fund raising in schools

Parents: Fight dumb school fundraisers!
The online article by Sarah Lorge Butler is here:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/parents-fight-dumb-school-fundraisers-2404761/

Last week I unzipped my daughter’s backpack and found a catalog for Yankee Candle. That same night I heard from a friend in Seattle, seeking guidance on pricing items she was required to donate to a silent auction for her daughter’s school. The next day, a friend in Connecticut e-mailed, selling chocolate bars for her child’s preschool.

It’s a fact of life, I’m learning quickly, that schools have to fundraise. Early and often. Public school, private school - it doesn’t matter. Budgets are tight. Families of preschoolers are not exempt.

But it’s time for parents and principals to wise up. Because there are effective fundraisers, which benefit schools and raise a lot of money with little work. And there are terrible sales schemes, which raise some money for schools, but do more to pad the bottom line of the companies marketing cheap goods. Katherine Wertheim, CFRE, a professional fundraiser in Ventura, California, spelled it out for me here.

Buyer Beware

Restaurant fundraisers: Eat at this Friendly’s or that California Pizza Kitchen between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and your school will earn 15% of sales! “That means that for the school to earn one dollar, you have to spend roughly seven,” Wertheim points out. “People should sit down and do the math.” On a $35 bill, the school earns $5.25. The only time it makes sense is if you were going to eat out anyway.

Product sales: Popcorn, wrapping paper, cookie dough, pasta or candles. The school might get half of the sales. So a parent has to spend $23 for a Yankee Candle for the school to receive $11.50. Why not just write a check for $23 to the school?

What’s worse, many of these companies visit the school and pull the kids out of class for a “presentation” detailing the prizes kids can win if they’re top sellers. Wertheim once bought $42 worth of gift wrap from a boy raising money for a school trip. “I asked him what he needed it for, and he couldn’t articulate why they were going on the trip and what it cost,” she remembers. “But he could beautifully articulate how much wrapping paper he needed to sell to get special bonuses from the company. I’d rather write a $25 check straight to the school.”

Silent auctions: Take care if you’re buying items to donate to the auction, because the average item gathers two-thirds of its retail value. If you spend $120 on wine for an auction, as Wertheim once did, and the highest bidder pays $80, you’d be better off donating $80 straight to the school.

Fundraisers Worth Trying

Walkathons: At least the kids are getting some exercise. And 100% of the pledges they collect go to the schools.

Scrip: If you’re going to be buying groceries or gas anyway, might as well have a small percentage of that purchase benefit the school. Programs vary, the easiest ones allow you to register your credit cards and loyalty cards to track your purchases.

Just Ask: Businesses might be interested in paying to hang a sign on the baseball field fence; they’ll consider it an advertising expense. Approach local service clubs with a well-reasoned pitch for why the school needs money. You might be surprised how easily you get a $500 or $1,000 donation for the school. While you’re asking, teach kids how to make the fundraising case too, and have them write thank you notes.

Bottom Line

Parents unite! Here’s Wertheim’s take: “I think the parents need to go to principals and say, ‘There will be no more product sales to our children, and no more catalogs. Tell us what you need and make the case why you need it. We will make the case to other people why we need it. We don’t mind walkathons, but you are not going to have our students taken out of class to view a presentation by a corporation that is going to make at least 50% on the dollar from kids selling their schlocky products.’”

english week 2010

October 11 Monday
07:40am Gr1 Spelling Bee
08:10am Gr1 Quiz Bee
02:30pm Gr3 Spelling Bee
03:00pm Gr3 Quiz Bee
03:30pm Gr5 Vocabulary Contest
04:00pm Gr5 Quiz Bee

October 12 Tuesday
07:40am Gr2 Spelling Bee
08:10am Gr2 Quiz Bee
02:30pm Gr4 Vocabulary Contest
03:00pm Gr4 Quiz Bee
03:30pm Gr6 Vocabulary Contest
04:00pm Gr6 Quiz Bee

October 13 Wednesday
07:40am Gr1 Smart Talking Contest
08:10am Gr2 Smart Talking Contest
02:30pm Gr3 Smart Talking Contest
03:00pm Gr4 Smart Talking Contest
03:30pm Gr5 Extemporaneous Speech Contest
04:00pm Gr6 Extemporaneous Speech Contest

October 14 Thursday
Culmination Program General Rehearsal

October 15 Friday
English Week Culmination Program

school notice 2010 1003

Dear Parents:

Greetings!

In our resolve to increase our students' appreciation for Science, we have invited the people behind STARLAB, a portable planetarium, to teach them the wonders of space science.

STARLAB is a large inflatable "bubble" dome with a holding capacity of 50 people.  The students get inside the structure giving them an illusion of the night sky.  Once inside, they get to learn and enjoy a 30-minute lecture with the aid of visual presentations.  We have scheduled the activity this October 11 and 12, 2010.

A minimal fee of PhP80.00 will be charged per student.  This is a great deal considering the fun, learning and convenience the package offers.  We would appreciate it very much if the said amount were paid on or before October 7, 2010.

Thank you for your unequivocal support.  We anticipate that you will continue to show the same in similar undertakings in the near future.

Sincerely yours,

MS. LIZABETH FINA L. POLESTICO
Grade School Principal

MS. ANELE P. GONZALES
High School Principal

Noted by:

ATTY. EMMANUEL B. PALABRICA
School Director