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Elementary and Secondary School Fundraising
If we take a close look at elementary and secondary school fundraising over the last two decades, we find SchoolHeart to be "positively poised" and on the leading edge of recent fundraising trends. FREE, EASY and PERPETUAL are three vital aspects that "validate" the program in today's economic climate, as well as the three aspects that school principals covet most. Utilizing the tremendous power, reach and function of the internet, the program requires negligible man hours from school personnel and pays off month after month and year after year.
The variety of fundraising methods has increased over the last several years with more products and more ways to get parents and supporters to buy things they really don't want and absolutely don’t need. The sales schemes tout pizzas, monogrammed school items and key chains framing customized etchings of the school building. Booths offer cookies, candy and cake mixes with volunteers relentlessly proselytizing the faithful. As we shall see, there is no way around these efforts, as schools MUST make additional monies to function properly.
Recent surveys by the NAESP (National Association of Elementary School Principles) have tried to present an overview of the entire process, future trends, yielding long-held beliefs and a few surprises. Among the less-surprising results was the fact was that almost 90% of schools raise supplemental funds. Nor was it startling to find that, if it were possible, over two thirds (69.5 percent) of schools would cease fundraising activities. Still, over 90% said that "the benefits of fundraising justify the time and effort" involved.
Comments ranged from acknowledgment of the practical necessity of fundraising ("We would not have a clean school, toilet paper, or someone to answer the phone without fundraisers.") to appreciation of the less tangible benefits ("Fundraisers have brought parents much closer to the school and the various educational programs. It has developed a strong school spirit and parent involvement relationship.") Respondents also passed along parent complaints, ranging from unhappiness over the competition for prizes, to disapproval of involving children in non-educational pursuits, to objections to raffles as a form of gambling. Book fairs rated as the most popular method of fundraising, with 88% of respondents indicating that they employed that method. Product sales came in a close second, with 81% of schools participating.
A popular new trend is "passive" fundraising-methods that require little to no time and effort on the part of parents, teachers, administrators, or families, and this aspect falls into perfect step with the SchoolHeart program. The obvious example, internet fundraising, whereby schools receive money based on purchases families make online, is still a minor factor, with only 8% of respondents participating. Other relatively passive methods, such as collecting box tops, receipts, or labels for purchases parents would make anyway, are quite popular, with 74% of respondents participating. Another benefit of such programs is that they continue year-round, rather than being limited-time efforts such as book fairs or product sales.
Other statistics revealed by the NAESP survey include the following:
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72.5% of schools report having 1-4 fundraisers per year
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37.7 % report average yearly earnings of $10,000-$24,999
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82.5% have seen an increased need for fundraising over the past 10 years
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Over half of respondents (56.4 percent) have received complaints from parents regarding fundraising
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Money from fundraisers is most often used for classroom equipment and supplies (58%), field trips (57%), library books (50%), and playground equipment (45%).
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For a majority of schools (65%) the PTA/PTO is responsible for fundraising.
Individual schools have distinct experiences to contribute to the discussion of school fundraising. Today's School solicited input and found some interesting results from Menlo Park School in New Jersey and West Elementary School in Lancaster, OH. According to Mary Reece, principal of Menlo Park School, schools in New Jersey (particularly elementary schools) pulled back from involving children in fundraising efforts after a child was murdered while selling products door-to-door. "We decided to get the adults more involved," she says. The population the school could draw from was made up of families of the 660 students in Menlo Park's grades K-5.
Rina DiMaio, president of the PTA, and Tina O'Grady, who is responsible for PTA fundraising, sent out letters to the parents. Over 200 responses were received, with 80% expressing a desire not to have fundraising activities. A majority preferred the straightforward method of the school directly asking parents for donations. (According to the NAESP survey, this strategy has been considered by 45.4% of respondents.)
Reece reports that this year, 25.3% of families chipped in with donations of $50 each. This figure is down a little from the 33% donating the previous year, so other fundraising strategies had to be employed as well in order to meet the budget (typically $20,000 per year). The methods chosen were family-oriented, with children not being encouraged to sell to others in the community. Entertainment books, for example, were provided strictly to families of students. The Market Day program provided foodstuffs for families and profits for the school. And a school community rummage sale "was a lot of work, but successful financially," O'Grady reports.
DiMaio says that another major focus of the school's fundraising efforts is to explore creative ways to generate funds without going to the parents. In pursuit of that goal, Menlo Park has forged relationships with local businesses and takes advantage of national programs such as saving box tops. Other activities that some schools see as fundraisers are viewed strictly as services to children and families. Book fairs, for example, are not structured to raise money but to provide free books for the students and the school library. School-related products such as sweatshirts, T-shirts, and hats are sold as school spirit boosters, not moneymakers. Holiday Shops and Mothers and Fathers Day stores are seen as a service to the children. "We do sell products, we just don't rely on the profits," says Reece. "It's hard to raise $20,000 from 500 families."
One reason for that, says O'Grady, is that "most families believe taxes should pay for everything. A bigger task than fundraising is getting the parents to understand the need for it." The activities supported by Menlo Park's fundraising are largely cultural events, field trips, and assemblies-extras that the Board of Education used to spring for, but has since eliminated. O'Grady uses PTA meetings to spread the word, and also publishes a 10-page newsletter with articles detailing exactly what programs won't be funded unless the school's fundraising efforts pay off. The school's website also discusses fundraising issues.
Reece notes that an additional hindrance is the fact that 50% of the student population consists of learners with a first language other than English. "Many families don't have a reference for what a PTA is and does," she says. "That makes it difficult."
Paul Young, principal at West Elementary School in Lancaster, OH, expresses many of the same concerns. According to Young, finding funds for the school's 385 students in grades K-6 takes a combination of traditional parent group fundraising and soliciting grants and business partnerships. "Parent fundraising is only a small drop in the bucket compared to what grants provide," he notes, "but we consistently take in $15,000 per year that way." Still, Young is philosophical about fundraising. "My group is well organized.
If they're not, fundraising can be a nightmare for a principal."
Local businesses also have a part to play in supplementing the school's funds. The newspaper, for example, donates papers for educational programs, while fast-food restaurants supply free food coupons for incentive programs for the children. "It's not a lot of dollars," Young notes, "but these things are important in our overall success."
Young feels it's important for a school to establish a relationship with a fundraising company that meets the school's needs and stick with it. "We've been using the same company for several years," he says. “They provide a profit margin of about 50-50 or 40-60. I don't think a school should go much lower than that.”
Minimal disruption to the school is also a factor in choosing a fundraising partner. As Young notes, teachers, parents, and students don't want to spend valuable time sorting and repackaging products that have been ordered. "If a company pre-packages and preaddresses customer orders, it's more user-friendly"-and more likely to do business with West School, Young says. What is his best advice on fundraising? "Talk to other principals," he says. "See what's working for them and what's not. There are a lot of people out there who'll be glad to share."
Is the future online? Despite the fact that the NAESP survey reported only 8% of schools using internet programs for fundraising, that figure is expected to skyrocket. At the moment the amount of money earned per school is minuscule (estimates range from $53-$100 per school), but all that could change as the public's buying habits make the leap to cyber shopping.
Some excerpts taken from "School Today" Article "Fundraising Today and Tomorrow" by Janet Coburn
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