Fundraising: Is there a target on your back?
More and more school systems are finding an easy fix to their ever increasing financial woes in slashing or completely eliminating the funding to extracurricular activities. These activities include sports, bands and clubs. All of which enhance (and expand) the high school student’s life.
(PRWEB) June 24, 2005 -- In a report on TurnTo10.com regarding a local school
district’s decision to cut most of the funding for extracurricular activities it
stated: “Sports and club commitments help round out a student and often make the
difference when applying to college.” Imagine a college application being
submitted with a blank activity sheet…not because the applying student was a
“coach potato” but because their school had fallen victim to extracurricular
funding cuts.
In fairness to school districts, they are faced with
financial pressures from rising healthcare costs to having to deal with
explosive energy costs to keeping schools heated or cooled. To make matters
worse, cities and towns, previously the deep pocket of any school district, are
finding it harder to keep their tax revenue equal to their ever increasing
expenses.
It would seem that a simple solution would be to raise taxes so
that more money can be supplied to schools. Put to a vote, such proposed
increases are always shot down by the voters who firmly believe that they are
being over taxed right now. (Remember the Boston Tea Party!)
We have to
accept the fact that school district funding for extracurricular programs is
history and move on.
Bottom line...to keep
extracurricular activities alive, parents have to become creative in finding the
funds to operate their son or daughter’s sports team, band or club. More and
more school districts are charging participation fees to play a sport, be in a
band or join a club. Frequently the term that is being used for this is
“pay-to-play”.
Never before has student fundraising played a more
important role in keeping after school programs alive. The team, band or club
that has mastered the fundraising art, will be able to survive (and thrive) in
the present extracurricular budget cut frenzy.
A key online source is
PlusFundraising.com which contains a fundraising directory with 1,000’s of
diverse fundraising companies. The profits any group can realize from their
fundraising efforts usually range from 40% to 90% of the total amount
collected.
So if you feel as though your son or daughter’s team, band or
club has a target on its back for its school district’s funds being cut, you are
probably right.
This fundraising awareness article brought to you by your
fundraising online source PlusFundraising.com where you will find 1,000’s of
diverse fundraising companies.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb254310.htm