Fundraiser rant thead!

[missypie]

So far:

DS14 is selling expensive candy for French class.
DS14 is selling passbooks for the choir trip. Cookie Dough and pies will be next month.
DD12's dance company is working at Sonic (PARENTS work at Sonic because you have to be over 16) and having a garage sale.
DD12'a school dance team is doing the same two fundraisers.
DD12's choir is also selling expensive candy, candles and gift wrap.

We still have LAST year's candy in the freezer, plus more candles than we can burn.

Do you (1) bug your neighbors and relatives to buy the fundraiser stuff, (2) buy the stuff yourself, or (3) ignore the whole thing?

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

We don't sell to ANYONE else, and we don't buy from anyone else.

We buy a "respectable" amount of whatever from our own kids, and that's it. Or, just make a donation and don't buy anything.

 

[piglet too]

If it is not mandatory, we buy only if it is something we really want. For football we are required to sell 8 per player, or do a buy out. For that, we asked our family, but no one else.

 

[DVCLiz]

I buy from my friend and she buys from me. Her children sell Entertainment books, wrapping paper, popcorn, and pansies. Mine sell Girl Scout cookies and oranges/grapefruit. If a neighbor child asks, I'll buy one roll of wrapping paper and one box of Girl Scout cookies, but no more. Thank goodness my younger child's school (K-8) has a no student fund-raising policy!!!!! We have a parent fund-raiser (auction) instead. MUCH easier to go to the auction and buy a $500.00 gift certificate to the grocery store, which I would spend anyway, than stock up on candles for all eternity!!!

 

[va32h]

We usually give a cash donation, but for my son, who is in kindergarten, I am buying some stuff. He would be crushed if he didn't get one of the selling incentives, like the rest of his class.

Fortunately, there are a couple of things in the catalog that will make good holiday gifts for our relatives. So it won't be a waste.

For dd(9), we are just sending in a cash donation to the school. Dd is a Girl Scout - and we need to preserve all the friends/relatives goodwill for cookie selling season!

 

[DoeWDW]

We just give a donation and skip the overpriced "stuff".

I'd rather give a $20 check than have to sell to others or buy more stuff I don't need. You have to sell a lot of "stuff" to make a $20 profit! It's easier for me to make a straight donation.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I generally don't sell at all. Sometimes my DH will buy the candy bars and give them out to employees as incentive prizes....but I don't buy candles, wrapping paper, cookie dough, pizzas, pies, or ridiculously priced knick-knacks.

I throw all the catalogs out and write a check for a reasonable donation. I send that in with a note that I prefer my kids don't participate in product sales and that I also prefer nobody worry about giving them any of those sill "prizes."

That way all of my money goes to help the cause rather than a corporation that isn't even based in our town, I get a tax deduction, nobody has to worry about placing an order, collecting the money, distributing the stuff, and my butt doesn't get even bigger from eating spoonfuls of chocolate chip cookie dough from the Fridge. It is a winning proposition all around.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Let me just add that we don't live in a neighborhood with kids, so we're not really asked to buy stuff from anyone else, and within my family (who live all over the country), we've agreed not to sell to each other. My elderly mother, however, does live in a neighborhood with kids, and it just kills me to see the junk she gets stuck with.

 

[aprincessmom]

Do you (1) bug your neighbors and relatives to buy the fundraiser stuff, (2) buy the stuff yourself, or (3) ignore the whole thing?

I simply ask the organizers how much they expect DD (read -- the parent) to raise and I write a check for that amount. Done. I don't want my daughter canvassing the neighborhood (since chances are there are 10 other kids with the same fundraiser scheme because there are 40 kids on our street alone and they all go to the same school), I don't want to spend my precious time hounding family, friends, and co-workers to buy substandard or useless crap, and I certainly don't want to buy it myself. This way DD feels like she's part of the public begging scheme and I can be done with it quickly.

 

[lewdyan1]

We just give a donation and skip the overpriced "stuff".

I'd rather give a $20 check than have to sell to others or buy more stuff I don't need. You have to sell a lot of "stuff" to make a $20 profit! It's easier for me to make a straight donation.

Ditto!

 

[goofyforlife]

Dd is a Girl Scout - and we need to preserve all the friends/relatives goodwill for cookie selling season!

We're in the same boat too.... School has the kids sell magazines in Sept. I usually end up renewing mine then...

But I don't bother with the fundraisers for baton, etc because I know we'll be hitting those same people up for cookies later in the year. This is DD's 8th year in GS. (that's alot of cookies) Last year I was even coerced into being a co-cookie mom for the troop.

 

[minkydog]

For dd(9), we are just sending in a cash donation to the school. Dd is a Girl Scout - and we need to preserve all the friends/relatives goodwill for cookie selling season!

I hear ya, sister. My DD12 has several fundraisers each year, one for school, one for her children's choir, and then Girl Scouts. We usually don't sell locally for the school--every one of my neighbors has a kid selling. I don't hit up family either, as they all live over 400+ miles from us. But the choir fundraiser is something else--they sell beautiful potted mums for $10 and they are really gorgeous. DD gets a percentage of the sale to go toward her annual summer choir tour. I will call my family as ask for a donation for that, given that DD is working her tail off all year to go on this trip.

Now where I draw the line is when they send the gift wrap-candles-candy sales home with my severely autistic child As if....

 

[missypie]

The high school choir booster club has an "I don't like to buy stuff" level of membership, where you pay $200 and your kid isn't asked to sell anything all year...but then NONE of that money goes into the child's account for the trip, wherein some of the fundraising money does.

Selling passbooks (Entertainment books) has become very popular. Some people save a lot of money with them, but we live about 20 miles from Ft. Worth and about 25 from Dallas; there is a Dallas book and a Ft. Worth book - neither have many coupons that can be used in our area. The school makes $14 profit from a $25 book so I just save money and make a $14 donation.

The only fundraiser we really went all out for is when DD's old gymnastics gym sold flats of flowers. The price was VERY good and people actually WANTED to buy them.

DS14 "has" to sell 3 items for French and DD12 is really pressured in choir, so I think I'll buy some of the pretty candy and put a box in each of the relatives' Christmas boxes.

(By the way, we LOVE Girl Scout cookies and buy from every girl that comes to our door!

 

[minkydog]

Let me just add that we don't live in a neighborhood with kids, so we're not really asked to buy stuff from anyone else, and within my family (who live all over the country), we've agreed not to sell to each other. My elderly mother, however, does live in a neighborhood with kids, and it just kills me to see the junk she gets stuck with.

We have an elderly neighbor who hit on a solution a few years ago. There are a lot of kids, not to mention his grandkids nearby. There is no way he could give to them all or even some. I tried to get my DD12 not to even go there on her sales, but she loves the old gent and he is a doll to her.(his wife is also a sweetie. )

So Mr. W has started a new trend--he dips into his front pocket and whatever he comes up with, the kids get. Sometimes it's $2-3, sometimes its a fistful of dimes, sometimes its peppermints. The kids don't care, they are thrilled! He is very upfront about not buying, and he is careful not to buy from any of the kids. It's a win-win--Mr W saves face, the kids get a treat( 12 dimes in your package feels heavy ) and Mr W isn't left with stuff he neither wants nor can use.

 

[CookieGVB]

I feel ya on this one - older DS is in high school band, and we've already had 2 fundraisers, and are in an ongoing 3rd fundraiser (raffle tickets for a trip for four to WDW for $10 each - anyone interested?? LOL)

Some of the fundraisers are for the general fund, and the others go into his individual account towards the band trip...to Disney.

I just put a post up on our office intranet bulletin board. Those who are interested, buy. We have about 1,000 people here, so chances are that SOMEONE will want SOMETHING...eventually. I've actually sold quite a few books of raffle tickets, and had to ask for more.

Just wait till the Cinderella cheesecake fundraiser comes in - I'll be INUNDATED! These people love those things.

I'm proud of my DS - he worked two FULL days at the county fair to earn money for his account - that was something that HE could do, and he put a lot of effort into it. I'm willing to do some work, too, if it means I pay less for his trip ($989 )


edited because I can't spell.

 

[missypie]

We have a "no fundraising at work" policy...which I like. (We "overlook" the Girl Scout cookie sales because people ASK for those.) There are actually three people who know my son is a boy scout, and they ASK to buy pop corn, so I oblige.

 

[drgnfly30]

We have a "no fundraising at work" policy...which I like. (We "overlook" the Girl Scout cookie sales because people ASK for those.) There are actually three people who know my son is a boy scout, and they ASK to buy pop corn, so I oblige.

Ditto here.. it's against HR policy (but we usually look the other way for GS cookies yum yum). I used to get stuck buying all the fundraiser stuff, now I just say NO!
Christine

 

[RadioFanatic]

So far:

DD12's dance company is working at Sonic (PARENTS work at Sonic because you have to be over 16)

I'm almost afraid to ask, but what do you mean by this? what is this, cheap labor?

 

[missypie]

I'm almost afraid to ask, but what do you mean by this? what is this, cheap labor?

Sonic is a local drive in chain. On Saturdays, Sonic "allows" groups to provide car hops..working for tips only. Sonic doesn't have to pay any workers. The members of the group work for free but keep any tips they make. I bet the average Sonic check is $10. Lots of people don't even tip the car hops. When I go there, I tend to tip about $2 for food orders and a buck when we just get ice cream or drinks. I can't imagine that we'll make a lot of money, but I may be surprised. And of course, the weather forcast for next weekend is highs of about 100 degrees. Hmmm...maybe I'd rather buy overpriced candy...

 

[va32h]

Lots of people don't even tip the car hops

Yep. I never tipped the carhops until I read a thread on this board about how badly they were paid. I had assumed they were paid on par with any other fast food worker (Wendys, McD's etc) but apparently they can be paid less.

And since you can pay with a credit/debit card at Sonic, the customer doesn't necessarily have an opportunity to leave a tip.

However, I am guessing that "Sonic night" would be heavily promoted so that folks from the school could purposely come and tip well.

Cici's Pizza chain does something similar - your group encourages people to come to the restaurant on a certain night, and you get a portion of the proceeds.