Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much extra do I have to pay to support the school but NOT have to attend the gala and where can I sign up?

You can donate as much as you want at any time without any obligation to attend anything. Send the school a check and letter requesting receipt so you can include in your tax filing for next year.

Did you really need that explained to you or have you never donated to a charity before?

I love the "actually" brigade. If the school charged an extra fee to be sure you wouldn't be seated by this life-of-the-party, donations would go through the roof.

I'd much rather be with people who are motivated to attend and spend than someone whose resentful about going. Go if you want, don't go if you don't want. Give money privately if you want. Why is this so complicated for some people?

Anonymous wrote:The answer of course is to fund all schools to the point where parent and community fundraising is not needed.

Parents who can will always find ways to supplement their children's education, "needed" or not. It's one of the main purposes of private schools.

Rich People Are Great at Spending Money to Make Their Kids Rich, Too
The poor spend relatively more on what will keep them alive, because they must, and the rich spend more on what will keep them rich, because they can.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/being-rich-means-having-money-to-spend-on-being-richer/389871/

What's controversial about the ticket prices? Considering it costs the average high-school student to graduate over 300+ to participate in all of the pomps and circumstances for a senior.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much extra do I have to pay to support the school but NOT have to attend the gala and where can I sign up?

You can donate as much as you want at any time without any obligation to attend anything. Send the school a check and letter requesting receipt so you can include in your tax filing for next year.

Did you really need that explained to you or have you never donated to a charity before?

I love the "actually" brigade. If the school charged an extra fee to be sure you wouldn't be seated by this life-of-the-party, donations would go through the roof.

Anonymous wrote:Are there any low-income families at your schools? How do you think they feel when you charge $90+ for gala entrance fees? I hope you have some discounts other than early-bird, so you can be inclusive.

Our school (which I won't name) sets aside tickets for low-income families, they go through the principal. Having said that, try to remember it's a fundraiser. Generally the point is to raise funds for a project that benefits the school, not to send someone who can't otherwise afford it to an expensive party. There are many other events that are free of charge. Missing a school's gala/auction hardly leaves anyone out of the social loop.

There are galas I'd love to attend too, if someone subsidized a ticket for me. Of course, that means the money spent on my ticket isn't being spent on say, cancer research or an arts foundation. Personally, I'm happy to enjoy the benefits of cancer research and arts foundations without draining their funding so that I can attend their parties.

Apparently that's not a universal attitude.

Anonymous wrote:Our DCPS is charging $90 for its gala. I feel the same as many here - incredibly exclusive and I'm completely uninterested.

I wish our DCPS 1) had a gala 2) charged $90. I don't care that it would be exclusive, we need money and the fake "PTA" refuses to ask for donations because the low income families would feel left out. As a result, they do no fundraising at all. Another reason why its just a two year detour for most parents.

Anonymous wrote:How much extra do I have to pay to support the school but NOT have to attend the gala and where can I sign up?

You can donate as much as you want at any time without any obligation to attend anything. Send the school a check and letter requesting receipt so you can include in your tax filing for next year.

Did you really need that explained to you or have you never donated to a charity before?

Anonymous wrote:As a fundraiser for our PTA at our up & coming Elementary DCPS (we raised about $20k last year through an auction, memberships, tshirt sales, soliciting local businesses, etc.), we go out of our way to make all our event inclusive. No entry fees, free food at events (or $1-2 "donation" for pizza), scholarship tshirts to those in needs, etc.

Charging $60 at the door, like CMI is doing for its gala, is a great way to exclude lower income families.

Is this typical for HRCS?

No, it's not.

The best HRCS donate north of $1,000 to your kid's 529 plans so that parents actually show up. That gets people attention, and clearly help motivate the kids. A win/ win!

Sounds to me you are in the wrong school, sorry.

Anonymous wrote:The answer of course is to fund all schools to the point where parent and community fundraising is not needed.

Some DC parents always want "more / better" - there will never be "enough".

Anonymous wrote:Our Charter offers free tickets to those who might not be able to afford, but does so privately. Even the parents who are planning do not know to whom they are offered.

This. I think this is appropriate. From what I know there is no means test either (meaning you don't have to qualify for free lunch etc), if you ask for free ticket you get one.

The answer of course is to fund all schools to the point where parent and community fundraising is not needed.

Are there any low-income families at your schools? How do you think they feel when you charge $90+ for gala entrance fees? I hope you have some discounts other than early-bird, so you can be inclusive.

@ our charter we wrestled with setting "affordable" pricing. It is a subjective concept-some wanted it to be $25, others $100.

Venues charge for their use and have a capacity limit. Some offer a non-profit discount, but are still expensive. Additional charges such as technology, food, table coverings, lighting and alcohol vary by location.

Teachers and staff attend for free, and those costs have to be offset by other income.

We used tiered pricing: early bird, a regular rate and last minute rate.

We had a staff person ( who regularly dealt with students in need as part of their job) contact their families to see if they were interested in attending, regardless of ability to pay.

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd 's is like $90, and they are dcps.

Is this kind of thing controversial? Yes.

For what it is worth, I agree with you. In NY, our "gala" was $25/ ticket and we relied on donations for the food and drink and rented space. Most of the money raised came from the auction. Do galas here generally have to pay for stuff?

Every school had to juggle it's fundraising capacity vs having events to make a cohesive community. I think the goal should really be to do both.

The early bird rate for current Shepherd families was $75. Also, for families who want to support the fundraising efforts without attending, the gala website allows donations of any amount in lieu of attendance, sponsorship of a teacher to attend, etc.

Our DCPS is charging $90 for its gala. I feel the same as many here - incredibly exclusive and I'm completely uninterested.