The Best School Fundraiser

Back in August, I had the pleasure to interview CEO and co-founder of Storybird.com, Mark Ury, on my podcast, The Tightwad Teacher. Storybird is a great site that fosters creative student writing, and I have enjoyed great success when using it in class (click here for my tutorial on the site... click here or here to see some student work). During the conversation, Mr. Ury mentioned that the site had recently opened up a fundraising option. I was intrigued and decided almost immediately that I would make a Storybird fundraiser a priority going in to the 2011-12 school year.

Fundraising with Storybird is simple. First, students create their books. Next, the teacher sets a start and end date for a fundraiser. Finally, when the fundraiser expires, proceeds are automatically transferred to the teacher's PayPal account and books are sent to the school for distribution. It really is that simple.

Students have the option to purchase soft or hard cover copies of their work and the cost ranges from $14 - $30 depending on the length of the book. For each order placed, the classroom receives $5. Compared to the thin margins of profit that come from traditional school fundraisers, this is a great deal. What's even more important is that students are selling something that is meaningful to them and also meaningful to the family members who are purchasing copies. It helps generate funds for the classroom and it gives students the opportunity to feel the thrill of seeing their names printed on a professionally published book.

Earlier this week, my students' books arrived. Simply put, they are proud as hell of their work. With the Storybird fundraiser, we were able to raise $180. We'll be using this money to help fund a lending project from a third world country - more about that here.

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Should Schools look to Corporate Sponsorship to Ease Financial Woes?

We are in an economy where surplus budgets simply don’t exist. Because of this, school districts are forced to balance their budgets by trimming fat; sometimes in the form of important educational services or personnel positions. Unfortunately, this kind of action is often unavoidable and results in few if any positive outcomes - students suffer because of lack of services, supplies, or technology, and the morale and overall building atmosphere among faculty and staff is negatively affected as well. A balanced budget is a must, and many districts simply don’t have any other option but to make the necessary cuts. What else can they possibly do?

When the well runs dry, searching for water in new places is always an option.

That was one line of thinking that arose from a survey of mayoral candidates in Chicago, Illinois. One candidate, William Walls III suggested easing Chicago schools’ financial woes by allowing larger corporations an opportunity to purchase naming rights for schools. This may not be a new idea, but with the struggling economic recovery it’s an idea that is beginning to look more like a possibility than a crackpot scheme.

Pro
The New York Times article Name that School, Trim that Deficit describes a possible deal between communication giant Sprint and Chicago’s largest city high school, Lane Tech where rights to apply Sprint’s namesake to the school could bring in $600,000 annually. Furthermore, sponsorship of individual classrooms by other companies could bring in more cash making the physical school buildings worth millions in yearly revenue that districts simply don’t have access to currently. The potential (and solution to current financial burdens) is almost blinding.

Con
Any corporation willing to invest that much money in a school is going to expect more than just their logo above the main entrance. This is where it gets dangerous. Will schools begin making decisions based on the best interest of their sponsor and not their students? Also, what happens when a sponsor chooses to allow a contract to lapse, leaving a school with a far less money and a budget that is used to a healthy pocketbook?

Conclusion
The bottom line is that schools are in desperate need of financial support. The immediate result of corporation-sponsored schools would be an lessening of tensions for students, school personnel, tax payers, etc. but allowing large corporations to have a hand in public education could drastically change the way decisions are made. These dangers are hypothetical at this point, but by no means are the possible negative side effects limited to those mentioned here. What awaits to be seen is if the reward is worth the risk.

Not all sponsorship is good idea.

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