If your kids are/were in private school

[livinitup]

I have run and participated in private school fundraising. Having an annual goal with a good deal of transparency on participation goals and where the money goes is extremely important. Also recruiting a solid parent group who was involved with all levels - setting goals, approving projects, communicating achievements, organizing volunteers, training and confidentiality (and supervision with student contact).

[bugandbibs]

Isn't this what jenny1980 does as part of her job?

[sugarbear]

jenny1980 can offer some insight, I think.

I teach at one and my kid goes there.
As both a parent and a teacher, I just assume it's part of the gig, ya know? We get nickeled and dimed daily.

Teachers are basically required to donate to our annual fund, which actually helps pay our salaries. It's effed up, but I usually donate a pretty small amount. As a parent, now, I'll donate more. I mean, it's a necessary evil and you have to keep in mind that public schools do fundraisers too. As far as our auction goes, we do a "fund-a-need" every year the school really plays it up. I think it helps to have something specific that the parents can actually see.

We've done two capital campaigns since I've worked here, spaced about 8 years apart, I think. Our goal was $8m, but it's been reduced to about $4m, I think.

[hocus2]

I'm involved with fundraising for a public school.

The big fundraisers are the direct appeal, auction (dinner-dance), and some other smaller things we do including a really successful book fair.

[georgeharrison]

Don't do something where the kids have to sell door to door. If a product must be sold, offer something that can be sold online, too. Not everyone lives in a neighborhood that is welcoming for door to door or has family in the area.

If fundraising is required, offer a "buy out" for families that don't have the time. Consider doing this per kid instead od per family. We only have one kid, and it is frustrating when our contribution is the same as a family with several kids.

Do as much of it at the school as possible like bake sales during school events.

Offer incentives for participation, but don't make fundraisers manditory.

I agree with making sure participants know what the funds are going toward.

ETA: Something I want to say, too, is to be aware that not everyone who sends their kid to private school is wealthy or has a lot of extra.  Our public schools are bad, so we send our kid to a private school.  It's a huge financial burden for us, and we sacrifice in other areas to pay the tuition.  We participate in as much as we can, and I know that fundraisers are expected, but we can't participate in everything.

[sonrisa]

Not a private school parent, but our preschool holds a lot of fundraisers as does the local public school. Personally, I find the fundraising parties a little ridiculous. why does raising cash require a third party to chip in all that lavish crap? However, people here *love* them. "It's for the kids." The fashion shows, galas, fairs, etc. It gives people a chance to dress up, drink wine, etc.

Something that goes over really well are "sign up parties." A family will host an event and other families will pay to attend. It ranges from simple things like hosting a movie night for kids to a box at a Giants game. 

ETA: as self indulgent as all the events seem, they are much much better than some sort of selling crap. That would drive me crazy.

[noodleskooze]

The private school I went to (then later taught at) only had one fundraising event per year--the annual gala. A LOT of money was raised during that one night, but I think parents felt more generous since it was the only time they were asked to give.

[eb777888]

God, David was only in private school for a month last year (we switched at the end of the year) and we only had one fundraising event. Reading this thread makes me scared for next year! At his charter school before that, it was event after event. We gave a lot of money, but it was a first year charter and I know they needed the money so I didn't mind as much.

[mrsukyankee]

At many of the private schools where I worked, much of the fundraising was not through events so much as through just calling and asking for money - from alumni and parents. The fundraising folk would go to many get togethers which were held in various locations around the country and there would be solicitations of funds then. And lots and lots of emails. We'd typically have one event, such as an auction, which would have a specific target and a specific role (raising money for building a gym, for example).

[lolalolalola]

Wait what? I just enrolled my kid in private school next year. I'm paying $22k and I still have to fund raise? I assumed that tuition covered costs. Shit. I'm already giving $$ to my other kids public school on the regular.

[littlemermaid]

You really have to look at the demographic(specifically income level) of the parents attending these schools. The parents who really sacrifice their disposable income to send their children to our schools only contribute what's mandatory and don't participate in the other fundraising events.

I have 2 children in private school (elementary/middle school and high school). It's just a given that you will be giving money above and beyond the tuition. We pay a fundraising fee each year when we register for the upcoming school year ($200 & $400, respectively). Both schools will have an annual gala which will have raffles, silent auctions, regular auction for bigger items like trips, big ticket items..etc). These are my most enjoyable events.

[sonrisa]

something that helps raise money is letting people know what the "bridge the gap" amount per child is. Our preschool says on the fundraising letter that it's $700/kid more than tuition. The local public school lets everyone know that they raise $1,600/kid beyond public funds.

[regencygirl]

Went to private elementary and high school. The only thing I remember from grade school is we had to sell a box of chocolate a year. If there were any other fundraisers, I don't remember them.

In High School, we had a box of chocolate a year. There were also other various fundraisers throughout the year, but they were optional. We did Moo-Cow Bingo - they roped off squares on our soccer field and brought a cow in, where it pooped got a "bingo" and won a prize. The cow got loose one year and ran down a major street in front of our school. It was finally caught in the parking lot of a Dunkin Donuts. I know there were others, but I can't remember them.

As a private elementary parent - we do the following: KidStuff books (coupon books), Magazine Sale (optional) (I HATE this as it is packaged a competition and the kids can win prizes for selling differing amounts of magazines - I refuse to hit people up for them so my son only gets one stupid plastic key chain a year and he hates us for a month b/c of it, the next month he hates us b/c he doesn't get to go on the limo lunch). There is also what seems to be the standard box of candy, which in previous years we HAD to sell, but last year you could opt out). There is also a Walk-a-thon each year - all money from that does to one designated thing. Our first year, it bought several smart boards. The past few years, it's been paying for our arts program - mostly the art supplies and musical instruments. Home and School also sponsors several other events throughout the year, open to the entire parish and community - we have designer bag bingo in the fall, and Quizzo in the Spring.

We've also done fundraising for various clubs our son is in - A beef and beer for his soccer club, and this year we're doing a food truck festival / mini-carnival. Our Cub Scout Pack does an annual Applebee's Flapjack fundraiser. The Troop does a spagettii dinner, and a bake sale.

[Doggy Mommy]

The school I teach at is public but is a wealthier school and in some ways seems like a private school. We've found that people hate having fundraisers constantly and buying crap, so we have fewer fundraisers than most schools. The biggest event has always been an auction every year and it typically raises 100-150k. There's a small flower sale that usually sells out. People who don't go to the auction typically send in a check to contribute. One thing auctioned off is an Amazing Race, which is usually a huge hit. Things are changing though and the auction wasn't as successful last year. I think they're switching to a golf tournament and a fun run.

ETA: I used to work at a different school, and at their auction there was a Wish Tree for teachers. Teachers would request gift cards to various places where they needed things for the classroom (Barnes & Noble, Ikea, Michaels etc). Parents who wanted to would take the teacher's wish off the tree and then go out and buy the gift card and give it to the teacher. It was AMAZING and so super helpful!!!! Every cent of it went directly to the classroom for items we needed.

[auntie]

DS has attended both. Plus marching band which is a whole nother fundraising thing.

Private school #1 was never transparent around what they were raising funds for. I did enjoy the annual auction which brought in a lot of money with things like reserved first row seats for graduation and lower school concerts, a bedtime story read by the beloved kindie teacher and handprint items made by individual classes. I liked company match. And loathed selling crap like wrapping paper and magazines- especially if there was a limo lunch for the top sellers.

Private school #2 didn't do much aside from a Christmas Tree lighting and selling tickets to a workshop with a different internationally known educator like Mel Levine or Richard Lavoie.

Public school elementary sucked at fundraising. Their goals were some sort of state secret, the PTO maintained a $40K balance instead of using it, and they raised funds with a lot of little chickenshit events that were time consuming but not lucrative. The annual block party required every family to participate and netted about $1K- for a school with 900 students, it's chump change.

The marching band and scouts are way better at fundraising- clear goals and when they did sell stuff, it was stuff you need and often at a better price than retail. Like spring annual baskets and flats for $10 each, donation car washes or restaurant GCs which net them 20% of face value.

[eclaires]

My kids go to public schools but I went to all private schools. There were regular fundraising events every year. At my K-8 school it was less formal for a long time, mostly volunteer requirements for the bigger events but I think they eventually formalized it and people could pay a certain amount and opt out of volunteer requirements. It was a Catholic school though, so the fundraising requirements weren't comparable with an independent private school that would generally pull from a wealthier crowd. More was required at my Catholic high school and again the big events were the main fundraisers, but the requirements were higher and closer to what some of the independent public schools did in the area.

We never did any direct sales stuff unless it was tied to a school trip or sport. Never for the overall school fundraising. I vastly prefer the events. And at my kids' schools, which are public, the events make the bulk of the money. Over the past few years, most of the direct sales stuff has been cut out. The events are fun and my kids love them too. Anything direct sales seems to be hated pretty universally. Our events are a school carnival with a silent auction and a fall festival that has a silent auction. They are a lot of work to pull off but they are definitely worth the effort for us because of how much we pull in.

[drloretta]

DD's last school was horrible with this. They are a very small school (<25 families) with little/no community involvement. So all fundraising activities were to this small group of families. I was on the board last year, and someone suggested advertising our auction (biggest fundraiser) to the whole community. It was immediately shot down. Let's just say they have a lot of work to do.

Auctions are always a fun night out, despite what I wrote above. I like the idea of a trivia night, and I have heard of schools doing it where it's tremendously successful.

DD starts at a parochial school in the fall. I know we're expected to help out with bingo nights, not sure what else will be involved. Someone did mention an auction. I expect much more success because it's a larger school. They've also raffled off a chance for a child to ride to school either with the police or fire department. VERY popular.

We also pay $500 into a fundraising fund. If we do 32 hours of fundraising as a family per year, that $ gets rolled over into the next year, and eventually returned to us when DD leaves the school. We had a similar setup for her last school, except it was less $ and it was for volunteering in general, not just fundraising

[anodyne]

We have a gift card system where major retailers give a % back. You buy a $25 GC and 3% is given to the school. It's huge at Christmas time. I usually get my grocery store and Target GCs there.

We also have a gala, auction, entertainment books, trivia night and Girl Scouts does a trunkless trunk or treat.

[tamaries]

Our son goes to a private preschool. We are asked at the beginning of the year to give $200 to the parents fund that goes into teacher appreciation during the year. Each class also has a wishlist of items that we can donate toward/buy for the class, but it isn't really pushed at the parents. We also usually have a couple of events at local restaurants where they donate a portion of the receipts for all of us who bring in the flyer.

There is also 1 large fundraising event each year where they identify a large ticket item or 2 that they want/need for the school - in our time there they have replaced the playground equipment and replaced flooring throughout the school. For our fundraiser the parents are asked to solicit donations for the silent auction. The actual event is a performance by the kids in the school - the families buy tickets for the show (25/person) and we enjoy the kids' show then have hors d'oeuvres while the silent auction is going. Parents are also able to buy a copy of the show on dvd as well. In our time there, they have always met their goal for the event.

The most important thing to me is that we know upfront what is expected of us as parents. We can budget appropriately, and it doesn't feel like we are being nickel and dimed.

[fryjack2]

My kids were in private preschool and will be in a different private school for pre-k next year.

Here are specific funds we donated to the past 2 years:

-teacher continued education (conferences, seminars, etc.)
-capital campaign
-annual fund
-scholarship fund

We also donated in the form of:

-buying tickets to the annual auction (basically the huge yearly gala that raises hundreds of thousands)
-buying silent and live auction items at the auction
-donating services to the auction

Preschool didn't do chocolate sales or gift wrap, etc. They focused more on bigger money makers. I'm not sure about their next school, but I would assume the same.

My favorite funds to donate to are the ones that help further educate teachers and kids and to funds that make childhood memorable. I'll pay $100 for a dozen cupcakes if it helps provide a scholarship to a kid who couldn't otherwise afford summer camp.

[looksgood]

Each family is given a certain amount that they must meet each year. I loathe fundraising so I just pay that amount out of pocket at the beginning of the year to opt out and forget about it. I consider it part of the tuition. The popular fundraisers at our school are always the lottery at Christmas and a wine auction.

[irishbride2]

Jun 29, 2016 10:47:54 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

Wait what? I just enrolled my kid in private school next year. I'm paying $22k and I still have to fund raise? I assumed that tuition covered costs. Shit. I'm already giving $$ to my other kids public school on the regular.

At most schools, tuition only covers about 80% of the costs of running a school. The annual fund makes up the difference. Remember, too, that it is likely many families are not paying the full tuition amount. 

plus there could be a capital campaign for new facilities or raising money for the endowment. 

[sparkythelawyer]

Ok, I have to admit, I don't get why private schools need fundraisers for in-year things. Why are the amounts being sought in these fundraisers not simply added to the cost of tuition?

I can make a slight exception for capital expenditures, but why is a school only charging 80 % of costs?  

[hocus2]

Jun 29, 2016 16:07:45 GMT -5 sparkythelawyer said:

Ok, I have to admit, I don't get why private schools need fundraisers for in-year things. Why are the amounts being sought in these fundraisers not simply added to the cost of tuition?

I can make a slight exception for capital expenditures, but why is a school only charging 80 % of costs?  

The official tuition might entice certain families to join because it is still affordable to folks. Fundraisers have different tax implications from tuition so setting things up as 80% tuition and 20% fundraising makes sense for the more affluent folks. They could set everything up on a slide scale as well, but it is less common.

[usm]

Most private schools here do 3 day fairs. Our school requires each family to work X number of hours or pay a fee per child. I don't love being required to give up a set weekend during football season but I am glad it's kind of one and done. It's well run and brings in a lot of money.

Some schools do a live auction during the fair but ours does a separate event of dinner and auction. This is the more social, fun event. They do little things through the year like breakfast with Santa, gift wrap, discount cards. I just pick and chose what we would participate.

[formerlyak]

To answer the question "why doesn't my tuition cover it", all private schools have what's referred to as "the gap." It is the difference between the cost of tuition and the actual cost of educating a child. By not charging the full amount it costs to educate a kid, you open the school up to a more diverse population. No private school worth their salt only has one demographic of kid, because that is simply not the way the world works.

Some schools advertise the gap as part of their fundraising campaigns. When I did K-12 fundraising, we did not. We had plenty of families who could give well beyond "the gap" and found that when we put that number out there in materials, they kept their gift at that level. When we took it out, they gave more. If they asked, of course we disclosed it.

The more affluent families who can afford full freight appreciate being able to write off a portion of the cost (they can write off the gift portion).

The biggest surprise to me when I was doing K-12 was that the families who were on financial aid really made some generous gifts and were some of my best volunteers. In talking with them, they felt that the school gave them such a gift when they received scholarship, it was their way to give back.

Generally, annual fund dollars are used either for operating expenses because foundations and corporate donors don't fund that for the most part or for a specific project. The development office should be upfront about the intended use. Sometimes they are used to build endowment, but in my experience that is rate.

@kirkette mentioned the raised dollars being used to "replenish" endowment. If you school says they are using the annual fundraiser dollars to "replenish" endowment, I'd start asking questions. In theory, the principal of the endowment should never be spent. Only the payoff should be spent. Of course the markets go up and down and can cause an endowment principal to drop, but if a school is pulling from their endowment and it then needs replenishing, I'd question the financial practices of the institution.

[frlcb]

My kids are at a private school and I am on the PTO board. We do our annual campaign and have one month in the Fall where we push the annual campaign and the PTO/school is not allowed to ask for anything else during that month. Also we allow families to pledge an amount and pay it later in the year or over a certain number of months. We have done a fall fundraiser in the past (wrapping paper; wreaths; christmas trees) but are not doing it this year as it wasn't super productive. We have a fall festival which everyone loves, a fall and spring book fair, a jingle jog, a tennis round robin for the parents, a golf tournament, a father/daughter dance, a mother son event, a family fun night, multiple spirit nights throughout the year at both restaurants and jumpy places and this year there was one at a nail salon as well, and our big event is the fling, which we now alternate every other year as being something casual (last year was an 80s theme) and black tie (this year it is at the ritz) and involves a silent auction, teacher treasures and a live auction.

Holy crap that sounds like a lot. None of it is mandatory and while it sounds like a lot most of it is 'fun' stuff and isn't shoved down throats. And none of it is done by the kids, so they don't have to run for laps for money or go door to door or ask for money from anyone. 

[LoveTrains]

Jun 29, 2016 16:07:45 GMT -5 sparkythelawyer said:

Ok, I have to admit, I don't get why private schools need fundraisers for in-year things. Why are the amounts being sought in these fundraisers not simply added to the cost of tuition?

I can make a slight exception for capital expenditures, but why is a school only charging 80 % of costs?  

Because that makes tuition cost more. Tuition is not tax deductible but charitable gifts to the school are.

I'm a fundraiser for an independent school and this is the model. It's the model all across the country. The school should tell parents what percent of the budget comes from fundraising (annual fund, auction, golf tournament, endowment draw etc) and be transparent.

You can't just raise tuition by the amount of the annual fund divided by student. That would be an extra $5000 a student where I work. Parents get a deal by giving $100 or $250 or $1000 because alumni donate and some parents can give $25000+.

[LoveTrains]

Our endowment draw is only 3.75%. 5% is high in my area for an endowment draw.

[formerlyak]

Jun 29, 2016 20:56:48 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Our endowment draw is only 3.75%. 5% is high in my area for an endowment draw.

It's high here, too. Every place I've worked it's been a rolling average of the investment income. Typically 3 or 5 year rolling average. This has usually tracked around 3%. And it helps offset years with a poorer performance.