Boosterthon, blech.

[Anonymous]

My kids came home today with stickers on their shirts to support the Boosterthon. The school had signs of different sizes stuck in the ground along the KnR route. A teacher e-mailed a message to the parents reminding us to register our kids tongiht so they can start getting prizes tomorrow. Each child had a packet from the Boosterthon that included this page:

"How to Get a Pledge

Student Script
'Hello, may I speak to [sponsor]? Hello, [sponsor], this is [your name] I am calling to tell you about a cool, new program at our school called the Boosterthon Fun Run. In a few days, I will be running laps around the Boosterthon Speedway. Iw ill be running between 30-35 laps ... 35 is the most I can run.

[Sponsor], I have a question for you ... Will you please pledge me a dollar amount for every lap I run? You can pledge 1 dollar, 2 dollars per lap or any other amount. I will call you next week to tell you how many laps I ran.

Thank you for helping me reach my goal!"

The brochure also had "Pledge Secrets" like these

-- Make a family viseo asking for a pledge. Share it on Facebook.
-- Group text 5 work friends asking for a pledge.
As a family, Facetime or Skype with relatives.

I understand schools are looking for donations that are used on the student body, but this feels so slimy. I remember fundraising like this when I was a student, but this feels so orchestrated and gross. I noticed music posters in the hallway the other day and now I see in the brochure that they were Boosterthon posters that involve another component to drive home the message: Boosterthon! Woo-hoo! Raise money!!

I've heard these folks get 45%? of the proceeds. There are junky trinkets being used as incentives. There was a pep rally for the whole school.

I'm not judging anyone who participates, I just hate the idea of this enterprise.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is one of the main reasons I'm going to go to PTA meetings at my kid's school this year -- so that if somebody brings up the idea of the school doing Boosterthon, I can stand up at the meeting and shout HELL NO until they call the police to drag me away.

This article says that Boosterthon gets 48%. What an immoral racket.

http://www.gazette.net/article/20130205/NEWS/130209594/poolesville-elementary-gets-professional-fundraisers-to-put-them-in&template=gazette

[Anonymous]

Have either of you been involved with fundraising for your schools? I've served as the fall fundraiser chair for my kid's school and it is very hard to get donations. For that fundraiser we just ask parents to write a check. And last year we even tried incentives as well. It did not work....its hard to even get 40% participation. People don't ask their relatives for donations to the school with a fundraiser like that.

My school did the Boosterthon last year and it was a huge success. We've never had so much money raised. Our school does not have a large volunteer base and Boosterthon allowed us to raise money without worrying about who will volunteer to help. Yes, they do take a 45% cut - but how much of a cut do wrapping paper companies take? Or boy scout popcorn? Etc., etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have either of you been involved with fundraising for your schools? I've served as the fall fundraiser chair for my kid's school and it is very hard to get donations. For that fundraiser we just ask parents to write a check. And last year we even tried incentives as well. It did not work....its hard to even get 40% participation. People don't ask their relatives for donations to the school with a fundraiser like that.

My school did the Boosterthon last year and it was a huge success. We've never had so much money raised. Our school does not have a large volunteer base and Boosterthon allowed us to raise money without worrying about who will volunteer to help. Yes, they do take a 45% cut - but how much of a cut do wrapping paper companies take? Or boy scout popcorn? Etc., etc.

I have not been involved in fundraising. However, I have written checks every year, without being asked, and the PTA has received 100% of my money.

And really, I don't care how much money Boosterthon raises. The end doesn't justify the means. Boosterthon doesn't belong in the school.

[Anonymous]

My PTA wants $150 from each family. I think that is too much. I already paid $20 to be a PTA member. I can't afford $150.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have either of you been involved with fundraising for your schools? I've served as the fall fundraiser chair for my kid's school and it is very hard to get donations. For that fundraiser we just ask parents to write a check. And last year we even tried incentives as well. It did not work....its hard to even get 40% participation. People don't ask their relatives for donations to the school with a fundraiser like that.

My school did the Boosterthon last year and it was a huge success. We've never had so much money raised. Our school does not have a large volunteer base and Boosterthon allowed us to raise money without worrying about who will volunteer to help. Yes, they do take a 45% cut - but how much of a cut do wrapping paper companies take? Or boy scout popcorn? Etc., etc.

My school's goal was to raise $20,000 for boosterthon that means Boosterthon got $20,000 for organizing its little race. The worst part -- there was no disclosure to parents or other people who pledged money that they were essentially sending half their check to a for profit company. If the PTA doesn't think that parents would care, this should be fully disclosed. It was not even mentioned at our school.

[Anonymous]

Is there an objective tied to the fundraiser? Are there specific projects that will help the children at your school if they raise all that $ or are they intoxicated by the dollar signs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have either of you been involved with fundraising for your schools? I've served as the fall fundraiser chair for my kid's school and it is very hard to get donations. For that fundraiser we just ask parents to write a check. And last year we even tried incentives as well. It did not work....its hard to even get 40% participation. People don't ask their relatives for donations to the school with a fundraiser like that.

My school did the Boosterthon last year and it was a huge success. We've never had so much money raised. Our school does not have a large volunteer base and Boosterthon allowed us to raise money without worrying about who will volunteer to help. Yes, they do take a 45% cut - but how much of a cut do wrapping paper companies take? Or boy scout popcorn? Etc., etc.

70% of the price of Cub Scout popcorn goes to the Scouts. That's why it's so overpriced.

[Anonymous]

Be thankful you have a school where parents can afford to give something or buy something stupid. Our school can't even charge PTO dues because it's too much to ask of families. Fundraisers are nonexistent.

[Anonymous]

If you hate Boosterthon so much then go ahead and organize your own fun run for the school. Get some volunteers to assist with it. Raise $40,000 and your school gets to keep it all! Heck, even just raise $20k which would be about your schools take if you went with Boosterthon.

Look, it is very hard for schools to get volunteers to pull off a run like that and raise that type of cash. By hiring Boosterthon, the PTA is essentially hiring a company to do the dirty work of the fundraiser. Dirty work that majority of parents would not do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you hate Boosterthon so much then go ahead and organize your own fun run for the school. Get some volunteers to assist with it. Raise $40,000 and your school gets to keep it all! Heck, even just raise $20k which would be about your schools take if you went with Boosterthon.

Look, it is very hard for schools to get volunteers to pull off a run like that and raise that type of cash. By hiring Boosterthon, the PTA is essentially hiring a company to do the dirty work of the fundraiser. Dirty work that majority of parents would not do.

No -- by hiring Boosterthon, the PTA is essentially hiring a company to get the kids to do the dirty work of the fundraiser for free.

I don't care about the 48%. But don't spend my kids' in-school time trying to turn my kids into Boosterthon's fundraisers.

[Anonymous]

OP, simply don't let your child participate. Our FCPS did it lasg spring, and we wouldn't let our kids have any part in the How to Be an Effective Salesperson program, disguised as a school fundraiser.

These guys/strangers are in the school all week, and teach the kids to refer to them by cutesy, familiar names such as Awesome Albert or Jumpin' Jim Flash, that kind of thing. They take away from instructional time with rah-rah kinds of activities and pointing out who got the most pledges, and giving out cheap and crappy trinkets for it.

They make the kids recite cheers about selling, and repeat phrases about sales and the program.

We have a bully PTA that does what it wants, so don't tell me to try to change things through the regular channels. I just don't let them take any part in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have either of you been involved with fundraising for your schools? I've served as the fall fundraiser chair for my kid's school and it is very hard to get donations. For that fundraiser we just ask parents to write a check. And last year we even tried incentives as well. It did not work....its hard to even get 40% participation. People don't ask their relatives for donations to the school with a fundraiser like that.

My school did the Boosterthon last year and it was a huge success. We've never had so much money raised. Our school does not have a large volunteer base and Boosterthon allowed us to raise money without worrying about who will volunteer to help. Yes, they do take a 45% cut - but how much of a cut do wrapping paper companies take? Or boy scout popcorn? Etc., etc.

My school's goal was to raise $20,000 for boosterthon that means Boosterthon got $20,000 for organizing its little race. The worst part -- there was no disclosure to parents or other people who pledged money that they were essentially sending half their check to a for profit company. If the PTA doesn't think that parents would care, this should be fully disclosed. It was not even mentioned at our school.

I had the same thought. Nowhere in the "Student Script" does the child disclose that an outside organization is running the program. They should mention a Web site or something. The Boosterthon people are banking on no one grilling an elementary student about the details of this fundraiser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, simply don't let your child participate. Our FCPS did it lasg spring, and we wouldn't let our kids have any part in the How to Be an Effective Salesperson program, disguised as a school fundraiser.

These guys/strangers are in the school all week, and teach the kids to refer to them by cutesy, familiar names such as Awesome Albert or Jumpin' Jim Flash, that kind of thing. They take away from instructional time with rah-rah kinds of activities and pointing out who got the most pledges, and giving out cheap and crappy trinkets for it.

They make the kids recite cheers about selling, and repeat phrases about sales and the program.

We have a bully PTA that does what it wants, so don't tell me to try to change things through the regular channels. I just don't let them take any part in it.

OP, here. We are not going to participate. DC came home today saying "Ally Rally" came and talked to the class about how the school should try to get donations from all 50 states. And if they do there will be a fun prize.

[Anonymous]

Yuck. My school had the kids make cards to send to grandparents asking for money. That went over like a lead balloon.