Parents of young children learn about fundraising very quickly as their kids enter elementary school. It does not take long before your student comes home with fundraising information.

What you do with that information is more important than you think. Unfortunately many parents simply take the fundraising packet and toss it in the trash. Other uninvolved parents never even read the information and instead leave it in their child's backpacks. Many parents, though, embrace the fundraiser for many reasons.

The first and most obvious reason is that involved parents understand the school needs the money. If they won't help the school pursue fundraising ideas to help provide off budget items then they know they will only be able to blame themselves for the shortfall. The parents who care the most almost always sell the most.

Even though many schools offer incentives for the top sellers involved parents would be top sellers even without the incentives. Very smart parents, though, use the school fundraiser as a learning tool.

They teach:

1. Responsibility: They teach their kids that other people depend on them and by working hard on the fundraiser they are fullfilling their responsibilities.

2. Teamwork: They teach their children that they are part of a team and without their involvement the team can not succeed.

3. Basic Business Principals: They teach their children about making money by explaining how the school makes money selling products at prices higher than their cost.

4. Confidence: They teach their kids that they can sell and people will respond to their sales pitch.

So the next time your child brings home fundraising information think twice before ignoring it.