As you are surely aware, there is currently a nation-wide recall of products containing peanut paste made by a Georgia-based company.

While each parent and school employee needs to be vigilant in making sure these products are removed from the general student population, we cannot forget that peanut butter cookie dough sold in fundraisers would also fall into this recall category.

I would advise any group who has in the recent past or who is currently selling cookie dough to contact the company to verify the status of their product.  (A list can be found here.) I can confirm, however, that the peanut butter cookie dough sold through our partner FastTrack Fundraising , including the Chippery brand, is safe for consumption and not under a recall.

The risks of not checking this out are real. So far, almost 500 people have become ill and six have actually died across the entire United States.

For more information, please click here to visit the Food and Drug Administration’s Peanut Butter Recall page.

Photo By: Plutor

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If you’ve been checking in with Top School Fundraisers for a while, you know that we have a very friendly relationship with eFundraising, which is a division of Readers’ Digest magazine. eFundraising produces excellent fundraising products that can tremendously help your school meet your revenue goals.

Like Top School Fundraisers, eFundraising also provides information on the topics of how to raise money for your school.

Just recently, the kind folks over at eFundraising asked me to write an e-book on this topic. It is called How Can I Convince Someone to Give to Us When There are So Many Worthy Causes? and it was published on the eFundraising main site. It is free to download.

It is filled with very practical advice and I invite you to check it out.

Thanks!

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Every once in a while, we here at Top School Fundraisers have the chance to tell our readers about fantastic opportunities that come along for their schools. Today is one of these great days.

The good folks over at eFundraising.com have just announced they will be reprising one of their most popular contests. It’s called “Win your Fundraiser!”

In order to be eligible to win this contest, your school has to first participate in one of the eFundraising product fundraisers. This could mean selling the World’s Finest Chocolate, Chippery Cookie Dough, or Gourmet Lollipops.

Even without the incentive of this contest, however, we think that if your school is going to have a product sale, you should seriously consider the eFundraising line of products due to their great prices and excellent quality.

Whatever the dollar amount of product you order, this will be the grand prize, if you win. If you ordered $2,000 worth of chocolate bars, or $5,000 of cookie dough, or $1,000 of lollipops, eFundraising would give your school back your investment! How cool is that?!

Entering the contest is easy. Once you’ve placed your order, send them an email, letter or video answering the following questions by December 31st, 2008:

1. Why should you win this contest?
2. If you win, what will your group do with the winnings?
3. What did you like best about your fundraising experience with us?

They’ll make their decision and announce the winner on January 31, 2009.

Please visit the FastTrack Fundraising site to learn much more about their terrific fundraising products and get official contest rules and details.

What a fantastic opportunity to dramatically increase the amount you earn from an already very successful fundraising plan.  I strongly urge you and your school to jump right in and get involved!

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If you are the PTO/PTA president or school principal, you may be all too familiar with the phrase “fundraising fatigue.” Or you may have felt this syndrome for yourself at one point during the school year.

So many organizations, schools and various causes are now fundraising. They also seem to be fundraising more frequently during the year, or running year-long fundraisers. It is important to keep your fundraising efforts motivated and focused so people do not feel burned out and tired.

Although some may feel fundraising fatigue, many Americans support their schools’ efforts enthusiastically according to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers. In the 2005-6 school year, 8 out of 10 Americans purchased a consumer item to support a school fundraiser. 9 out of 10 parents purchased a consumer item to support a school fundraiser.

One suggestion for fundraising according to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers is to do less fundraisers and to do them more effectively. Many fundraisers are a strong cause of burnout. Setting a time limit for your fundraiser is also important. This encourages full participation during the time limit, along with the guarantee that there will not be another fundraiser within a certain amount of time. The Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers suggests two to three fundraisers a year for a school’s strongest fundraising success.

Source: AFRDS.org

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Curious what other school PTA groups are planning for fall? Here’s a few schools that already planned some great fundraising events for fall:

Georgetown MA PTA is planning two family dances, Meadow Farms gift wrap, Genevieve gift wrap and a silent and live auction.

Grande Park Elementary PTA in Plainfield IL is holding a Back to School bash. They’re also planning their annual fall barbecue.

Hancock Elementary School PTA in Hancock, MD has a corporate sponsorship program to help fund their new playground.

Nesaquake Middle School PTA in Saint James, NY will be offering Entertainment Books as their fundraiser. They are also planning the sale of popular spiritwear clothing and other spirit items.

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