Agree - the tree sale has not been big money-raiser at our charter, either. I know that some schools are really successful at them, but it seems like now every school does one. And the trees are cheaper at Costco

Anonymous wrote:Re fund raising ideas:

I think fund raisers like selling Christmas trees or mulch can be great because you can sell things to the broader community that they would be buying anyway.

Janney has a winter fair/fest every year that is both a good community event and a fundraiser. Venders buy tables to sell holiday goods, and they range from kids selling used toys to art and jewelry that are at many craft fairs. There is a community scavenger hunt in the week leading up to it for kids, with participants from the library and fire department to hardware store and local restaurants.

These kinds of fundraisers are great community-builders but lousy fundraisers. They just don't raise much money. I was chairman of our school's tree sale and the net proceeds to the school came out to far less than minimum wage for the number of volunteer hours that went into it. Everyone involved had fun and it was good to reach out to the broader community, but if you're a school that really needs the money and has limited volunteer resources I wouldn't start out with a tree sale or a seasonal fair.

Re fund raising ideas:

I think fund raisers like selling Christmas trees or mulch can be great because you can sell things to the broader community that they would be buying anyway.

Janney has a winter fair/fest every year that is both a good community event and a fundraiser. Venders buy tables to sell holiday goods, and they range from kids selling used toys to art and jewelry that are at many craft fairs. There is a community scavenger hunt in the week leading up to it for kids, with participants from the library and fire department to hardware store and local restaurants.

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone here actually arguing that PTAs should not be allowed to raise money for their own schools? It seems like some WotP parents are getting defensive about it, but I don't see anyone suggesting that they should stop raising money.

I would really love to hear about the fundraising efforts at more charter schools and EotP schools. Someone mentioned that they toured a number of Title I schools that raise around $10k. What about some of the charters? MV, CM, IT, Cap City, Stokes, LAMB, Yu Ying, etc.

I posted yesterday (13:12). We're at a charter (not one of the ones you named) and our goal is less than $15K. But we're smaller than the schools you listed and this is the first year we've done any significant fundraising. I expect that number will go up as we get more established and can draw on previous year's experiences. Like the Murch parent who posted after me, a lot of hard work and planning goes into fundraising, but one of the differences is that the majority of the parent volunteers are doing this for the first time, we're sort of flying blind and figuring out what works for our school as we go along. Next year, we'll know more and can adjust accordingly. In addition, we have almost 40% FARMS kids, not 9%, and a pretty large percentage of families just above FARMS level. Families who are focused on making to the next paycheck don't have the income to support huge fundraisers, I know I give time since we can't afford to give financially (but if I ever win the lottery that I don't play, the school is getting a fat check! ).

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone here actually arguing that PTAs should not be allowed to raise money for their own schools? It seems like some WotP parents are getting defensive about it, but I don't see anyone suggesting that they should stop raising money.

I would really love to hear about the fundraising efforts at more charter schools and EotP schools. Someone mentioned that they toured a number of Title I schools that raise around $10k. What about some of the charters? MV, CM, IT, Cap City, Stokes, LAMB, Yu Ying, etc.

Have you read more than a few posts?

Yes, some posters are arguing that schools should not be allowed to fundraise because it is not fair to students attending schools that cannot equally fundraise, with one PP referring to how it was outlawed in a city he/she lived in and how that was a good thing.

Also, someone from Lamb has already posted about a donation drive as an alternative to an auction that raised $100,000.

Is anyone here actually arguing that PTAs should not be allowed to raise money for their own schools? It seems like some WotP parents are getting defensive about it, but I don't see anyone suggesting that they should stop raising money.

I would really love to hear about the fundraising efforts at more charter schools and EotP schools. Someone mentioned that they toured a number of Title I schools that raise around $10k. What about some of the charters? MV, CM, IT, Cap City, Stokes, LAMB, Yu Ying, etc.