So why are we paying PTA dues if nobody gives a frack about PTA guidelines....?

Children should not be the primary means of soliciting within fundraising activities.

http://www.ptakit.org/UploadedDocuments/2015BTSWebsite/Fundraising/2015%20FUNDRAISING%20GUIDE_INTERACTIVE.pdf (pg 3)

I know one parent who's let her child know up front that whatever "prizes" are won will be donated.
This isn't meant to be mean-spirited, but rather meant to be a positive lesson in philanthropy instead of materialism.

Anonymous wrote:I asked at the PTA meeting if families are made aware upfront about the percentages and they looked at me like "Why the F would we do that?"

Same experience here. I asked that EXACT question at my PTA meeting and the PTA prez said something like, "Well, I'll say it - our revenue would be lower."

We shouldn't then wonder why we get kids like the one in this 15-second video: https://youtu.be/rP4qssVser8

Alas, I don't think individual parents dashing off an Email to the school administration or BOE here 'n there will move the needle.

Included in this year's annual report from the National Education Policy Center / Commercialism in Education Research Unit is a discussion about fun runs:

"Fun run companies market their product as a fundraising tool, but the central aspect of their work is to bring all the players into alignment with the commercial values that validate their existence. That is, all the adults involved participate in manipulating the children to harass family and friends for contributions, to work for trinkets, and most significantly, to learn that manipulation, harassing their family and friends, and working for trinkets are all desirable if they lead to getting the money in the end. Social pressures discourage objections."

-F. Boninger and A. Molinar at NEPC/CERU

Booster's pricing, as you may know, is a sliding scale - the less our children gross, the greater the percentage Booster takes.

In the version of the contract (Services Agreement) between FCPS and Booster Enterprises, Booster takes no more than 50% of gross revenue. (Not including $2K due at sign-up.)

If your PTA/O signed what Booster gave them, probably the top figure is 70% instead as it was at my local elementary school last year.

For the FCPS version, click "Amendment 2" at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cregister/ContractDetails.aspx?contractNumber=4400003780 and you'll see...


It's probably worth looking over all of the contract. There are a lot of differences between the Service Agreement FCPS signed and what your PTA/O probably signed.

(Keywords: contract negotiation, better deal, fun run cost, no forced arbitration, simultaneous fundraisers, child data security, child data privacy, encryption, COPPA.)

A re-imagining of a Boosterthon Pledge-O-Meter...