Door-To-Door School Fundraisers Ring Some People’s Bells [Block Talk]

ACROSS AMERICA — There’s no question school budgets are stretched. When neighbor kids ring the doorbell and want to sell you cookies or candy, it may be so they can participate in enrichment programs like STEM and extracurricular activities, or buy supplies school budgets don’t cover.

We asked for this installment of Block Talk: What do you do? Do you always say yes because you feel obligated to support the cause, or do you politely decline?

Supporting or not supporting student fundraisers to close what some research suggests is a $150 billion funding gap nationwide isn’t as straightforward as it may seem.

Some school districts limit fundraisers to a couple a year to avoid exhausting donors, according to the Parent Teacher Organization. School fundraisers also raise questions of equity and fairness, according to the PTO, which said its affiliates in affluent communities have managed to raise money without turning students into junior sales teams, but those in working-class neighborhoods aren’t financially able to spare their kids the neighborhood rounds.

That’s why Jake, a Brooklyn (New York) Patch, checks out the kid’s shoes before he commits. “If a kid has Jordans on, I always decline because their parents can afford to give them what they want,” he wrote.

Tolland (Connecticut) Patch reader Ginny doesn’t support the fundraisers. “I just say, sorry, not this time,” she said. “They put too much pressure on kids and parents.”

Lisa, a Naperville (Illinois) Patch reader, understands that.

“Sometimes I have declined because my own kids or grandkids were also doing the same fundraiser,” she wrote. “With cookies, I say no because we are on diabetes/heart-healthy diets, but I’ll give a donation.”

“The troop benefits more if I donate rather than buy cookies to give away,” making 40 cents a box, Lisa said of Girl Scout Cookie sales. “The Boy Scouts' greenery is so expensive I never buy it. … If people knew how very little the scout troops make on their sales, they would be happy to just donate less money than it costs to buy the product, and the troops benefit more.”

Merritte, a Greenfield (Wisconsin) Patch reader, has five grandchildren in school, and “we buy from them,” she said, adding that a request for a cash donation would be better.

Waukesha (Wisconsin) Patch reader CJ, who claims to be a “mean old lady,” heeds the dog’s warning.

“My dog is in the window barking like crazy whenever someone comes near our house,” CJ wrote. “I won’t answer the door.

“In addition to the barking dog, I have a no soliciting sign on the door. Parents should know what that means,” she said, suggesting that parents instead use social media and neighborhood groups to promote the fundraiser.

Patch reader Maureen took the opposite view.

“If they are willing to come to my door instead of just doing it online, I am willing to buy,” she wrote.

What About Safety?

Greenfield Patch reader Pieter addressed what for many parents may be the elephant in the room when it comes to sending their kids out with signup sheets and samples.

“I refuse to let any organization pimp out my kid to raise money,” Pieter wrote. “I'll just write a check.”

“Yes,” Patch reader Mal said, “they teach begging, and if the school needs money — and they do — please address it on an adult level.”

Mal greets the kids with a polite, “No, thank you. Have a nice day. Bye.”

Waukesha Patch reader Marie was equally candid: “I think it is wrong to have children selling anything door to door.”

“I hated doing fundraising as a kid,” a reader named Lisa said, adding she always buys cookies. If the kids are selling something else, “I try to find something to buy.”

“I typically always say yes because I feel obligated,” Oak Creek (Wisconsin) Patch reader Monica said. “And if I can’t afford what they’re selling, sometimes I just give a smaller donation for no product at all.”

“I purchase from kids I know,” a reader named Marge wrote. “While necessary, there are other methods without making kids go door to door,” she said, adding the practice can be dangerous from a public safety standpoint. “What about the pedophiles?”

‘Kids Are Too Valuable’

Katie, a Brookfield Patch reader, said that when her kids were in school, she didn’t allow them to participate in the campaigns.

“Instead, I gave a donation to the school equal to the amount each child was expected to sell. With many parents also donating, our school ended door-to-door sales.”

Like Marge, she worries about exposing kids to danger.

“Kids are too valuable to be allowed to be exposed to strangers in these sales schemes,” she said. “Our schools found ways within our school families to raise extra funds. It is the parents’ responsibility to provide extra funds for the schools that their children are enrolled in. All of us donate to schools when we pay our property taxes.”

For Jennifer, student fundraising is a sign of the times, and not a positive one. She usually buys whatever they’re selling, but also doesn’t shy away from telling them when she can’t afford it.

“I find it odd that kids have to fundraise, but schools do not have to provide a good and safe education,” she said, pointing out schools in her area, which she didn’t specify, don’t have nurses or offer driver’s education classes, have dropped cursive writing and teach the same math she learned.

“Or maybe the worst thing is, schools no longer teach the Golden Rule — do unto others that you would want done to you,” Jennifer continued. “Now you have to be best friends with everybody, but you do not have to respect or tolerate others that believe differently.”

Becky, a Waukesha Patch reader, said some groups in her area provide links for cash donations without the pressure to “buy stuff.”

“I like that better,” she said.

Becky, another Waukesha Patch reader, agreed. “I prefer the no sale fundraisers and friends and family can just donate an amount they can afford without the need to buy over-priced items,” she wrote. “It saves everyone time.”

“I always say yes, but buy the minimum — except for Girl Scout Cookies,” Patch reader Al said, noting that some fundraisers “are suspicious.”

‘Why Is This Even A Question?’

Several other readers said kids get more from door-to-door selling than money for their schools, scout troops and other organizations.

“Why is this even a question?” Patch reader Kurt said. “These are kids that are trying to make their way in the world and learning about entrepreneurship along the way.”

Kurt has limits, though.

“Where I draw the line is when public safety fundraisers hit my door or my phone when they already get the lion’s share of government funding,” he said. “I just tell them to go fund themselves. So kids, YES!”

Bob, a Milwaukee Patch reader, hasn’t seen much door-to-door fundraising activity since the pandemic began, but “if they did come around, we’d buy,” he wrote on Across America Patch. “It’s a good learning experience for kids.”

Bobby W., a Fairfield (Connecticut) Patch reader, offered this:

“Open the door, listen to their spiel, and either purchase or don’t. If you don’t, you may want to give a short and general explanation, so they can report to their parents that the neighbors have enough (insert crap selling) and it’s time for a new fundraiser. If you don’t want to give a reason, a polite ‘no, thank you’ should suffice.”

Added Jon, a Deerfield (Illinois) Patch reader: “Learning to cope with rejection is also a skill. Ask any good salesman. Ring more doorbells. Don’t give up. Focus on preparation. Sales is a numbers game. There’s an education component to this.”

There’s also a charity component, according to Nancy, who reads Franklin Patch and Muskego Patch, both in Wisconsin.

“I buy most of the time, or I give the money to the cause, or pay for the cookies,” she said, “and tell them they need to find someone to give them to that can’t afford them.”

Patch reader Jill, who feels no pressure to buy, may or may not have been joking when she wrote this, which could be applied to almost any door-to-door solicitation:

“For cookies or chocolate, I say I’m vegan and don’t eat anything that contains animals or animal products. For fruit, I say I’m diabetic and can’t have sugar. For popcorn, I say I’m doing keto and can’t have carbs. For magazines, I say I never learned to read.”

About Block Talk

Block Talk is a regular Patch feature offering real-world advice from readers on how to resolve everyday neighborhood problems. If you have a neighborhood etiquette question or problem you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com, with Block Talk as the subject line.

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