While I certainly understand where you are coming from, I think all of that is controllable. We are a small community and choose companies we wish to have relationships with. Currently are sponsors consist of a local realtor, a local CPA firm, a local dentist, a local car repair shop, etc. We are trying to build a community, not open the door to ownership from sponsors and the possible havoc that can create. Our board votes on the sponsors and we absolutely own the right to be selective so we don't put our school in any compromising positions.
Right now the need for money in our schools has become so desperate, parents are frustrated and angry! The constant, never ending fundraisers almost seem to backfire. We surveyed our parents last year and found a great number of them were so frustrated with fundraising, they never even looked at information set home. Fundraiser information was tossed in trash can as soon as it was pulled out of their childs folder. We had a parent last year tell us he hated coming to the school for any reason because he felt as soon as he walked in, he would be asked for money. That just can't happen! Parents need to be a part of their child's education and should want to participate at the school when they can.
This year we decided to limit our fundraisers to only 3 and offer corporate sponsorships to subsidize the income. This accomplishes a couple of things: first, it reduces the financial load of our parents which ultimately increases fundraising support as well as parent participation at the school. Secondly, it increases our PTO income while at the same time allows local businesses to invest in the school system.
This is our first year, who knows what will happen. All I can say is at least we are trying something new and outside the traditional fundraising boundaries. Right now the support is great, we are excited about our sponsors just as they are excited about us!
I understand the need for money, but boy how I hate this idea. What happens when one of the school sponsors is in the news for something bad, and tells your teachers not to talk about it or they'll pull their sponsorship? And what happens when a business some parents wouldn't choose to support becomes a sponsor: a liquor store, a bar, a medical marijuana dispensary if you have them in your state, an adult bookstore? Heck, some parents around here would object to ads for fast food. And now that the door is open, I think you could buy yourself some serious legal trouble by turning down sponsorships from any legal business, no matter how inappropriate it might be for kids.
I am not sure if anybody else solicits corporate sponsorship for the school (not an activity), I have not seen any message boards talking specifically about it so I thought I'd start and see what happens.
Our PTO decided last year it was time to get out in our community and solicit corporate sponsorships from the business in our area. So, we put together 3 packages; Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Each package offered a bit more as they graduated up; but each provided the business with excellent exposure. For example, one of the benefits to our Gold sponsorship was having a business card size sticker attached to each of our 1,000 students' daily take home folder during the school year. That means for every day of school, 1,000 families will see that advertisement. Additionally, we have our own PTO website, each sponsor has their logo on the sidebar which appears on all pages.
Needless to say, school has not yet started for us and we already have 11 sponsors totaling roughly $10,500. We really feel this is going to be the start of something new in our community. When businesses sponsor a school, they are in fact investing in the students. Those students who may one day be a customer, maybe be an employee, maybe be a vendor or maybe another business owner in our community. Whatever the case may be, our children are worth the investment!
