I think kaycee is right. It isn't all demographics. During our donation drive last year, I sat outside during morning dropoff and collected donations from people who kept forgetting....Anyway, we are in a middle class area, and I could count on my hand the number of cars and trucks that were older than 2 years. Yet many people said they didn't have $10 to donate for our shade structures. On the one hand, some people really don't. On the other hand, I pointed out in one letter that most of us waste more money than that at McDonald's in a week, and that giving the equivalent of a night out at the movies wasn't too much to ask for protection from skin cancer. I got a good response after that from some people -- I wasn't trying to guilt them, jut put it in perspective. But some still wouldn't participate. Oh, well.

I think it would be hard to fundraise for smartboards. I would be less likely personally to donate to that versus more stuff for the library, science materials, shade structures, PE equipment, etc. It seems like such an extra for many parents, who may not have many extras at home.

My child's school also has a significant number of students in a poverty/near poverty situation, and I think you are right that it does affect families' participation in fundraising.

A suggestion I have about anything related to a parent group is that people will respond much more positively (as in, will do, will help, will come, will call, whatever it is) if asked personally. A phone call from a parent of a child in my kid's class is much more personal and meaningful, and more likely to get a response than a general Dear Parents letter which may get lost in the backpack/mail and I may never see. Also, if I have questions or special needs, it's easier to ask right then than to have to figure out who to call and find the time to do it. Granted, you want to be sensitive to the parents who cannot possibly give, but you'd be surprised at how many CAN and just don't unless personally asked.

The same goes for finding volunteers!

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely keep plugging away. As of next year, I will have two in the school ( my baby will be gone) so lots of time to devote [img]smile.gif[/img] Hopefully we will be a well oiled machine by then. haha! At our knidergarten registration mtg, I also learned that our school is now at 40% poverty level. so that could be part of it also.
who knows?
Thanks again,
Lisa

I'm a fan of explaining why we conduct a fundraising project, whether it's for our general operating budget (we show the details) or for some specific purpose (ex: to offset costs of our 5th grade camp). If your fundraiser was specifically to help purchase Smart boards, maybe your community is telling you that they don't view Smart boards as a priority. Our principal is very high on that technology, too, but there are many parents who think we should fund more traditional enrichment programs and basic school needs before we commit thousands of dollars to the latest techno-gadget. Just a thought.

You're a terrific person for stepping in to help your school despite the troubles the group has had in the past. Keep plugging along. With enthusiasm, a sincere effort to welcome new volunteers, and a few well-executed events, your group will have a bright future.

Lisa-Couple of things, First I wouldn't take it personally. If you get into this forum I think you would see where alot of groups fundraising efforts have been really down this year, my school as well. Being in New York with gas costs, heating costs, all of that stuff we cut our Easter Candy fundraiser because we truly felt that It wasn't going to bring in the profits. Schools all over are feeling the pinch.

Second, speaking from experience...when our group was started after the disbanning of our PTA (long story...sounds like yours) our first fundraising efforts were low. I can remember saying well they use to raise all this money what's the problem with us? Looking back I think that our school community had to see where we were heading, they wanted to see whether we were going to be around, whether the money was going to be put to good use, and truthfully if they were going to get something out of it. As we grew and started to do alot of free family activities then that support also grew, It's just a matter of trust.If you know what I mean, they need to feel comfortable with your group, as they do then I think you will see a increase. Dont get frustrated, it just takes time!

Hi all,
I have been reading the boards here for awhile and THANKS for all the great ideas! Hopefully, you can tell me where we went wrong with our fundraiser this year. We are a small K-5th grade school, of about 280 kids. We just had a turnover of president, treasurer this year. The new president has already resigned and I have agreed to step in. Our parent group used to be run by a cliche that didn't make anyone feel welcome who came to meetings. (unless you wanted to the boxtops, campbell soup, or receipts). Well, since the turnover they have not done anything, nor were they very helpful in giving guidelines on how things were done, so we are basically winging it and were doing pretty good, until the spring fundraiser. We sent out a letter with the "current catalog". We thought we covered bases, we explained the "why" ...we are trying to get SMART boards for the school, we even sent out the letter in both spanish and english to hopefully encompass everyone in school. We had a survey at the beginning of the year asking what people preferred fundraiser or just plain donate, when the survey was tallied we had about 1/2 & 1/2.
So that was an option also. Our results just came in...we only had 67 participate in the fundraiser for a total of $4500 and 3 people donate for a total of $30. In previous years, they have made $7500 on the fundraiser, we'll be lucky to get $2500....So any ideas on where we went wrong?
any help would be appreciated...
Thanks,
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