Nakia Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I just have to do it. I am sick to death of fundraisers. If it's not family members calling me, it's people at work. Of course at work, I can just ignore the forms lying on the break room table. I am about to go postal. I have a pretty big extended family, and they all think since my kids aren't in public school, I must really need someone to buy $15 cookie dough from. That was 3 weeks ago. Then this week, it's popcorn. Soon I know it will be wrapping paper. I got a little irritable with my cousin about the cookie dough. I know she thinks I am nuts, but it makes me that way. And the schools make me mad because they attach these rewards to it. Like if they sold 10 tubs of cookie dough, they get to go to the pizza party. I told my cousin she should send the forms back and keep him out of school that day for his own pizza party. AARGH! "Oh, but they need the money for a new playground." Well I'm sure my children would love a new playground too! Maybe I will start an Adonai Academy homeschool fundraiser. We could sell candy bars or something. Hershey's for $4.00. I could tell them it's for a new home library or a family zoo membership. Sorry, I sound a little psychotic, but I had to do it. The solution for me is that I have adopted a "no fundraiser" rule. Can anyone else relate?? Thanks for listening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Yes. I agree with you. I do not buy fundraiser items. We cannot afford them anyway. I have 2 kids in PS and a Sally Foster fundraising packet sitting on my desk. DD will return it to the school with a "no thank-you" note from me. I am not raising my kids to be door-to-door salespeople. RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Actually, I have thought of doing our own homeschool fundraiser LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 We've always said no to participating in any way. I won't sell, and I won't buy. If my kids are in an organization that needs to raise money, I'll find out the amount they hope each kid will raise and make a donation (if it's a private organization). My kids are now in public school, and I think since my taxes are over $6K per year I'm giving enough, thank you! I won't allow them to sell, and I won't donate since I've already given, lol. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 We've always said no to participating in any way. I won't sell, and I won't buy. If my kids are in an organization that needs to raise money, I'll find out the amount they hope each kid will raise and make a donation (if it's a private organization). My kids are now in public school, and I think since my taxes are over $6K per year I'm giving enough, thank you! I won't allow them to sell, and I won't donate since I've already given, lol. Ria That's what I've done too. And I pay the same taxes my cousin does, and my children don't even go to public schools. So that is my donation for the new playground. So there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 I agree. I feel kind of bad that I feel this way, but it really gets ridiculous. My son studies ballet. They have three fund raisers going on right now. They are selling flower bulbs, holding a pancake breakfast (which is actually pretty good..only $5), and having a gala (which is $100 for the cheapest ticket). OMG This is just for ballet! :confused: Wow. Up until this year, my two oldest have taken dance for several years at a big dance academy here. We were never asked to do a fundraiser there. But maybe that's because they are young and aren't in any traveling or competition teams. Good grief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Yes. I agree with you. I do not buy fundraiser items. We cannot afford them anyway. I have 2 kids in PS and a Sally Foster fundraising packet sitting on my desk. DD will return it to the school with a "no thank-you" note from me. I am not raising my kids to be door-to-door salespeople. RC Thank you! If more people would say no, I think they might get the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Fortunately, I only buy from my niece and nephew and sis doesnt hit me up that much, cuz moneys tight. Otherwise I have big fence and security gate. It works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamJH Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I gave up on fundraisers when my kids were still in PS. My kids aren't salespersons and most of the stuff up for sale is of poor quality and priced in the stratosphere. I will buy 2 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies from my cousin's daughter, but that's it. We love them. So, OK, I guess I support one fundraiser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I can so relate, fundraisers really irritate me, especially ones that involve selling junk foods- where is the sense in that, teaching kids to sell junk food? Really bugs me. And I do say so, if asked. Recently a homeschooling mum was selling spring bulbs as a fundraiser. Much more sensible. I understand people feel they need to do it to raise money...I would just prefer to donate money. And I much prefer to be asked by an adult than a child, personally- I dont like the extra guilt factor of being asked by a child, wheras I have no problem saying no to an adult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I was asked by a ps high school student to purchase something to benefit his school. I told him that I donate an amazing $6000 to his school every year and yet have never received so much as a thank you. :) Not much later, my dds were asked to sell Yankee candles for their dance school. argh I just sent an email to all my local friends telling them the opportunity was present if they were interested. Surprisingly, I was the only one who was interested. :) Aggie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I know our tax dollars are not used efficiently. I know that. I hate that there are teachers who spend so much just to equip their classes (not in dd's elementary school, but more in urban and really rural places). Why? Why can't my tax dollars be sufficient to school the children who must go to BM schools? I just don't understand. I say no to fundraisers. Dd was supposed to sell bulbs--I would've bought in that case--there were no awards attached to the selling, and I could use some pretty flowers. But I said no, because I just don't want my kid shilling for someone--They want money for school? How about the administrators who spend so much money so poorly--how 'bout they get out there and go door to door selling crap? Leave the kids out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I'm so with you on the fundraisers. I buy from my good friend's one kid and that's it! They sell wreaths at the holidays and flowers in the spring. It goes to her choir. But the wrapping paper drives me nuts. You get about one sheet for $20 that would perhaps cover a dozen eggs.:001_huh: Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chika Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Haven't read the replies, but am stuck in a dilemma! I feel the same way you do, btw, about fund raisers. Ick. But we just signed a child up for some music instruction and I've found out, now, that there's a required fund raiser ... what do we do, then, if we don't want to participate? The extra funds, from what I can figure out, that we'd have to "donate" (pay) if we don't want to do the fund raiser will more than double the amount of $$ that we will have put into the lessons for the school year (so, say, the lessons were $100, with the "donation" it will come to $225 instead). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 One time our PSed neighbor kids came to our door trying to sell us overpriced goods, complete with a little school-sponsored rant about how they had to do this because our current governor had voted against increasing education spending. We actually laughed out loud. :lol: We didn't buy anything. Kids in our state are funded to the tune of $10,000 per kid per year. That's a lot of cookie dough, KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillary in KS Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I tell anyone who comes to our door selling things that, "I only buy things to support my children's school." No one seems to have a problem with that. At least - not yet. Once, the ds' baseball teams had a fundraiser. I just made a small donation to the organization, rather than sell junky, expensive food products. Thus way, the group gets 100% of the donation, rather than a percentage of the sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I sang the same tune not long ago. We're not alone! http://67.202.21.157/forums/showthread.php?t=52140&highlight=fundraising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 And I much prefer to be asked by an adult than a child, personally- I dont like the extra guilt factor of being asked by a child, wheras I have no problem saying no to an adult. I don't get bothered much by fund raisers. We're out in the middle of nowhere and they'd have to find the house first. :lol: However, I did have an "issue" with a neighbor. Girl Scout Cookies. They were so "into" Girl Scouts, their skin looked green. Every year, this Mom was on a mission to make sure her daughter sold the most Girl Scout Cookies, to the point where they'd find out how much the other kids sold, and buy the difference themselves. I don't know what the prize is for that -- I assume there is one. But my problem was -- where's the kid in all this? Never saw her. Mom called, Mom stopped by, Mom delivered the cookies -- no kid. Ever. I definitely had no problem saying "no" to the adult, but for a different reason. And after I learned what was going on, it would have been "no" to both of them -- but she quit calling. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Oh, don't even get me started. We are missionaries. Our sending church has a private school. Somehow we got on their e-mail, mailing list and we used to get all kinds of notifications for fundraisers. Hellooooo! We can hardly afford to buy homeschool material and we're expected to go to the auction and pay hundreds of dollars for the chance to golf with a pro. So that the spoiled kids at the school can have more stuff, more supplies, more opportunities that my kids don't have. I don't think so. I have no idea how we got on their mailing list, but eventually they gave up on us and we no longer get the e-mails. Fortunately, since everyone in our family knows that we have no money, we don't get hit up for fundraisers. Living 3000 miles away helps too. :001_smile: You certainly have my sympathy, though. Maybe you can just let them know that you don't participate in school fundraisers. Make it a blanket rule and eventually they'll stop asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Somebody should blow the doors off this whole school fund-raising racket. The front of whatever catalog of "goodies" should have the percentage of profit that actually goes to the schools printed in BIG BOLD numbers. Perhaps a math lesson on profit/percentages/etc. is called for? How dare the school spend one minute gathering the students up for a pep-rally of sorts to showcase the prizes for selling the most whatever. I can't believe parents put up with this for one minute. Ugh. :rant: K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticamethyst Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I probably wouldn't mind fundraisers so much if the funds were going for something that the tax dollars won't pay for. Such as 8th grader's going to DC while they learn about govt. I remember this trip as a child and I didn't get to go becasue my mom couldn't pay for it. I also remember selling I don't know how much candy that year to help pay for soemthing for the school. I raised about 300, but I still never got to go to DC with everyone else, I am still not sure what that money was for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquilt Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I agree with OP. I discovered that as a SAHM you are fully expected to not only hit up all of your friends for money to support a business I was expected to attend everyone's parties and buy the stuff. I quickly figured out I couldn't afford that so adopted a "no-party" rule. I don't sell anything and I don't buy anything. Now we're not so stuck on cash and I can buy sometimes but stick to girl scout cookies and only from the first girl to ask me; after that it's " no thank you". My friends know me well enough to not ask anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gandpsmommy Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I'm right there with you. We used to buy something from all the neighborhood kids who came around selling, but this summer we finally got up the nerve to decline. We just don't have the extra money to be buying stuff we don't want, just to be nice. This week at dd's gymnastics the booster club passed out candle sale pamphlets. We will not be selling them. We were the ones who signed up dd for gymnastics, and we are the ones who need to pay for it. Ironically, it is the same candles I didn't buy from the kids who came around selling them this summer for their football/cheerleading. The one sale in which we did participate was Girl Scout Cookies. Even though it is a fundraiser, we found that the cookies are something many people love, anticipate getting all year, and really want to buy. We had people that we didn't know coming up to us at dd's gymnastics because they saw us with the order form and wanted to buy some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I just tell people, "Sorry, I don't do fundraisers!" Yesterday a guy I work with (who is a bit obnoxious) passed out invitations to this fundraising auction for a charity he supports. He does this every year, and pressures people to go. I told him I'd be out of town, and he said, "So, you can still give money." I said, "No thanks. I have my own charities that I give to." He didn't drop it and said, "Oh come on, I've bought things from your kids before." Then I said, "No you haven't. We don't do fundraisers. You have never bought things from my kids." I can't believe someone would be so obnoxious about something like that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana in OR Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I do get tired of the cheesy, overpriced cr*p that schools and the like use children to peddle. I can get the same stuff at the dollar store and have more leftover to donate to the school if I want. Imo, teachers should be smart enough to see right through the scam! I don't mind the fundraiser my ds' football team does. Each player must addresses a pre-written fundraising letter to 10 people he knows. The school sends the letter and that's it. Whatever cash donations they get all go to the team. Also, once a year, the local high school marching bands go door to door and ask for donations. That doesn't bother me either. I'll give them a dollar or two if I happen to have it, but again, all the money goes straight to the bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 We've always said no to participating in any way. I won't sell, and I won't buy. If my kids are in an organization that needs to raise money, I'll find out the amount they hope each kid will raise and make a donation (if it's a private organization). My kids are now in public school, and I think since my taxes are over $6K per year I'm giving enough, thank you! I won't allow them to sell, and I won't donate since I've already given, lol. Ria This is what I do as well. Fundraising has gotten ridiculous, and I just refuse to spend that kind of money for overpriced junk or, more importantly, spend my limited time on such an inane activity. It's far better in the end to just make a straight donation to the organization and call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Standard response: Sure! I'll support what your kids are doing. We homeschool, you know. So we have to pay for all of our kids' experiences out of pocket. The state and fed government may be underfunding what your kids want to do, but we get no funding for anything. So like you, we turn to fundraisers to bridge the gap between what's already paid for by the community and what we wish was paid for by the community. (pause) We sell $1 bills for $10. Would you like to buy one? :glare::glare::glare: Actually. I've never used that response. ...only daydreamed about it. :001_smile: I usually just say "No thank you." And try not to feel cheap. :001_smile: Peace, Janice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I'm picky about which fundraisers I support. I have a soft spot for a few groups, the Guides, Scouts, Royal Children's Hospital and the CFA (Country Fire Authority.) If someone is selling chocolate frogs and I happen to have a hankering for a chockie, I'll buy one. For the most part though, I'm a SAHM. Do I have money?! I remember someone fundraising for something once and I said "Sorry, I'm a student!" They apologised and walked off :) I'd be perfectly ok with my kids fundraising for the Royal Children's with the CFA with my dad like we used to do, but I'm not going to have them harassing people to buy chocolates for social activities. :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Lava Mama Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 contribute to my own kids school. In my mind I am thinking, such as their history books, their math books, their field trips, etc. etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 If someone is selling chocolate frogs and I happen to have a hankering for a chockie, I'll buy one. Ok...I'd buy a chocolate frog. But otherwise I'm with everyone else in the "I Hate Fundraisers" camp. I hated having to do them when I was in school and I hate them now. I do buy Girl Scout cookies from my niece but she never asks us...we usually ask her around that time of year. And that's only because I do have a weak spot for Thin Mints. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamJH Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Somebody should blow the doors off this whole school fund-raising racket. This is a good idea. I'm going to see if Michael Moore has a web site and wants ideas for a new documentary. I hope I did this quote thing correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 My favorite was every ps 5th grader I knew selling stuff for their class. At the end of the year they used the money and all went our to see the new Harry Potter movie. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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