Many schools have to engage in fund raising because of a shortfall in government funding. This shortage of sufficient government funding will just get worse given the cutbacks that the governments of the world have seen fit to impose in order to help put an end to the financial crisis caused by the collapse of so numerous financial institutions.
It is commonly called the banking crisis and it is being used as an excuse for slashing the funding of government departments like schooling and health care. You will be able to judge how difficult your local schools have been hit by the amount of school fund raising in your region.
A conventional method of school fund raising is the selling of goods from a catalogue from door to door. Typically, school children are given the catalogues to take home and to take around their neighbours. Those who sell the most often win prizes.
The season of school fund raising usually begins when the kids go back to school in the autumn after the summer break. If the schools in your area have been badly hit by the cutbacks, you might have dozens of kids knocking on your door trying to sell you over-priced knick-knacks.
However, some schools endeavor to be more imaginative in their fund raising, because fewer and fewer people are prepared to pay way over the top for emergency plugs, wrapping paper and scissors.
Some of these innovative ideas include selling sandwiches, pizzas, hot dogs, barbecued chicken and cookie dough. Other ways are to hold a bring and buy sale or a fayre with sideshows, stalls, bingo and a bouncy house. Raffles are also popular methods of raising money for schools as long as the prizes are worth winning.
Although school fund raising is a nuisance for parents, it is a necessary evil, if the school is to meet its responsibility to provide children with a decent education. One good method of raising money is to publish a monthly school magazine. Kids and teachers can write pieces and stories for the magazine and a committee of students and teachers could edit and compile it.
It is a decent idea if the head teacher gives a report in each issue. Local businesses can be approached to buy marketing space and the magazine can be sold for a small amount. This will provide a regular and fairly stable monthly income and every parent will want one as will other individuals who live in the environs of the school.
The difficulty of underfunding is a big one and it will not be going away any time soon, however, families are suffering from the financial squeeze as well so schools should shift their focus while trying to raise money. People definitely do not like to feel obliged to purchase over-priced rubbish because it is children who are flogging it – it is a form of moral blackmail.
The best way to raise money for schools is to provide value for money. So, if you have to organize school fund raising, give out catalogues by all means, but make them decent ones or make your own in conjunction with a large, local department store; put on a Christmas pantomime, nativity play or/and carol service; in the warmer months organize public events like bazaars, fayres and bring and buy sales and publish a monthly school magazine all the way through the year.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety subjects, but is now concerned with the bouncy castles for sale. If you would like to know more, please visit our web site at Bouncy House Rentals