Anonymous wrote:I hate fundraisers that highlight wealth disparities among students. It's really gross to give prizes to kids whose families/friends can afford to donate and I'm surprised you would even participate. Just give directly to the PTA. If I were a grandparent, I'd decline buying a ticket but offer a donation. Elementary aged kids are certsinly old enough to understand why fundraisers that have a financial barrier to participation are just wrong.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I hate fundraisers that highlight wealth disparities among students. It's really gross to give prizes to kids whose families/friends can afford to donate

Amen

Every year? I know why they don't participate.

I hate random fundraisers. When our kids have to do them, we just donate/purchase the expected amount ourselves. We don’t ask family or friends

Sometimes I’ll donate if others ask, but usually do not, if I know the kid’s own parents can afford to cover it.

You may not like the answer- but there you go.

I hate fundraisers that highlight wealth disparities among students. It's really gross to give prizes to kids whose families/friends can afford to donate and I'm surprised you would even participate. Just give directly to the PTA. If I were a grandparent, I'd decline buying a ticket but offer a donation. Elementary aged kids are certsinly old enough to understand why fundraisers that have a financial barrier to participation are just wrong.

I want to know what these amazing prizes are.

Because they have been asked to "support" so much crap in their decades on earth and they're over it. Including supporting all the PTA crap for your DH. Leave your ILs alone.

I donate 100% of the time when kids ask me. I never donate to a kid fundraiser if the ask is from a parent. Even if it is my own nieces and nephews. It’s not your kid’s fundraiser if you are the solicitor.

Certainly do not make a big deal over this small thing. It’s truly minor!

Who cares? Donate in their honor. Maybe they’re one of those people who are “sick of fundraisers” - do they have other grandchildren or is this their first? Sometimes signing up for apps just to donate $5 is a PIA.

My parents would never do that nor would I ask. My sibs definitely would not and I wouldn't ask in a million years. Some families just don't participate. It is fine.

This sounds so annoying OP. I don’t want to be buying random raffle tickets here and there. I don’t even buy raffle tickets for my own kids’ school. (In case you care, I’m not a free rider and make one large contribution at the beginning of the year to the PTA with the suggested amount).

Are they generally cheap? My parents would buy a bunch of tickets and my IL’s would buy a ton of tickets. Is your husband in charge of reaching out to his family? Does he do it?

As a former PTA board member, I made sure we never put pressure on families in this way. We had a check-writing campaign, people contributed what they could, and there was no incentive to twist relatives' arms to cough up more money.

What's odd is that you think it's normal for the school to behave in this way. It's not, even if many schools do variations of this.

Please do not extort money from your loved ones. They are within their rights to decline to participate. I certainly would!

My DD is in 2nd grade and her school has an annual raffle fundraiser. People donate amazing prizes, but tickets are only $5 each and the 5 kids that sell the most tickets won a prices, as does the class that sells the most.

Every year I send an email and text to my extended family and DH’s which includes his parents, two aunts and uncles and his sister. And every year my parents and siblings each spend at least $50 buying tickets.

However, no one in DH’s family has ever bought an single ticket and I can’t understand why. They are all very financially secure so why not support their granddaughter? I made DH ask them the second year and they said they would do it but then never did.

Is this odd that not a single person in his family is willing to contribute just $5?