Why we suffer 'fund-raising fatigue'

Hide from your co-workers; it's fund-raiser time!Doesn't it seem like the fund-raising materials arrive earlier and earlier each year? And it's not just the schools. Soccer teams, day-care centers, Scouts and church youth groups are all trying to get us to buy overpriced wrapping paper, frozen cookie dough, gourmet popcorn or an entertainment book of coupons I will never remember to have with me when needed.This is the time of year when your co-workers dive under their desks when they see you coming with a glossy catalog in hand. Few kids are actually doing the selling themselves anymore, so what's the point? The point is, the schools need the money and a fund-raising company may take half the proceeds, but it beats holding 10 car washes and rounding up volunteers every Saturday.So we have only ourselves to blame if we continue to let school budget cuts erode the basics without pitching in to raise funds or pitching a fit at election time. And keep in mind: The fund-raisers for your sports teams or youth groups are meant to keep the costs low to participate. So I get it, but it's getting old.It's not just parents who are hit by fund-raiser fatigue.Teachers and principals would love nothing better than to get back to the business of teaching. But these days, the fund-raisers don't just pay for the extras. They are buying copy paper, library books and art supplies.According to the Association of Fund-Raising Distributors & Suppliers, a full 8 out of 10 Americans purchased a consumer item to support a school fund-raiser and it rises to 9 out of 10 parents. But still, the sales have dropped more than 11 percent in the past five years, according to the association.If you are fed up with fund-raisers, I suggest you first write out a check to your school PTA (to save your soul) and maybe even print out a beg-off form like the one that Barbara Neff of the blog Buzz by Barbara wrote.She suggested a form saying you are begging off, and here's why (check all that apply):-- We do not need wrapping paper, cookie dough, candy, pastries or more books.-- I do not have time to help my child promote this fund-raiser.-- I am too embarrassed to hit up friends and relatives once again for purchases.-- I'd rather see 100 percent of my donation dollars go to the school rather than only a small portion to the school and the lion's share to the fund-raising company.And enclose a donation for the cause this fund-raiser was intended to support.And, I should add, then make your voice known to elected officials who have put schools in the business of using child labor to shill for these companies so they can buy band instruments.(Sharon Kennedy Wynne can be reached at wynne(at)tampabay.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)