Auctions and Anuual Funds

[Anonymous]

"I think all parents should donate something to the annual fund, even $5, for the community sense of 100 percent participation."

Oh, brother!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your opinion of my attitude. I do my best to make up for the inability to donate. I think the attitude of the big donors sticks.

They give money in place of any time to any events or volunteer requests for their presence at the school.
It shows in their kids attitudes also. Their kids don't feel they have to do anything either and treat the parent volunteers with a lack of respect as well.

Once again, my apologies, but your attitude sucks! I wonder what you are teaching, by example, to your children ... take what you can get for free and don't bother giving back?!?

Look up the the concept of PHILANTHROPY! and maybe read it aloud with your financial-aided child.

[Anonymous]

Out of all the responses this is one of the meanest I have ever seen.

1) As I said previously, we are just able to make our tuition payments. FULL TUITION. $60,000 post tax is a struggle but we feel it is worth it.


2) I give back plenty. My many hours spent at both DS's sons schools helping in classrooms, libraries, events, class trips, etc is noted both by my DS's and their classmates. We teach our children that not only money but time is worth something in helping people such as working at a soup kitchen or helping at an senior citizen home. Their efforts have not got unnoticed and are appreciated every time they come.

I suspect I must have hit a nerve as you must be one of the parents who writes the check but can't be bothered to help at any event or supervise a class trip. I am the peon who is there to help your kid when they need something in the library or forget to bring lunch for the class trip.

[Anonymous]

I am sure that your donations of time are much appreciated at your school if not by everyone here at DCUM. I also think that many of the large donors donate countless hours of time as well. The bottom line is that everyone does what they can and need not sit around judging others who do the same. Relax everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Once again, my apologies, but your attitude sucks! I wonder what you are teaching, by example, to your children ... take what you can get for free and don't bother giving back?!?

Look up the the concept of PHILANTHROPY! and maybe read it aloud with your financial-aided child.

I sincerely hope that you are not a parent at my child's school. What you just wrote was incredibly mean and cruel. I don't feel bad for the child whose parent is obviously struggling financially to send her child to a great school, but I do feel awful that your children have the disgustingly behaved mother that they do.

[Anonymous]

@18:09 - I hope neither the OP nor the poster you quoted are parents of other children at our school! The time-donor (for want of a better way to put it) does, in fact, have a bad attitude. If she sees someone's name in one of the higher categories on the annual fund list, does she automatically assume they are teaching their children that she is a peon? Seriously, all the big donors I know give tons of time as well. They may not be in the library at check out but they spearhead a number of committees and do lots of other things. I can tell you first hand, by the way, that bad manners are not limited to wealthy kids. Just spend an afternoon on any DC sidewalk and you'll see plenty (grown ups, too).

I'm a medium donor - so I guess by that poster's calculation I'm some sort of offensive person, too - not enough bucks to be in the solely-check-writing-crowd, but not visible enough to her for her to think I count as much as she does. I'm quite sure she'll find a reason to hate me, though.

As to the poster who said the time-donor family was on financial aid and only interested in taking a free ride, nice. So what if they were on aid (although they apparently are not)? I assume you are not chairing the auction committee at whatever school is unfortunate enough to have you.

I have to stop reading this board. It makes me wonder if any of the parents at my children's school post on here, and not in a good way.

[Anonymous]

No I don't automatically assume everyone that is on the large donation list is teaching their children bad manners. My first hand experience at our school with some parents and this type of attitude has taught me that this attitude does exist and what you saw mentioned by the poster above is exactly the attitude I have seen.

Many of the large donors are lovely people and I have no problem with them. It is not hard to learn pretty quickly who the volunteers are and who are the no shows. It took about a year. The correlation with the problem kids wasn't too hard to figure out either.

[Anonymous]

OP here and I don't think my post was clear. We do plan to give to the Annual Fund. I just wasn't sure if we should attend the Auction or if it was considered in bad taste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No I don't automatically assume everyone that is on the large donation list is teaching their children bad manners. My first hand experience at our school with some parents and this type of attitude has taught me that this attitude does exist and what you saw mentioned by the poster above is exactly the attitude I have seen.

Many of the large donors are lovely people and I have no problem with them. It is not hard to learn pretty quickly who the volunteers are and who are the no shows. It took about a year. The correlation with the problem kids wasn't too hard to figure out either.

Some large donors are fine and some are not. Some cliques volunteer a lot and some are large donors. I did not donate this year and would have pulled DC but it's the end of the road. Why didn't I donate? Profound sense of disgust at the actions and character of some students. Then I wonder how it is possible the school did not notice the drug use.

[Anonymous]

A new poster here. I'd like to reiterate that the participation rate is really a key metric for all of these schools. It really does matter as a show of the level of community support for the school, and grant-issuing institutions pay a great deal of attention to it.

I would implore the posters who are dismissive of the value of donating $5 to reconsider. The school's goal is always to get as close to 100% participation as possible. Why not make that small gesture to help?

Another way to look at it: what does it take to give $5 to the annual fund? It is such a small thing - why on earth can't everyone do it? Not giving anything at all in effect is a vote against the school - a show of displeasure. No one cares about the dollar amount, but if you are not a disgruntled parent, you should give something, however small.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP. Anyone who just won't give a nominal amount to the Annual Fund for spite, so the school won't obtain 100% participation is plain petty.

[Anonymous]

It is analogous to stiffing the waiter. A family that will not donate $25 is definitely sending a message, making a statement.

We are flat broke, and spent 1/2 of 2009 with zero HHI due to job loss. We still managed to scrounge up a twenty for the annual fund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your opinion of my attitude. I do my best to make up for the inability to donate. I think the attitude of the big donors sticks.

They give money in place of any time to any events or volunteer requests for their presence at the school.
It shows in their kids attitudes also. Their kids don't feel they have to do anything either and treat the parent volunteers with a lack of respect as well.

Once again, my apologies, but your attitude sucks! I wonder what you are teaching, by example, to your children ... take what you can get for free and don't bother giving back?!?

Look up the the concept of PHILANTHROPY! and maybe read it aloud with your financial-aided child.

Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Big donors attitudes do not suck and if they did so what; the big donors make financial aid possible. PP, the concept of philanthropy is clearly lost on you. She said she donates her time... that is giving back. That comment was so mean and cruel because you directed it at her child and not her.

[Anonymous]

To the poster who thinks that people who donate large sums do not volunteer and have crappy attitudes:

I donate several thousand dollars annually and also volunteer lots of time (in the library, on field trips, coordinating classroom parties, etc.). The two are not mutually exclusive.

It sounds to me as though you resent people with more money than you - thus the display of superiority. Please just be happy with what you do for the school. Really.

[Anonymous]

Isn't donation a volunteer and private matter?

We have alot of wannabe Judges on this board for personal and private matters.

Please join my denomination and Church to find the universal way and truth!