Posted on 11/06/2009School Fundraising has an interesting life cycle. Kids are introduced to fundraising as early as daycare and preschool. The families of younger children are quite familiar with fundraising by the time their kids reach elementary schools. It is during those early years, though, that families remain intimately involved with all aspects of life at the school.
PTA's and PTO's are the most active they will get. There are parents volunteering in the class room and work rooms at the school. Basically you see parental involvement at its peak. That is especially true with elementary school fundraisers. The parents get involved. They sell. They manage. They buy. They help their children reach goals so the kids can win prizes and feel accomplished.
The trend begins to end as students end their elementary school lifes. It reaches its bottom in middle school, unfortunately. That is an age where parental involvement has fallen off yet the students have not found their passions or interests and really don't work hard at fundraising. After all in elementary school it was the parents who drove the sales. Now that the parents are no longer the main sellers the kids really don't seem to care enough to produce results.
By the time the student has reached high school they know more about themselves and their passions. They play the sports they excel in. They join clubs to be with people of common interests. They feel part of a larger community. Likewise High School Fundraisers are typically more successful than middle school fundraisers because the high school students have a vested interest in the results of the fundraiser. The odds are good that the student will directly benefit from the fundraising proceeds and will work hard to meet their needs. They no longer need their parents although parental help is always a good thing. There are many high school Fundraising Ideas out there to choose from. And, luckily, many of them produce the desired results.
