School Fundraisers Made Simple

Students Studying vs. Students Selling: Are Popcorn and Candy Fund-raisers the Answer to the Nationwide School Budget Crisis?

Skoolfund.com, A New Online Tool Provides Schools "Smarter" Ways to Fundraise

The recession is hitting the nation's public schools severely, as State legislatures and school districts continue to slash budgets, lay off personnel and discontinue school programs. A recent report states that at least 29 states have announced budget cuts that will impact K-12 education and governors are proposing further cuts for next year. Consequently, schools are searching for alternative ways to supplement school budgets.

Founders of Skoolfund launched the online “crowdfunding” service, enabling America's public and private schools (preK-12) the ability to create fundraising web pages, market fundraising projects and initiatives and collect donations online from alumni, community businesses and citizen philanthropists across the globe.

A web application, Skoolfund allows users to seamlessly push fundraiser invitations to social media networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace and well over a hundred other websites. Skoolfund also simplifies traditional fundraising (direct invitation) for schools through automated letters to local communities and businesses. Donors are directed to unique fundraising pages where they donate, invite others to donate, chart the progress of the fundraiser, and receive updates directly from the school. Individual donors desiring to withhold recognition opt to donate anonymously.

"Like most teachers, I spent hundreds of dollars on classroom resources and student activities out of my own pocket," said Rebecca Smith,nike store, former middle school teacher in Austin, Texas. "With further budget reductions,vibram fivefingers, I don't know how my colleagues there will survive without additional resources like Skoolfund," Smith concluded.

“Skoolfund is the result of the many discussions we have had with schools and districts,” co-founder Albert Candari said. “Many schools are looking for ways to fundraise without requiring their students and parents to sell stuff, believing perhaps that student time would be better spent studying, not selling. Schools can now use Skoolfund to manage and market direct-invite fundraising,christian louboutin, which is the most effective approach to raise funds.”

“Skoolfund's business model continues to evolve from collaborations with schools,” Candari added. “The 4% fundraiser fulfillment fee is added to the fundraiser at the outset so that schools can receive one hundred percent of their target amount when they complete fundraising campaigns. A significant portion of the fee covers standard credit card processing fees,manolo blahnik,” Candari continued. “We also donate a portion of any advertising revenue to schools in third-world countries where the co-founders were raised.”

To prevent fraud, a major concern of online fundraising, Skoolfund sends checks directly to fundraising school’s official address, which is verified via phone and against federal records at the outset of the project. Additionally, fundraising checks are made out to the school’s name, not to individuals.

To view and download an educational video and fact sheet or for media and partnership inquiries, visit Skoolfund’s homepage at skoolfund.com.