I agree in these economic times. I would first ask what is the total revenue of this fundraiser and how much is spent on the party for those kids that sold 10 or more items. If they are spending a large amount for the party they should include all children that sold at least 1 item. That way it will help improve involvement and kids will stress less about a fundraiser and worry more about their studies. I believe that school fundraisers are for the parents not the children to do. Think about it, we as parents know more people than our children. Who really does the work? We the parents do and it's up to us to help our children's school raise money to better the school activities, equiptment, and classroom needs. I would suggest other ideas that would involve the community more to help the school. At our school we do an annual auction which is always terrific. We do more work with that event then any other. And it pays off! Good luck.
Regardless of what you call it-incentive/goal/reward-anything worth having is worth working for.
Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail, but you have to work for it, whether it's a prize, a trophy, a party or whatever; even grades have to be earned. Removing all incentives so no one feels bad about not getting them would do away with Spelling Bees, sports, games, anything that has a winner.
In the adult world there would be no Super Bowl, World Series, Pulitzer Prize, even raises based on job performance would disappear. Obviously this is not the way the world works and we do our children an injustice when we try to teach them otherwise.
How about setting a sales goal and if you reach it having something for the whole school or for everyone who sells at least one item? It's really not fair to the kids who are trying to sell the items to have to meet some kind of quota. For myself, I have a really hard time getting anyone to purchase anything. I have no family near me, and everyone I know has kids in school who are also doing fundraisers. My husband took the last fundraiser to his job and no one wanted to order anything. So yes, you can try your hardest to get orders and still end up with nothing. We ended up ordering some things ourselves just to support the school. I think it's great to set a goal for the kids to reach, but you also have to think about the financial situation of the families in your school. I know that there are a few kids in our school who get good sized orders, but for the most part we have alot of low income families.
I do not thinks it fair to say those that complain did not want to participate in fundraisers as a child. I sold a lot of stuff (and it was better stuff, not the overpriced junk our school system puts out) back in the day for my school and for the band. I stopped doing so when a nice copier was bought to help the teachers because the old one barely worked and it ended up in the pricipal's office and no one was allowed to use it but the pricipal.
My child has "sold" (our family bought) items up until this year. His current school does not think they have to tell anyone what the money will be used for. When asked your told for the school. So I said like what and was told to buy supplies and treats for the staff and supplies for the kids. Parents have been asked to send everything from toilet paper to pencils and if we don't we get a letter asking when we will. So I have my doubts about just what is done for the students considering they are the ones raising the money and have yet to have anything done for them. His previous school always sent a newsletter out letting everyone know what the plans for the money are, how has been spent and how much is on hand.
Quote: "In many cases, the child who didn't sell anything worked harder trying to do so than those whose parents could afford to purchase the items to make the individual goal."
This is complete make believe. It's like the kid who says, "My dog ate my homework." It sounds plausible but it is not reality. I have been running fundraisers in my district for 20 years. Any parent who buys the product outright is undermining the school, the fundraiser and the learning process. I too have bought or helped my kid with the fundraiser but my kids had to get their little butts out the door and get it done. To say that some kids "can't do it" is another plausible scenario but not reality. The things we ask our students to sell (in order to help themselves - btw, an excellent life-lesson) can most definitely be sold with EFFORT.
The reality is, we are up against students and families of varying cultures and attitudes. None of our efforts will ever be perfect or make everyone happy. Let's not complain about things like this. No life has ever been cheated or injured because he/she missed a party for not selling something - ever! In addition, nothing good ever happens with a low expectation.
In my experience, I find the ones who complain about this the most are the ones who themselves didn't want to sell anything when they were kids or evennow as adults. Others have a feeling of guilt or lack the confidence to ask someone for help. These are learned behaviors that have never been nurtured. Everything in this world, everything surrounding you where ever you are reading this from was SOLD by someone. It is necessary and it is reality. Some do it and some don't. Let's just accept it as reality and keep moving forward. We will all be better off as a result.
Three years ago, our county implemented a practice that there were to be no reward parties unless the entire school could be involved. Every school I have been in touch has seen a drop in sales by more than half. Our school has seen a 75% drop.
Our budget is currently very low and we haven't been able to provide our school with nearly as much money as before. We are in need of a new awning so the car riders don't have to wait in the rain. Any Suggestions?
