I love that my son's school does a walk-a-thon fund raiser because it encourages exercise, virtually 100% of the money goes to the school and I don't have to buy crap that I'll never use.

I do not even know where to start with my frustration. The kids are pumped up to sell
(I have 2 in elementary school) and then heart broken because they only sell a couple of things and do not win prizes. Thank you for making my children feel inadequate.THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Between school, Girl Scouts, and dance we have fundraising coming out of our ears. I pay property taxes for school, I pay yearly dues for Girl Scouts, I tuition for dance...I do not need wrapping paper, cookie dough, or magazines. It is unsafe to send my children out to sell. I do not even know if this makes sense I am so upset :) The school did give us the option to opt out if we paid $35.00 per student, that is $70.00 bucks I do not have. This is a serious problem.

I have a hard time with the fact that my first grader is already selling things for school fundraisers. Actually, she doesn't sell, I do. I'm never going to give her the sheets and tell her to go out and sell stuff that people herself. She's far too young. If the school is in need of anything - supplies for the classroom, items for a raffle, books, etc. - I will happily write a check, but I don't think it's fair to single a child out if their parents make the choice to make a donation for a fundraiser rather than have them sell.

I would gladly donate money over asking my coworkers/family to buy complete crap.

My first grader came home on the SECOND day of school with a fundraiser. The second day? That is absurd.

We have this discussion at my girls' school too. I have often said that if you just TELL the parents what you need, I think they would be more than happy to help raise the funds for it. I understand that schools need more money and I am happy to give it to them, but I prefer to give them $50 instead of buying $100 in wrapping paper just so the school can get $50. Our school does a parent lead fundraiser each year that involves donations and it raises a ton of money. I think that and walks, runs, dance-a-thons are way better than making kids sell stuff.

I like the walk-a-thon idea. Kids can set goals and reap personal rewards. I don't want to buy stuff that I don't need from the neighbor kids, but would sponsor them walking. Do like the Super Saver card fundraiser though.

Urbandale Middle School does a non-fundraiser - meaning they ask for donations that go to a good cause. Right now the cause is updating the school's Media Center. I give more money this way than I would through a traditional fund raiser because they're usually involving junk I don't need/want in my home. We are able to donate online, so it's convenient and pain-free. I wish more schools would go this route!

Love the walk a thon idea. My dad was a superintendent of schools for many years, and I remember him telling me that the companies who administer and sell fundraising programs to PTO and schools specifically target their value proposition of being able to DO IT ALL. No adminitration. No management of the program. It's easy. Allow us to come in and do all the work and we will give you a check. What a great way to teach kids responsibilty and goal setting. And schools eat that up because they are understaffed and not really good at project management. The answer is more parental involvement at the school and PTO level without relying on government spending resources. I don't want to buy wrapping paper and cookie dough any more than the next guy. That stuff is terrible and I can't in good conscience ask anyone but my parents to buy it. I think we can all get creative and come up with better ways to teach goal setting and all pitch in managing the project.

The PTO at my son's school takes it upon themselves to raise money for the school and teachers....we don't want to buy the wrapping paper/cookie dough garbage, why would anyone else? We have a huge silent auction in the fall and we run a beverage tent at the Des Moines Arts Festival. Waaaay better use of our time (and FAR more lucrative...those two fundraisers bring in over $20,000 every year).

Here's the link for our school's fall non-fundraiser flyer/donation form. We stopped using corporate sponsored fundraisers 2 years ago in which roughly 40% of sales went to the school and kids competed for prizes. Now we send the form home with students, and post on the web site for grandparents and others to download and print. We have made our goal each year. 100% of the donation goes to the school. It's easy. Under News, click on PTA Fall Non-fundraiser. http://www.edline.net/pages/Longfellow_ESchool

My children attended a school that didn't have fundraisers. Instead, they had the SCRIP program. Google SCRIP to find out more about this program. The basic idea is this: everyone has to shop for the necessities so why not do this AND help your school out at the same time? BTW:I have no connection to this company---I just want to pass along this non-funding raising model to interested parents.

I completely understand the funding situation and that product sales do seem to bring in money, however when my kids come home psyched about trinkety prizes they could earn if they sell tons of over-priced products it is very frustrating! Why not choose fundraisers that benefit the kids educationally or physically? I actually facilitate an educational fundraiser called Reach for the Stars. It is a reading incentive challenge that gives back both money and books. Feel free to check it out at www.EDClibrarybooks.com/A3977 if you're looking for something parents, kids, and PTOs will enjoy!

I agree with the other commenters who dislike these fundraisers that dangle prizes in front of the kids to get them to raise money for the school. I'd just add that kids who come from families or neighborhoods without a lot of money are naturally going to be at a disadvantage in any competition for who can sell the most stuff.

I dislike the fundraiser packets the school sends home so much, that they go straight in the trash. My kids don't need to go door to door to sell things that are overpriced and overrated. What really ends up happening, is they ask the neighbors they know, who already have kids and have already bought a lot from their own child, that mommy and daddy end up being suckered into taking the packet into work. If there were a program that used education or physical pursuits to raise money, that would be great!

I think any sort of fundraiser can be problematic. If you decline doing the packets, but instead have a local business sponsor an activity...then you are making the school a venue for advertising.

For the poster who stated public schools can't mandate participation in fundraisers, that isn't made very clear. In the ICCSD music and sports kids of a certain age are required to participate in Kinnick cleanup on Sunday mornings. It isn't presented as optional at all. In fact if you go to a football game you can hear numerous reminders about these cleanups.

TIME TO RIOT!?
Maybe all these fundraisers are an omen for what is coming.
TUITION for Public Schools. Now how is that for simplicity. No more fundraisers.
Why not get a serious Petition to make Public schools and their Teachers accountable to the Parents. Ever ask why your Real Estate taxes are not enough to support ALL the costs of using Public Schools?
It is time to change how schools are funded.
All Parents should vote out mandatory Teacher unions and their massive Pays/Pensions and demand Regular paid teachers just like the Private schools use. Guarantee you will all SAVE big Real estate taxes, if you do that. No more Fundraisers---EVER!.

Fundraisers are a thing of the past. I send a check to my kid's school each year and my company matches that gift for which we both receive a tax deduction.

I personally think fundraisers are a great way to teach children at a young age the basics of selling merchandise. Face it, we all end up selling something in our adult years! Whether owning your own store and selling material items, or running for an office and selling your own ideas, at some point in time learning how to convince others that they need what you have becomes important. We have two children and at one point we had five fundraisers going at the same time, so I understand what parents are saying, it's just that I have a different perspective. In today's world success is more about who you know, and if your children sell to the same group each year they are gaining contacts that will last a lifetime. Our daughter is a great example, her childhood fundraising contacts wrote some fabulous scholarship letters that ended up paying for almost all of her first year in college. And yes, we take our children out, in rain, snow or sunshine. It's a perfect way for families to spend time together.