Kids' fundraising

[jdb in AZ]

Two grand kids in cub scouting are fund raising -- again. Last time the chocolate we ordered arrived as a pile of mushy goo, and the popcorn (if that's what it was) tasted like sawdust.

Have you ever just contributed cash instead of buying the over-priced garbage?

 

[aprilgail]

I refuse to pay 30.00 for freaking popcorn- I just give the kid 10.00 and call it a day.

 

[RF536]

We have a lot of people just give cash instead of buying the popcorn. It actually works out better for the unit as they keep 100% of the donation.

 

[Kittyblue]

We have a lot of people just give cash instead of buying the popcorn. It actually works out better for the unit as they keep 100% of the donation.

Agreed. When I did girl scouts the troop got less than $1 per box of cookies, but we got to keep all of the cash donations.

 

[easyas123]

Two grand kids in cub scouting are fund raising -- again. Last time the chocolate we ordered arrived as a pile of mushy goo, and the popcorn (if that's what it was) tasted like sawdust.

Have you ever just contributed cash instead of buying the over-priced garbage?

All the time -

We have a lot of people just give cash instead of buying the popcorn. It actually works out better for the unit as they keep 100% of the donation.

Once I found out my donation stayed 100% w/ the troop locally, that is what I started doing.

 

[kymom99]

I hate fundraisers. I think it's a great idea to just give a cash donation.

 

[crazylady]

Cash is always welcome!

But if you wanted some boy scouts suggestions, I like the choc covered pretzels and the popcorn kernels.

 

[Southernmiss]

The organization would much prefer your donation (all profit) over your feeling obligated to buy their over priced junk.

Mom of 4 kids-I always just wrote a check instead of bugging grandparents to pay for the kids' activities. Maybe you can suggest this to your own children. Or offer to pay a portion of their activity as a "get out of helping them to fundraise" free card.

I hate how the Girl and Boy Scouts have become such fundraising machines. That quickly caused me to dissuade my kids from sticking with the organizations when they were young. And I was a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient.

 

[disneychrista]

I’d much rather schools, club, etc say the field trip costs $25, $50, $100 and give the choice to pay or fundraise. My kids very rarely sold much of the crap that was part of the fundraiser.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I have 2 kids in scouts, we have refused to sell popcorn for years. Like the OP mentioned, the quality is awful and no one wants to pay $30 for $5 worth of popcorn.

The popcorn company gets a huge chunk of the sales, donations are 100% to the scout. I'm sure their parents will be more than grateful if you make a donation towards whatever the popcorn sales are funding (for our pack it was individual scout dues).

 

[kymom99]

I have 2 kids in scouts, we have refused to sell popcorn for years. Like the OP mentioned, the quality is awful and no one wants to pay $30 for $5 worth of popcorn.

The popcorn company gets a huge chunk of the sales, donations are 100% to the scout. I'm sure their parents will be more than grateful if you make a donation towards whatever the popcorn sales are funding (for our pack it was individual scout dues).

When my son was in scouts we eventually stppped the popcorn craziness. One year we had a spaghetti dinner and silent auction. Another year we had a car show with split the pot. I’m not saying those were easier but at least they were more social activities and everyone could pitch in to help.

 

[beavismom]

Fundraising is always a challenge. I was heavily involved when my kids were younger. You would be surprised by the number of people who want to get something for their donation. You could give people the option of just donating $5, or buy an item for $10 (where the group gets the same $5) and they would choose to buy the $10 item. I would rather just give the money directly, but everyone is different. Some of the products are really good too, like Butterbraids. I would have people track me down for several years after I left my position trying to find a way to order those. I always buy the boy scout popcorn out of sympathy for the years we sold it. They really need to get a better fundraiser.

 

[tcufrog]

The only fundraising item I've liked are the cookies that DS13's school band sells. They come in a box for the freezer with cookies already preportioned as they would be on a cookie sheet. If my kids want a cookie, they can heat up the oven and pop a single cookie into the oven on a cookie sheet. The cookies are pretty good too. I'm not sure how much the band got back though.

 

[jdb in AZ]

O.P. here. I used to sell girl scout cookies and yes, they're a rip off, but we still search out the local scouts each year (and often find them lurking outside a grocery store) to get our fix of thin mints. Now if the boy scouts had something that tasty....

 

[amcnj]

I have given cash donations to groups outside stores trying to sell things I didn’t want at the time, like cookies, candy and popcorn. I don’t think I ever did for a door to door person though, thinking they might be trying to sell the most of whatever it was, and might not even know how to handle a cash donation. I guess I could have asked them if they were allowed to accept a donation instead.

When my children were younger and involved in groups with fundraising efforts, some of us parents used to ask what they would net from what each child had to sell and just wrote a check for that amount instead. I figured I would have ended up buying a lot of whatever they were going to be selling anyway!

 

[Skippy918]

The organization would much prefer your donation (all profit) over your feeling obligated to buy their over priced junk.

Mom of 4 kids-I always just wrote a check instead of bugging grandparents to pay for the kids' activities. Maybe you can suggest this to your own children. Or offer to pay a portion of their activity as a "get out of helping them to fundraise" free card.

I hate how the Girl and Boy Scouts have become such fundraising machines. That quickly caused me to dissuade my kids from sticking with the organizations when they were young. And I was a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient.

Unfortunately fundraising is necessary so everyone has the opportunity to go on trips or camp outs. If not, then only those with extra funds could do it and that wouldn’t be fair.

My dd is a Girl Scout and she loves the cookie sales. She was top seller in her troop the last 2 years.

 

[Southernmiss]

Unfortunately fundraising is necessary so everyone has the opportunity to go on trips or camp outs. If not, then only those with extra funds could do it and that wouldn’t be fair.

My dd is a Girl Scout and she loves the cookie sales. She was top seller in her troop the last 2 years.

I get the trying to get everyone to the campouts, etc with fundraisers, but so much of the fees goes to National governance or company making the product.

Maybe it's time to change the structure. Non travel sports teams make it on the fees they take in.

It's not easy for many people to sell their 'quota' of products. Neither dh or I can take forms to work. Family is small and door to door sales is not always safe.

 

[starry_solo]

I remember when we used to sell 50 cent candy bars and got 25 cents profit (back in junior high).

 

[kymom99]

I get the trying to get everyone to the campouts, etc with fundraisers, but so much of the fees goes to National governance or company making the product.

Maybe it's time to change the structure. Non travel sports teams make it on the fees they take in.

It's not easy for many people to sell their 'quota' of products. Neither dh or I can take forms to work. Family is small and door to door sales is not always safe.

I agree. One time my son’s music teacher decided they should do a fundraiser. One of those candy, cheese, sausage, etc sales. They were each supposed to sell 15 items and there was no way our family could do it. Cash donations wouldn’t count towards the 15 items. My mother in law was very vocal about how expensive it all was. I’m glad that was a one time thing.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Have you ever just contributed cash instead of buying the over-priced garbage?

Yep! The local troop will be just as happy.

The only fundraising item I've liked are the cookies that DS13's school band sells. They come in a box for the freezer with cookies already preportioned as they would be on a cookie sheet. If my kids want a cookie, they can heat up the oven and pop a single cookie into the oven on a cookie sheet. The cookies are pretty good too. I'm not sure how much the band got back though.

I always liked the cookie dough too. But somehow, it was always delivered on the most difficult day for me pick it up!