1st Post

I took this class because it was highly recommended by Harvey but, there were many other reasons as well. I have been involved in some fund-raising and philanthropy growing up but, not a whole lot.

I am very excited to learn what is really behind fund-raising, and some new tactics. I think that fund-raising is very important to know because, almost every organization does it. You have to know the best tactic to use with the public. It’s not as easy as calling your mom up, and saying, ” can I get ten bucks,” there is much more too it.

I think that fund-raising is a very hard thing to do, and to be able to learn how to do it correctly and with class, is very important to me.

Mandatory Fundraising

OK, I am going to jump on the band wagon like everyone else and talk about the mandatory fund-raising.   In last class was the first time that I ha heard about companies/high schools making it mandatory but, I think it is an AMAZING idea. I know that if I was applying for a job and they told me that mandatory fund-raising was a criteria, it would be a plus for me to work at that company. For one reason, I think that everyone one feels good about donating their time and money, and it’s a good incentive and gives people that little push they need to do something. I don’t think that companies should make it mandatory to donate money esp. when they push a cause on you (I hate that-put the sheets in your pay stub).

I also think a plus about mandatory volunteering and fundraising at work is that the company could give you a huge list to choose from. You would talk to other people at work (network) and if you didn’t have a passion you could easily find one by expanding your horizons and going to things with other people.

I think that in high schools they should make families and students to go volunteer together.   I think that the earlier that students learn about fund-raising and volunteering the more likely they will be to do it in the future. I wish I could have been more influenced to do these things when I was younger.

Where does your money go…

After talking in class about the economics of fund-raising, I started to think about where all that money that people really goes. Do they hand it straight over to the child? Do they have to spend the money to really make big money? Who knows. I talked to my grandma about this because she is really into fund-raising. She said that one of the first things she looks at when deciding to donate is the  “overhead” of the company. She likes to have exact numbers and percentages on where the money goes. 

I think that most companies try to donate 90% of their donations to the actually cause and keep 10% for their employees. This seems pretty fair, because everyone wants their donation to go to the cause and not the CEO’s water-bill.

I still think I would have a hard time working for a non-profit org. because you would be telling people there money is going to a great cause when really it could but a napkin for a fund-raising dinner.

I think it is important for people to know the details on the cause and where each penny is going before they donate. The commercials you always see on tv for “save the children” org, usually use 30% of donations towards advertising.