Fundraising Guidelines at UAIS
I. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A "DRIVE" AND A "FUNDRAISER"?
A "drive" is a collection of supplies (school items, shoes, toiletries, anything but money). A "fundraiser" literally "raises funds," or monies for a cause to which the money is donated. It's important to know the difference. Drives tend to allow students more flexibility to donate items they already have. It works well for Olympics, where we collect supplies from houses, rather than money.
II. SHOULD I CONSIDER A FUNDRAISER FOR MY CAS PROJECT?
A. There are two important considerations in regards to this question. The first is the restrictions and limitations on fundraisers we have put in place over the years. One limitation is that if you choose to market and solicit money from students in the school, your fundraiser must benefit either a school department (i.e. music, theatre, science), a school-sponsored club (i.e. Key Club, NHS, SAB), or another school in the district (i.e. Henry Ford II Athletic Department). Fundraisers supporting external organizations (i.e. saving the pandas) must take place completely outside of the school. Other realities that students see as limiting in this regard include:
- You may not fundraise exclusively for yourself (this isn't service, as you aren't supporting the community)
- You may not solicit the teaching staff to support your fundraiser
- Due to federal guidlines on selling food in schools, you will need some other incentive to raise your funds
- After approval from our CAS advisor, Student Senate must also approve of your fundraiser
- Student Senate restricts the total number of fundraisers each year due to student apathy
- If another student has a similar idea and gets approval first, you will need to start over
- Fundraisers can be stressful because their success largely depends on the commitment of other people
- If you want your CAS project to be part of your college applications, fundraisers are the least impressive (Mr. Spear can explain why, if you ask).
B. The other side to consider in committing to a fundraiser is your personality. Are you extroverted, or at least able to sell an idea to a large group? Are you willing to work with others? Do you mind paperwork and money-counting? Are you organized and detail-specific? Are you comfortable with giving up lunches and organizing others to sell on your off-lunch blocks? Are you comfortable with the success of your CAS project residing as much in random strangers as it resides with you? Are your parents comfortable with reimbursement from any up-front costs? Are you up for a more complicated/longer project than a service volunteering or creativity project? And finally, if you are raising money in the school itself, are you comfortable with your money going into the school, a department, or club at UAIS? If you answered yes to all of these questions, and the limitations above do not faze you, a CAS fundraiser may be right for you. Read on...
III. HOW DOES A CAS FUNDRAISER PROJECT WORK?
Be mindful that generally speaking, you will not be able to sell food at UAIS for your fundraiser for a variety of reasons. So you'll need to get creative. If in school, you will need approval from the CAS coordinator, your supervisor, Student Senate and, in some cases, a building use from in the main office. Please see your teacher sponsor with questions regarding these documents. But in general, the flow charts outside Mr. Spear's office will provide the rough structure of a CAS fundraising project you wish to conduct (Note: everything on those flow charts is on this page!)
For the specific details of how to plan and structure your CAS Fundraiser, the following YouTube video expertly presents every consideration possible for a UAIS student. It was designed by UAIS graduates familiar with successful fundraisers and will save you LOTS of time:
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1-XzpdLklQ
Script for the Fundraising Video: http://fundraiservid.blogspot.com/2017/09/planning-andexecuting-non-profit.html
IV. WHAT RULES, GUIDELINES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS DO I NEED TO FOLLOW OR BE AWARE OF?
If students are fundraising outside the school, it is expected that they follow whatever protocols and rules provided by the outside supervisor or organization, if there are any. For funds raised inside the school itself, below is a list of ethical guidelines for fundraising that also follow district protocol. Each student (group) must work in coordinator with a CAS supervisor is responsible for following district procedures for the collection, depositing, and withdrawing of monies from an account:
1. The fundraiser or drive must first be approved by your CAS advisor and then approved by Student Senate via the Student Activities Request Forms found outside room 334.
2. The student(s) must have a school-sponsored CAS supervisor.
3. The fundraiser may not involve the selling of food without the pre-approved permission of the CAS coordinator.
4. All monies must be secured at all times in a lock box.
5. Selling and collecting of money must take place in the presence of two or more individuals.
6. Immediately upon the final sale of the day, the money must be delivered to the teacher sponsor. It may NOT be placed in lockers or other locations.
7. All monies collected must be deposited by the end of the day by a teacher supervisor into a district/school account.
8. Under no circumstances may any monies be removed from the school.
8. All monies deposited may be subject to tax (see front office staff for more details).
9. All monies must be deposited for use to a non-profit 501C3 organization.
VI. HOW DO I GET REIMBURSEMENT FOR UP-FRONT SUPPLIES AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MY PROJECT?
Often, fundraisers require overhead, or up-front costs to purchase materials. We strongly encourage students NOT to spend personal money for a fundraiser. In order to be reimbursed, please follow the following steps:
1. Keep itemized receipts for all supplies related to your CAS project.
2. Be sure not to co-mingle other purchases on the same receipt.
3. Store the receipts until the fundraising is complete.
4. If ordering supplies that are shipped, the shipping address must be UAIS, NOT your home. The district will NOT reimburse for any deliveries outside the school!
5. Provide receipts to your project supervisor.
6. Students cannot be reimbursed, but parents may. Checks will be processed for the amount on receipts within 2-3 weeks.
