plight when, after the first phone call, we could actually sense the feeling of dread on the other end of the line. For years later, whether it was Girl Scout cookies or chocolate bars, the idea of her selling for raising funds was getting old. After all, who was really doing the dirty work?

We were church-going

When my daughter was in elementary school, she came home one day with a simple form, that was to cause my wife and I undue anxiety for weeks. It was a list of one hundred magazines with a note on top. It explained how we needed to have her obtain subscriptions totaling $75 by the end of the month in order for her to fulfill her quota. She was ten years old, darn it and now she had a quota! It went on to detail the various needs of the art and music department and how about 25% of the money collected would go toward new equipment. So, now we had to approach every family member, neighbor, or relative for TV Guide, Field and Stream or Popular Quantum Physics. Okay, I made the last one up, but you get the drift.

So, her mom and I set about bludgeoning everyone we could think of into placing an order. Along the way, we made mortal enemies of all we encountered. Finally, in spite of that, we got our orders and sent our child back with a big smile and victory in the air. All was well until the following year. She brought home a small bag with a catalog and various wrapping papers. The literature spelled out the process of selling to raise money for the school band’s trip to Washington, D.C. Gulp. How could we hit up the vary same people once more? We realized our plight when, after the first phone call, we could actually sense the feeling of dread on the other end of the line. For years later, whether it was Girl Scout cookies or chocolate bars, the idea of her selling for raising funds was getting old. After all, who was really doing the dirty work?

We were church-going

fill her quota. She was ten years old, darn it and now she had a quota! It went on to detail the various needs of the art and music department and how about 25% of the money collected would go toward new equipment. So, now we had to approach every family member, neighbor, or relative for TV Guide, Field and Stream or Popular Quantum Physics. Okay, I made the last one up, but you get the drift.

So, her mom and I set about bludgeoning everyone we could think of into placing an order. Along the way, we made mortal enemies of all we encountered. Finally, in spite of that, we got our orders and sent our child back with a big smile and victory in the air. All was well until the following year. She brought home a small bag with a catalog and various wrapping papers. The literature spelled out the process of selling to raise money for the school band’s trip to Washington, D.C. Gulp. How could we hit up the vary same people once more? We realized our plight when, after the first phone call, we could actually sense the feeling of dread on the other end of the line. For years later, whether it was Girl Scout cookies or chocolate bars, the idea of her selling for raising funds was getting old. After all, who was really doing the dirty work?

We were church-going

opular Quantum Physics. Okay, I made the last one up, but you get the drift.

So, her mom and I set about bludgeoning everyone we could think of into placing an order. Along the way, we made mortal enemies of all we encountered. Finally, in spite of that, we got our orders and sent our child back with a big smile and victory in the air. All was well until the following year. She brought home a small bag with a catalog and various wrapping papers. The literature spelled out the process of selling to raise money for the school band’s trip to Washington, D.C. Gulp. How could we hit up the vary same people once more? We realized our plight when, after the first phone call, we could actually sense the feeling of dread on the other end of the line. For years later, whether it was Girl Scout cookies or chocolate bars, the idea of her selling for raising funds was getting old. After all, who was really doing the dirty work?

We were church-going

nd victory in the air. All was well until the following year. She brought home a small bag with a catalog and various wrapping papers. The literature spelled out the process of selling to raise money for the school band’s trip to Washington, D.C. Gulp. How could we hit up the vary same people once more? We realized our plight when, after the first phone call, we could actually sense the feeling of dread on the other end of the line. For years later, whether it was Girl Scout cookies or chocolate bars, the idea of her selling for raising funds was getting old. After all, who was really doing the dirty work?

We were church-going

plight when, after the first phone call, we could actually sense the feeling of dread on the other end of the line. For years later, whether it was Girl Scout cookies or chocolate bars, the idea of her selling for raising funds was getting old. After all, who was really doing the dirty work?

We were church-going people that had no problem writing a weekly check to the local parish. But the thought of invading the lives of our friends and relatives time after time was pure hell. Today, one has only to search for “fundraising” on the net and receive 53 million return hits on Google. The vast majority of these are selling CD’s, entertainment books, foods, magazines, t-shirts, and even dog treats. How they get Fido to sell is beyond me, but, hey, it’s for the children... or at least the local charity.

The problem involves the act of selling a product and, for all your trouble, the fact that you only receive 50% or less for the school or small group. Besides the issue of the percentage that makes it to charity, there are the various forms, samples, and the collecting of money. Then when the products arrive, someone has to get it to the recipient. It’s a real pain for the parents, but a boon the producers of magazines or pizza. That’s right, you can order your own pizza making kit as a fundraiser. Just think of the hours of fun rolling the dough and cooking the sauce to produce a $6 pizza (and make 30% profit) all in the name of charity. Great, huh?

I didn’t think so. Yet there are many deserving schools, soccer clubs, music programs, religious groups, and private