A coworker just popped into my office and handed me a catalog and form to buy junk food I don't want for a fundraiser for his kid's elementary school. This sort of annoys me because
1. I already pay taxes to support schools.
2. I have no kids, so my tax share already goes to other peoples' kids.
3. I've heard that most of the money for these fundraisers goes to the company that handles the products, not to the cause. I haven't looked into this myself though.
4. He used the hard-sell method, not just leaving the packet in a public area for people to see, but coming into my office to push the goods.
I feel put on the spot and will probably buy something. But I don't feel good about it.
How do you handle these fundraisers?
Well, I'm the one hitting up my coworkers, that's how!
1. So does everyone. You went to public school right? Be aware that depending on the district, schools are broke. The costs to fulfill pensions are rising, and little things like computers, music, science, PE, and art are now "extra", meaning, not covered by the district budget. And certainly not things like assemblies and field trips.
2. See #1. You are repaying society for your own education.
3. This is likely true, depending on the company and the product. It can be as high as 50% (like for magazines), but is generally more like 20-30% (for candy sales). If you don't want to buy the stuff (like candy), don't buy it. I'm not a fan of junk food either, and our school hasn't done one of those fundraisers in many years. They did bring in needed money, but they are still a crap-ton of work. And not enough people to do the work.
4. I prefer the "soft sell" myself (stick a sign up list on my office window). But a simple: "I'm not interested in those products", should suffice. Mostly I sell things like raffle tickets and entertainment discount books. I know which coworkers are interested (mostly in the discount books). If they don't want one, I don't push it. Sometimes people hit me up for the same kind of thing. I have no problem giving 5 bucks here and there. For example, if one of the wealthy schools hits me up, I'll pass. But one of the poor schools? I'll give them a few bucks. (Instead of buying something, I'll make a donation.)