Thanks Everyone,
You have all brought up some very good points. Some of the stucture comments will be very useful if we can't manage to get our board to walk away from this. The only other wrinkle that I thought about throwing into this was a variable commision. 15% until the total exceeds some goal that he says is attainable in his initial pitch. It also sounds like would need to have a lawyer go over the final agreement to make sure we comply with all the California laws.
I think the thing that kind of grates me is that everyone else involved is donating their time for the kids, if someone is going to be making money off this they should be working their butts off not smoozing some high school buddy for 5 mins.

I agree with everyone. I wouldn't go with this program either. Go with your instincts...since you have a bad feeling I wouldn't take 2 more steps in that direction. Just becasue you are not sure why you have that feeling now.....its a little warning. If you did go with this program in a few months you'll find out why you had that bad instinct.

I don't think I would be comfortable with this type of a fundraiser either. As stated previously it lacks "certainty". Most groups I know have standard programs they fund, therefore they have a certain amount of money they need each year to function. I would be afraid that this fundraiser would be too unpredictable. Can the broker guarantee a certain amount? I doubt it. I would look somewhere else.

Nathaniel,

You need to be VERY careful about the way you handle this. This cannot be an endorsement of any kind. When you say advertising, it sounds as though your PTA would be promoting these businesses and that is a very big NO NO in PTA. You can thank them for their contributions and acknowledge them but it can't appear to be an endorsement.
However, if you just mention that if you make a purchase at one of these establishments and a portion of it goes to your PTA, that would be fine.
You also need to make certain that you make this opportunity available to many in the field.
For example, if you use a car lot, you need to put this offer out to many car lots. It can't be exclusively offered unless the car lot itself offers this opportunity to all schools.

I would strongly suggest you contact your Council or State office on this one. (I'm a NV Council but the advice you get from CA may be a little different)
If you need help locating who to talk to go to
www.pta.org/ptacommunity/localptas/ptalinks.asp?div=California

Critter hits it right on the head for other reasons. Unless it's a proven fundraiser for your group, I wouldn't put all your effort into it but rather try it as a sideline. If you need an example of how this can fluctuate, take a look at your Target and Scolari's checks for the last couple years. (And they both do the work for your group, receipts etc. They just cut you a check)

You are right to question this, Good luck.

I can easily see how this could be structured legally. It's really no different than a BoxTops or similar program, just on a micro scale. It would take some doing, but it could be legal. The money you'd receive doesn't have to be donations. It could be considered a marketing expense for the company, just like $$ you get from BoxTops (and pennies you get from Campbells -- ).

That said, I would run from this idea.

There's a reason why so few of these programs work. It's very, very, very difficult to do it right. Your group doesn't want to be the guinea pig here.

Tim

Nathaniel,
I've heard of the same thing (I'm in CT). From what I understand from your post: 1) the money coming from the businesses are donations to the school or PTA, 2) your example of $200 going to the school - $50 goes to the facilitor and $150 goes to the school or PTA (for doing nothing). If these statements are correct, there is are problems.
- The individual needs to be a licensed company (for tax purposes). (No problem?)
- The donations go to the school or the PTA. That makes them tax deductable for the businesses. (No problem)
- The fee paid to the individual makes this indiviual or company an employee. BIG problem!
- If the businesses give the money to the individual first, then it isn't a tax deductable donation anymore for the businesses. Problem for the businesses.
See where this is going?
When I heard of this before, though it sounds good, it caused more headaches than it solved.