Fundraising

I am involved in doing some fund raising for a charity and I have learned quite a few things in the process. One of the biggest things is about collect funds is having good guidelines.

Schools in a lot of cases, or at least around us don't seem to have good guidelines when it comes to their fundraising. There always seems to be various reasons for fundraising and it can get overwhelming.

Recently a school in our neighborhood was doing some sort of fund raising by selling the chocolate covered almonds. I have no idea what the fund raising was about because when the teens were knocking at our door it was only to say they were collecting for a fund raiser. The teen didn't have any thing to show about where he was from or what the fund raiser was about. In our apartment building there is a sign that says no solicitation. So many people don't think that coming door to door asking me to buy even something as a fund raiser, is soliciting.

Solicitation signs -- it means they do not want people coming

into the building and asking for money.

It doesn't matter if it is for charity or not.

After the first teen was around it wasn't long before another teen was walking down the hall knocking on doors and asking again if we wanted to buy chocolates. Yes, it was the same fundraiser. When we said that they weren't allowed to sell in our building and he was the second teen his reply was "well there are 120 of us doing the fundraising". We were actually leaving the floor so we made the teen get on the elevator with us and got him to the first floor. At least it meant he was stopped for a few minutes but probably went back up and continued bothering people.

Another part of the school fundraising that gets me when they are selling the chocolates with almonds in them is the issue of the peanut and nut allergy issues in the schools. Why do schools sell something that in so many cases cannot be consumed within the school itself. By using these as a fund raising item the school is sending out a mixed message.

Fundraising should be done through friends and family and not door to door. There are so many fundraising things now that if you gave to every cause you saw or all that came to your door you would be broke.

The other group of teens that really bother me are the ones that stand outside stores and are selling the chocolates for something. So many of these teens are getting paid a little bit to sell the chocolates but the money isn't going to a charity or a nonprofit but into someone's pocket. We have even encountered these teens in coffee shops asking people to purchase the chocolates.

Fundraising is getting harder and harder to do now and I think part of it is because of all the various causes as well as the " go fund me" pages that are being set up asking for money. If you are going to be raising fund for something please remember that a cause may be important to you but I may have another cause that is more important to me. Don't get upset if I say no when you ask me for a donation because there is only so much money that can go to the various fund raising efforts.