Getting involved in a fundraiser is a great way to teach children to care about, and be aware of, issues that matter. There are so many causes that need funds, and a typical school has a least three every year to raise money for field trips and other school related activities. If your child is involved in a sport, a church, or a scout program the number of fundraisers can seem overwhelming. Do not become overwhelmed, instead see the fundraisers as a great way to spread awareness, and teach your child about earning what they want in life.
Often parents end up doing as much, or more work than children when it comes to fundraisers for school, church, sports, or charities. When a parent does most of the work to raise money for an event their child is planning to attend it sends the wrong message to the child. Teaching a child that they need to work for their own cause will give them a strong character lesson, whether the fundraiser is to go on a trip or to raise money to feed the homeless, allowing your child to actually do the footwork is life enriching.
So how do you get your kid involved in a fundraiser?
First choose fundraisers that have a cause that your child believes strongly in. If you are raising money for cancer awareness, then visiting a cancer patient and explained to age appropriate children exactly what they are raising money/awareness for will make the child much more engaged. If the fundraiser is for a field trip, try placing pictures of the end goal around the house to remind them why they are getting up on a Saturday to participate in a car wash.
The way you raise the funds can be fun or at least entertaining. If the fundraiser is for a school event, perhaps there is an administrator or a teacher who is willing to sit above a dunking booth, or have pies thrown at their face for a donation. Selling magnets, decals, and calendars can actually be fun for a child if you let them be involved in the process, do not just do it for them. Let your child feel like they are involved in their own little “business”. Kids of all ages love to play pretend, make selling for a fundraiser a game of pretend where they are the CEO of their own company.
Small incentives can also encourage a child to become involved in a fundraiser. A PTO fundraiser for a new computer will likely not directly affect the child, so his motivation is not for the end goal. In this case a small reward system based on sales can motivate a child.
Fund raising is an effective way to get money for projects, and associations, remember to follow the guidelines set by the U.S. Office of Ethics. And keep things light, a trip to Disney, or attending a Walk for awareness, can be less memorable than the way you actually made them feel while preparing.
