Finding ideas for blog posts can be challenging at times. Fortunately, there are always news stories about school fundraising that are worth sharing and commenting on, but an even better source of post ideas comes from the author’s own experience.

That’s the way it works for me, as well. However, when a author chooses to share his own experiences, they aren’t always positve ones and they aren’t always flattering toward the author.

So it is with this particular experience I want to share today. It doesn’t paint me in a very good light, but I do believe there is a universal truth to be mined here, well maybe semi-universal, anyway.

Just last week, I got an email from a PTO member at my kid’s school. I recognized her name from previous emails she had sent and from a few school functions I’ve attended. The subject line was something like, “Help Needed for Many School End Activities”.

I looked at that email, sitting there in my inbox, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I had a pretty good idea what they were going to be asking of us parents, and I just didn’t have the time (or energy) right then to spend a bunch of hours at school. I wasn’t angry that she sent this email. I know she was just doing her assigned task, and that she only had good intentions. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to open it, and I didn’t. (bad dad) moved on with other work.

A few days passed. continue reading

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If you have ever worked to raise money for a school, you no doubt have faced some level of frustration.

First of all, you see how much has been cut from school programs due to a growing lack of state support. Second, you see how hard it is to get parents involved in any part of school life, from volunteering to fundraising.

As one of the few parents/adults who do get involved on an active basis, you can’t be faulted for wanting to just scream, “Hey, parents! Get off your butts and help out!” You also can’t be blamed if you want to say to them, “If we don’t raise $2,500 on this next fundraiser, we’re going to have to cancel the student’s favorite annual field trip (or assembly or whatever it is they like).”

That’s what we call in the business a “threat”. Admittedly, I’m a big fan of the threat and have advocated using it in the past. However, upon greater reflection, I wonder if there is a better way.

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Maybe it would help to try and identify the problem first. Why is it that parents aren’t getting more involved?

Could it be: continue reading

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From About.com

What is The Scarcity Principle?

In psychology, the Scarcity Principle describes the urge to purchase, gather, or obtain something that a person feels that they may not be able to get in the future. Part of this urge stems from the need to ensure we have what we need to survive. We also tend to value things either rare or that we cannot have, but the pleasure principal also addresses the need to feel in control. By obtaining something that is difficult to get we demonstrate an ability to control our environment. This need to control is not just about self-worth, but also about “keeping up with the Jones’.”

Yesterday, I experienced a brand new feeling in school fundraising and volunteering. I was rather surprised, because I thought I had pretty much seen and done everything that a person could come up with when it comes to raising money for a school.

But here’s what happened: my third grade son landed a much-sought after part in the annual district-wide play, put on by 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders from our four elementary schools. This year, they’re doing 101 Dalmatians. My son has the coveted role of “Dog Catcher 2”. He only has a couple of lines in the whole play, but hey, 120 kids tried out and only 70 made it, so that says something right there, huh?!

50 kids, who really wanted to be in the play, were cut. My son (did I tell you he made it?) was now in an “exclusive” club. continue reading

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When I accepted the job of a school administrator and principal, one of the first things I did was to put out a survey to parents, asking them to tell me what kinds of events they’d be willing to volunteer for.

Hands down, the most popular response I got was “Bake Sales”. At first, I was surprised the reaction was so strong in that particular direction. But, as I started to think about it, the reasons behind the response became clearer.

Now, maybe, I just happened to work at a school with a lot of moms who loved to bake. However, I don’t think so. Rather, I think that volunteering to bake something has many things going for it over other forms of fundraising volunteer gigs.

First of all, I think that most parents have some vague sense of obligation to volunteer for their kid’s school. Unfortunately, most of the volunteer jobs either take too long or are too hard to fit into the family’s hectic schedule.

However, if the school asks a parent to just bake a pie or a couple dozen cookies, that is a much easier undertaking. Most people have stuff at home to whip something up, and it can be done after the kids go to bed. If they don’t have all the needed ingredients, it’s still pretty easy to stop by the store, since they probably need other stuff anyway. Therefore, the parent can finally say “yes” to helping the school, because it is on his or her own terms.

I think another reason why bake sales are so popular is that many moms and some dads see cooking and baking as a competitive sport. They fancy themselves a bit of a whiz in the kitchen, and they don’t mind other people knowing they are, either. So, they take no small amount of pride in their award-winning banana cream pie or their triple chocolate fudge meltdown brownies. Therefore, when I issued the order to go bake something, I was like the starter at the Indy 500, telling them to start their engines. continue reading

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Every ship needs a skipper. Every team needs a captain. Every orchestra needs a conductor. And, yes, every school needs a fundraising leader.

Here is a list of just some of the responsibilities a school fundraising leader must accomplish:

1. Assess school needs that are not covered by budgetary spending.

2. Communicate with the teaching staff and the school administration to find out what the fundraising priorities should be.

3. Come up with a well-balanced plan of fundraising attack that lasts the entire year long.

4. Have an excellent grasp of when other schools or non-profits are holding their fundraisers, so there’s no conflict.

5. Communicate the school’s need to the parents of the students in several different manners, making sure they understand the goals of the school’s fundraising campaign.

6. Research any fundraising companies the school might be working with and find the right combination of popular product, good price, solid customer service, and high profit sharing percentage.

7. Put together a competent and enthusiastic fundraising team of assistants, from which future leaders will emerge.

8. Organize and delegate responsibilities for all fundraising events through out the year.

9. Keep the students motivated during all fundraising activities.

10. Keep the parents updated on fundraising progress.

11. Make sure the teachers are promoting fundraising events in the classroom.

12. Keep track of all bookkeeping records.

13. Make sure all financial systems are safe from embezzlement or general mis-management.

14. Develop healthy relationships with local merchants for donations, discounts, and support with things like ad sales in yearbooks.

15. Keep excellent records of all fundraising activities so that future fundraising leaders will know where to begin.

Now, some of these responsibilities would seem to fall squarely into the purview of the parent-teacher organization. Teachers and principals should spend most of their time concerned about the student’s educational experience.

However, the question I posed in the headline of this article was “Who Sets the Fundraising Tone in your School?” continue reading

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