Good point. I'd rather have given the kid $10 straight donation. Next time I will. (I'd have to trust him to turn it in, not pocket it.)

When ordering a meal for the marching band I asked the restaurant manager if he gives a discount. He doesn't. And he said he doesn't participate in the coupons anymore, either. Not enough coupons were coming back in, so he couldn't judge the effectiveness of his participation as advertising. The cost of participating in all of the various coupon sheets was too much, and he didn't want to do one group's but not another, so he doesn't participate in any of them. I can't remember how much he said it was to have coupons on the sheet, but it was surprisingly high.

There ARE other fundraisers the schools can do that do not involve selling junk. They can host fun runs, field days, and even one school here has partnered with an online farmers market to get a percentage of proceeds. Even car washes. Last time I went to a car wash, I swear the kids did not know how to wash a car, though.

I ordered some gift tags from a girl who came door too door but I never got them. It was only $7.

Often those are scams. Unless you knew the boy, he might not have even been a student. I always ask them to show ID. Four out of five don't have any and bail out asap.

I donate to just about anyone who asks, but I do not give them any of my information and I do not take their products. It's hard to ask for money, so I respect that and try to help.

I guess I see it from a different (older person's) perspective, but I think one of the positives of you saying no is that it's healthy for the kids that age to learn how to hear rejection and accept it without giving up. The fact that he said he hated having to sell but was doing it because the coach told him to is also teaching him he has to work for things. There are many reasons it's a good learning experience for him. Ok, so you didn't pitch in this once, but maybe you will next time; either way you helped that boy in ways you probably don't even realize just by being kind about it.

Gsciencechick, seems like every day there is a way to spend money for a group at school raising money for their own group or for their philanthropy. All the ones you mentioned except field day is various sports events.

1929, I suppose it COULD have been a scam, but I'm 99% certain the boy was from the school; he had the shirt, the right forms, and all.

lukki, is IS hard to ask. I remember calling my neighbor after her son sold me a coupon sheet. He had clearly written and memorized his script. He has ASD so I wanted to let his mom know how he did. She said he agonized so over going out; ours was his first stop to get comfortable, but he was probably only going to go to houses he knew. 3 years later he gave his spiel like a pro!

I buy from every kid who comes to the door once I have ascertained that they are in fact from a local organization. I know most of the kids, so its rarely a problem. I don't give anything to the older students who come to the door asking for money for the environment, etc. They are so annoying. I do support several non-profits but I don't support having people banging on my door waving clipboards in my face.

But, I would not buy $25 worth of something I would never use. I might hand them $10 and leave it at that.

Ded, I don't get involved with the clipboard people either. My dog barks when someone rings the bell. I have a glass storm door, so when I open my door I just make gestures and point to my hysterical dog.

In our town, the solicitors are supposed to register with the police department for permission.

Bpath, the thought does cross my mind a kid might pocket the money. But, I have to believe that if they do, they might really need it.

Fundraising door-to-door is horrible. It's horrible for the seller, and it's horrible for the potential buyer.

For dealing with girl scouts, you can always buy a box to donate to the military or to a local food bank. Same for their fall candy/nut sale. The kid and her troop get their cut, the GS organization gets theirs, the food bank gets cookies, and you get a little receipt so you can take a deduction.

(They actually aren't supposed to take donations.)

We rarely turn kids down. If it's not something we want/would use, we either buy it anyway and give it to someone or just give them the money and don't take the item.

I ALWAYS buy GS cookies. I will sometimes keep a couple of boxes for us (put in the freezer and only take out part at a time) or one of us takes them to work where they disappear LOL.

Fori, if I'm buying Girl Scout cookies I'm planning to eat them! (But not the new S'Mores cookie, ugh) same with popcorn, etc.

When my son sold citrus to help pay for his portion of the music trip, he had a table at church. You could buy for yourself, or donate towards a box we donated to the food pantry/shelter dinner.

Our town makes outside solicitors register, too. Local students don't have to.

My cousin's two kids in Ohio (I'm in Florida) emailed me wanting me to buy GirlScout cookies. I ignored the emails. Is that bad? They had never emailed me before or called me on the phone. I only met the kids once at my my moms funeral. I thought it strange but still felt a tiny bit bad.

Bpathome, do you know which bakery you have? There are two very different versions of S'mores cookies -- one is essentially a chocolate covered graham cracker and the other is a sandwich cookie. A friend's daughter put her cookie sale online and I saw the link on FB. She is 200 miles away, so I thought about just donating a few boxes (their group chose the Ronald McDonald house), but I noticed the S'mores and Samoas then looked to see what they had here They were different, so -- in the name of science, I bought a single box of several (and donated some), then bought a few here to compare. We haven't tried most of them yet.

DH and I have a policy that we will buy or support our neighborhood school kids -- at least the first one who comes to our door with that group. Now, that has never been more than $10 or $20 (ETA: and that's a donation if it isn't something I want). We try to spread it out. Our sons had to fundraise for a number of things and they gained a lot in meeting their neighbors, talking to adults and learning to be gracious whether the answer was yes or no -- and they were among the best fundraisers for their scout groups, schools, choir, band, etc. Many of our neighbors and friends were gracious enough to support our kids -- we will pay it forward. Besides, we were involved enough to know just how important the fundraising is to their success and the group's. Funding to the schools and all the activities has been cut, but not the expectations on the kids nor the value of them participating.

ETA: I have no problem saying no to the folks who are driven into our area to sell magazine subscriptions, candy or junk. I often do not answer the door if I see them in the neighborhood. Some of them have not taken "no, thank you" nicely.

My DH is a sucker for the little kids selling candy bars-we live just a few blocks from an elementary school. He always buys a bar then gives it back to the kid and tells them they can keep it for themselves.

At work parents put the fund raiser paperwork du jour on a table in the break room so as not to annoy coworkers. However, we now have a new staff person who has a couple of kids and she puts the fliers up in her cubicle too-makes it a little more invasive.

I don't answer the door to strangers (our dogs alert me before they even ring the bell) so I don't have that issue, but if I were approached by a high school kid selling coupons like that I'd probably just give him a donation instead. I'm not worried about a receipt for $10.

When the GS/BS are out I just give them a cash donation for the cost of whatever it is they're selling. Same thing-don't worry about a receipt.

And speaking of ignoring a request for a donation-my youngest nephew goes to a private college on a baseball scholarship. Just before Christmas he texted my mom asking for her address and she was thrilled-thinking he'd send her a Christmas card. Nope, because a few days later DH and I received a solicitation from him for a fundraiser for the baseball team. My mom got that instead of a Christmas card. I tossed it in the recycling, but mom sent him the minimum donation amount as his Christmas present.

The GS stories reminded me of a neighbor who insisted that she did not buy cookies from my daughter. Luckily, we always had the customer fill out the form, so in her own hand writing she ordered two boxes. I think that she also ordered from another scout, received those cookies and thought she was done.

Similar story with another family, only this time the order was huge. The teen son ordered the cookies! This family just laughed and wrote out the check.

So, yes, lots of experience happen when you sell door to door. Scouts now are finding other ways which is why Justerri got an email from cousin she really doesn't know.

I always just write a check to the team, band, school whatever. I do not buy the coupons, magazines, etc. I DO buy Girl Scout cookies from neighbor girls. I loved being a Scout. Next year, I will probably just give her a check. I do not need to be eating all those cookies. ;)

I must be the only person who doesn't like any GS cookies. They don't come door to door where I live, but generally sit in front of my local supermarket. I try not to make eye contact, or say I already bought some. I hope I don't burn in hell over that.

Cyn I'll volunteer to eat your GS cookies.

When I was working I'd buy a few boxes at work from one or two of the staff who had GS daughters and I'd buy a box at the store too. I love cookies and I can tell myself 'It's for the Scouts' lol.

I HATE these fundraiser and with a son who plays three high school sports, he is "required" to participate in them each season. His football team did the discount card - he was supposed to sell I think 15 or 20, but when I looked at the card, even I, a mom of four, would not use most of what was on it. I think he sold five total and then one guy outside of church (he goes to a parochial school) donated to it. I refused to let him go door to door with it and he didn't want to anyway. His other two fundraisers are a much easier sell thankfully - his basketball team sells poinsettias before Christmas and his lacrosse team sells mulch. The mulch is a HUGE moneymaker. They made $30K last year. He is in the middle of that fundraiser at the moment. The girls' lacrosse team does purse bingo. They have designer purses and wallets as the prizes, plus a few other donated big ticket items, like luxury box to a Caps game. I don't know how much that one made but it is also very successful and fun. It sells out every year.

The neighborhood kids sell the typical fundraising things like wrapping paper, candies, etc. We all buy from each other. I can usually find at least one thing I will use, but if not, I just donate. I don't buy anything from people I don't know but we also are a "no soliciting" neighborhood so when outsiders come to try and sell stuff, I don't even answer the door. My huge barking dog at the glass front door is enough for them not to stick around long.

When my kids are selling things I only let them ask a handful of neighbors and only if it is something that I think they might use. I don't ever want to make any of them feel obligated to donate or buy anything so we sort of have an unspoken agreement to buy from each other's kids but I certainly wouldn't care if they turned one of my kid's down. I also agree that learning how to deal with rejection is a valuable lesson but I strongly disagree with making kids sell things by going door to door if they don't want to. It also sucks for the disadvantaged kids who don't have parents who can afford to just donate vs. participate in the selling. For example, it's not easy for a kid to sell mulch when he lives in an apartment vs a kid who has neighbors/family who live on large properties and use a lot of mulch. Families can get out of selling by donating $400 instead, but these same kids most likely don't have the $400.

I was reminded of this:

Linelle, all GS cookies are not alike. Here in Westchester/Putnam County, we use Little Brownie Baker. I have bought cookies from the other baker and was shocked at how different the cookies were. Even the names were slightly off.

I was a GS leader for both my girls and thought I knew the inside outs of GS cookies and really surprised to see the differences in what was supposed to be similar cookies.

You don't need to buy whatever it is they're selling. I sometimes just give $5 for a little boost and for the students' efforts.

I really think it's great that these younguns' spend time on their weekends to raise funds. Budgets never get bigger, only smaller, it seems.

When I was young, I sold candy for school fundraisers. Based on my experiences selling candy, I decided as long as I could afford it, I would contribute. I do not consider the value of the item, but rather it is a donation.

My local Girl Scouts accept money for the cookies and will send the cookies to soldiers overseas. I don't eat the cookies, but wish to donate.

I did get burned in the 90's. There was a business who told the kids they would get trips to amusement parks based on sales. The candy, nuts were stale, the kids did not get trips.

Eld, our school did throw a fundraiser like that years ago! I don't know how successful it was; it was before we were in that school.

Fortunately, our school kids don't really have fundraisers for their schools. (Just their clubs and sports) They are a pretty philanthropic bunch, though, and someone (a group or a kid) is always holding some kind of drive, from coats and pajamas to backpacks and school supplies. They don't go door-to-door, they use word-of-mouth and social media pretty successfully.

The Homecoming dance was poorly attended for years. Last year they turned it into a fundraiser with other activities at the dance, and had a lot more kids coming.

I miss the cookie dough sale fundraiser! It was the best! No one's had a poinsettia fundraiser in a while. That reminds me, I need to call my favorite Boy Scout and see if they are selling garden flowers again this year. I think they have mulch, too.

The fundraisers here are for sports, band and other activities in high school or the PTA/PTO at all levels -- not the schools themselves.

I worked with a number of fundraisers and worked hard to do things that were fun, unique and/or usable. The wreaths, holiday greenery and poinettias were well received here too. I haven't hear of purse bingo, but that sounds like a fun idea. The non-fundraisers (like the form above) have been tried here, but they never generate enough to replace other fuundraisers. Most people apparently want to get something or participate in something.

Bpat, even those of us who try to say yes and support out our students as often as possible sometiimes have to say no or say no as a reaction to the item and not the cause and don't have a chance to say "but I will make a donation." And if you don't know the kid, making a cash donation may not feel like the right thing to do (or sometimes if you do). It happens. Don't kick yourself. And if it keep bugging you, just send a small check to the school for the team with a note that you appreciate that the student who came to your door wasn't pushy and while you didn't want the coupon card, you wanted to show your support. The note and the financial support will both be appreciated.

The kids don't come to my door - that's apparently reserved for the volunter fire fighters (I donate) and the Jehovah witnesses (I don't). Most people don't want to walk up my steep driveway.

But sometimes there are stands of kids selling GS cookies or some other baked goods for their organizations outside of local shops. A week ago, it was Girl Scouts. I handed them a few dollars without buying a box of something that would remain uneaten. (Tummy no longer tolerates them.)

I don't feel obligated to buy or donate. If it feels like for a good purpose, I may give them some cash.

I remember donating one recent year to kids promoting the high school volleyball team. Reminded me of the days I was once on a high school volleyball team, too. (Not that we had fundraisers for that back then, simply recalled the fun of actually playing.)

Like several others here I will generally give a straight donation for local students. Fundraisers are hard on everybody but necessary. That said I do really like the idea of the designer purse bingo, I think that would be fun. Recently there was a boy in front of the grocery store selling candy he was high school age. I stopped and asked him what he was selling for, he was raising money to go on a trip with friends. Although it wasn't a school related trip I appreciated his entrepreneurial spirit and purchased a couple of candy bars.

I like donating extra fruit from my trees for the local kids to sell and raise funds. It's organic and tastes great. The kids help me pick it and I feel good knowing it doesn't go to waste. They turn the money in to fund activities at the school.