010:
"Barnes & Noble stores have an in-store program where school supporters can
shop in stores and have a percentage of sales as high as 20-25% go to the
school. Online sales also count, but for 10-12%. www.bn.com/bookfairs"
08/4/2010:
"Another great idea is selling healthier foods! There's just no excuse for
profiting at the expense of our kids' health with so many options
available."
