Sometimes I just hand over a few dollars, 5 or 10, and don't buy whatever it is that I really don't need. It's just easier and cheaper. And no one has to deliver anything to me.

Eileen

Nope, you aren't being crotchety. In the first 7 weeks of school Makayla and Bud had 4 fundraisers. This summer it was Little League and 4-H. The local Rocket football team sold gift cards to local businesses. The cub scouts had a pop can drive. The girls across the street sold sub sandwiches for cheerleading and the volleyball team sold cookie dough. Oh, and a niece always sells girl scout cookies and she's in band so there's 3 or 4 more fund raisers per year. (sigh)

It gets worse each year, I used to tell the band director to just let me write a donation check and not send the entire band to knock on my door.

What's worse, there are "prizes" for selling things, so they get the kids all tuned up abut selling $1,000 worth of wrapping paper to win a $2 set of earphones. Ugh.

Annie

It's awful.

My grandson's public school and my granddaughter's preschool have non-stop fundraising. It's unbelievable. Back when I was in school, we never did anything like that.

When my kids were in school I would not allow them to solicit neighbors or family to buy stuff, I find it crass and totally inappropriate. It is worthless junk. And since everyone in the neighborhood went to the same school, just how many people did they think would buy that cr@p.

Now it's 10 times worse - and my DD has instituted the same rule. We send a donation, and the school gets 100% of that, they only get a part of the money raised, otherwise.

Enough already.

Very timely post!! I have had my fill of these fund-raisers too but yesterday I really had to bit my tongue because it wasn't one of my grandbabies or the neighbor kids, it was my neighbor selling fresh Christmas decorations at a premium for her women's club fundraiser.

I recall selling girl scout cookies when I was a member, and we sold magazine subscriptions my senior year to fund our senior class trip (which, ironically, I was not able to afford to go on...)

But no, I don't remember any of us ever having to sell so much crap!

Several years ago I got a solicitation in the mail from oe of my nephews (who lived in the same city as we did) stating that they were selling magazine subscriptions for whatever fund-raiser, so please look at the enclosed catalog and send in my order. Now that was crass and inappropriate, in my opinion! The kids didn't even have to communicate with the people they were trying to sell to, it was all done via form letter! I ripped that one up and added to the circular file!

Linda

Wow, I had no idea. I get Girl Scouts and the occasional local high school canned-goods pick up. That's about it. Then again, as I've mentioned in the Halloween thread, not many children in the 'hood.

Here, y'all aren't alone:

Public School Fundraising = Bleeding Wallet + Unreal Expectations

I welcome GS cookies and Campfire candy....but the rest get a bill, money, and a "Thanks but I don't need that however I support your cause."
But when kids I don't know come around saying I am selling magazines for our church....and I don't know the church...or i am selling candy to earn my way to camp....and I don't know the kid....I just say...no thanks!

But...I think it's the companies that solicit organizations to sell this carp!....back in my day ( about 1000 years ago!) we had paper drives, when they didn't pick up the recycling and can and bottle drives. We would ask people to save their bottles for us and we would pick them up and turn them in.
Now here in Iowa we have bottle deposit....for a while one group or another would come and ask if we had any cans or bottles.....adn I would save by cans and bottles in a bin for them. But no one has come in several years.....and I have a bin with about $5 worth of bottles and cans in my garage. Would much rather they take my bottles than try to sell me some bad cookie dough!!
Guess I'll be toting them to recyling myself....

I think you have gone above and beyond the call of duty and at this point I would have a talk with your neighbor AND daughter. If it were me, I'd figure out how much I'd want to donate to her daughter's groups, give her the $ in form of a check made out to those organizations, and say that is for the year - no more purchases, you would rather the funds go directly to the group. I bet they get a fraction of what you have spent on all the carp.

I think Girl Scout cookies only refund three cents on the dollar to the selling Troops, does anyone know for sure?

Jessyf, when I was a girl scout leader the troop got back half of the cookie selling price. This was many years ago. I don't know if things have changed, hope not.

ML

I wish I could bring myself to like GS cookies. I hate them! I could probably choke down a thin mint or two but that's about it! LOL

I did talk to my neighbor last night and just told her I can't help out with every fund-raiser they are involved in. She understood.

Linda

It seems odd that many folks and organizations would rather the kids "sell" something (gets them trained in cappitalism early on) than solicit donations. What's wrong with just asking someone to support a charity you believe in and benefit from? I'll tell you one thing, (because I have worked for non-profits all my life) just writing out a donation check is the best way to go. 100% of your money goes to support the organization. You can even designate what specific program you want to support. Companies make all kinds of money offering items for sale by non-profits. In fact, with the economy doing as poorly as it is, that is just another way some folks are attempting to make a living. So someone has a job at the company that provides the stuff too, because you are buying from the kid. But some of these fundraisers the school gets maybe 10%. When I saw how low it was for some of them, I decided to just stop, money is too tight. I pick the charities I believe in and write as large a check as I can muster, one time per year!

I feel for these kids, they are learning early on the ways of the market. Nothing wrong with that per se, but realize that they are really working for a for-profit company, and in turn that company shares the profit with them, in payment for their work time. Would almost be better if the kids baked their own cookies and just sold them, or did a car wash or went door to door offering to do yard work for money. In fact, I have a friend who is starting up a business that is partnering non-profits with local farmers and other food producers, so the money can stay in the community and also so that the kids can maybe learn something about their local economy and foodshed. Also, I was involved with a local bank helping a 3rd grade class run their own fundraiser, with the kids coming up with the plan of how to raise the money, (they sold popcorn during the lunch hour) being helped with the budgeting and record keeping by people with expertise to share who worked at the bank, and then in the end the bank matched what they raised. It was a local bank. Then the kids decided what to do with the money, so they worked with us to come up with a scheme where they came out and planted a bunch of trees in an area we were trying to reforest, and they were helped by parents and bank employees. So it was just a win win situation all the way around, valuable lessons, the kids learned as well as earned.

As I recall, scouts do get half of the money....but also the girls compete for prizes. You sell a certain amount of cookies and get a "something or other award" sell more cookies and you go to the next level. And as I recall the money didn't go directly to the troop but to the larger organization, which of course was headed by a paid staff.

One thing I feel is really a good training in the ways of the business world is Junior Achievement. My son was in JA for all his highschool years. With JA the kids try to find a product to produce, market and sell at a profit. One year they found a source of gold colored aluminum 8 MM wire and a jig and made coathangers. Sold a bundle of 4 for $5...they flew out. Sold out fery quickly. But they didn't make much, because they didn't charge enough.
Next product was an aluminum cookie sheet! Another fabulous product....they learned and charged a decent price....and again sold out....and this time made money!

It just happened today that DH got one in the mail from his 13 YO niece for her school. I love the P.S. on the request, "Thanks for the birthday money you sent." Her birthday was back in August and we never received a thank you. We had no idea whether she got it or not since there wasn't even a phone call or email. I felt like throwing the request into the circular file, but I will leave it up to him since it is his niece.
Clare

Clare, a thank you for your birthday gift as an aside to a request for a donation? Wow....."there ain't nothin' right about that".

Linda

Linda - We live in a graceless age. I was raised that manners mattered. Not today.

It was a fund raiser selling magazine subscriptions. We don't read magazines and I think they are a waste of paper. I can find news and other information online. DH tore it up and tossed it in the trash can. I don't think he was too pleased about the P.S. either.
Clare