School fundraising is traditionally associated with junk foods, like selling candy, cookie dough or other treats. After all, what’s more all-American than the idea of a bake sale?
But in many schools across Orange County, and the country, that’s changing.
Schools are relying more and more on jog-athons, fun runs and other athletic-themed fundraisers to bring in a larger share of the dollars they need to support arts, science and other programs not covered in the regular school budget.
It’s happening in part because of a national conversation about preventing childhood obesity and promoting better health for kids. But it is also being fueled by a growth in private-sector companies that tap social media and sophisticated marketing to help schools bring in bigger donations than they could with just parent volunteers.
“Schools are looking for more programs that will impact students in a healthy, positive way,” said Laura Lyon, principal of Castille Elementary in Mission Viejo.
Castille Elementary has held a jog-athon each year for the past 40 years, says Lyon. But a few years ago, members of its PTA learned about a company called Boosterthon, which uses technology and an on-site program promoting fitness and character.
Boosterthon employees visit the school daily in the run-up to the event to share a character lesson, as students contact family, friends and other community members seeking monetary pledges for each lap they run at the event. On the day of the school’s jog-athon, Boosterthon employees set up the event with the company’s equipment and run it with minimal parent volunteers.
“What piqued our PTA’s interest was that they bring a theme of being more healthful and having a fit mind and fit body, and that they incorporate lessons on fitness and character. It was really a win-win for us because we were able to make more money in that one fundraiser than we had before with a jog-athon plus a gift wrap sale and other smaller fundraisers,” said Lyon. “It’s the same jog-athon we had been doing, but in such a bigger and more grand way.”
There’s no question that educators and policymakers have become concerned about childhood obesity in recent years, as statistics show that nearly 1 in 3 American children is overweight or obese, putting these kids at risk of more health problems later on. First lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative tackled the issue on a national scale, encouraging schools to provide healthier foods, educating families about the importance of nutrition and promoting more physical activity for children.
In California, the state PTA has guidelines for its leaders to seek out healthy food or nonfood fundraisers so that schools can send a consistent and positive health message to kids. The problem with high-caloric food sales, according to the PTA’s website, is that “when nonnutritious foods are sold ‘for a good cause,’ students may think that these foods are a healthful part of a balanced diet. Such misperceptions can contribute to development of poor eating habits. PTAs can encourage healthful eating habits by avoiding fundraisers that rely on the sale of nonnutritious foods such as candy and cookies.”
In contrast, the website read, “fundraisers that involve physical activity can even be used to send positive messages to students, families and the community about the importance of active lifestyles.”
Jordan Kauffman, general manager for Boosterthon’s Southern California region, says that last year, 14 Orange County schools used Boosterthon to run their jog-athons, and his company expects to serve 25 Orange County schools this school year. He says this kind of fundraising is a natural fit for a region whose population seems especially concerned with fitness and healthy living.
“What’s also unique about us is that we bring a new character theme each year,” said Kauffman, noting that this year’s theme will offer documentary-style stories of American students who have made a difference in their communities. “The idea is getting students to see that they don’t have to be old before they can make a difference.”
Boosterthon relies on its online platform to boost a school’s donations. Last year, it introduced a feature to help a parent easily make a personalized video starring their child that they could share on Facebook or through email with friends and family. Kauffman says it is also optimized for mobile devices like smartphones and iPads, resulting in 50 percent of its pledges last year coming in from mobile devices.
“It’s hard for a PTA to put on an event like this, and we make it a hassle-free experience. Beyond that, we expand the school’s donor base with an online system that makes it so easy for people to pledge to the school,” said Kauffman.
While Boosterthon is seeing growth in Orange County, it is by no means the only company that helps schools run athletic fundraisers. Other local firms include PledgeStar, based in Lake Forest, and Ultra Fun Run, in San Diego.
One of the downsides of using a private company to run a school’s jog-athon is that schools split the proceeds with the company. For Lyon, principal of Castille Elementary, it was OK that the school ultimately paid the company 40 percent of the total because it still netted more than it had when it ran a jog-athon itself, allowing it to cancel other planned fundraisers, she says.
“And we’ve made more money each time we have done it,” Lyon said, allowing the school to hire a music teacher for kindergarten through third-grade classes, to expand its science programs and to invest in iPads for its classrooms.
But Julie Frank, senior manager of development for the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership, says some schools forgo outside companies because they don’t get to keep as much of the money they raise. The partnership, a national nonprofit organization that promotes safe walking and bicycling to schools, has developed a program called Active Schools Fundraising (activeschools fundraising.org), an online platform that schools can use to boost online giving with an existing fun run or jog-athon.
“There’s no startup fee to the school, and our option allows schools to keep 75 percent of the money raised online,” said Frank. “Sometimes there is a fear with schools that we won’t raise enough money if we switch to a healthy fundraiser. But you can raise just as much money, and even more.”
Frank says there’s no question that the landscape of school fundraising has improved for the better in recent years, with more emphasis on healthy approaches than on junk food sales.
“I’ve been in the physical education industry for over 12 years, and it is definitely changing for the better. There’s not as much of the unhealthy fundraising. I remember walking into the national PTA convention and the whole room smelled like cookies” from vendors promoting fundraisers, Frank said. “It’s so nice to see the change.”
