Want to buy a candy bar? Or a discount pizza card?
Kathy Acciaioli

Fundraising has become an integral component of any team, band, school, club, church or nonprofit group. Raising money for the team, band or group no longer funds extraordinary expenses but rather raises desperately needed day-to-day operating funds.

Perhaps the groups that find the need to fundraise the most are school related such as sports teams, marching bands or PTA and PTO groups. With shrinking funds from the various school systems nationwide, such groups find their funds being cut and having to look at various outside fundraising sources.

While watching the 11 o’clock local news recently, I was sad to learn that most of the extra curricular activities at a local high school (Fairhaven High School, Fairhaven, MA) had to be slashed to reduce a million dollar budget deficit in the school department budget. The report focused on the funding still in place for the football team yet the cheerleader budget has been completely eliminated. Imagine football fans not being driven to a cheering frenzy due to “no money to support a cheerleader team”.

But the story is far from over. The news report continued that next year, each football player would have to pay in order to play. This is not a new concept. Marching bands, for example, have been making their band members “pay to play” for years.

This is where having a profitable fundraiser comes in. Players or club members can defray a portion (or the entire amount) of “pay to play” by actively participating in fundraising. Some groups have refined their “pay to play” accounting programs so that players or group members can access their individual accounts over the internet.

So when your neighbor’s little girl comes knocking at your door asking you to buy a candy bar to help her cheerleading team or when your teenage son is asked to sell discount pizza cards for his football team, you now understand why their groups’ survival depends on your $5 or $10 purchase.

About the Author

Kathy Acciaioli has been an elementary school teacher for over 30 years. She has co-founded www.PlusPizzaCard.com which focuses on provided fundraising for schools, bands, clubs and sports teams. A Warwick, Rhode Island resident, Kathy can be contacted here: propak3@cox.net