Fund-Raiser Obligations

Posted on September 27, 2010 
Filed Under Parenting, Personal

This morning as I was preparing for work my daughter asked me if I’d bring some of the “Buy One, Get One” cards her charter school is selling to raise money. She has a quota to meet, and needs my help in soliciting the good folks at work.

Now this is fairly new territory for me; for so many years we’ve been a home schooling family. As such, we didn’t have fund-raisers to take to neighbors and co-workers. That said, I have been in an office environment for years, though, and have been subjected to a variety of sales approaches for discount books, popcorn, cookies, candy bars and Christmas greenery. Usually folks are pretty low-key in their marketing and sales tactics, posting a flyer or putting a brochure on their desk.

There IS a sense of obligation in some of these things, even though there’s not a rule in place for how to handle these things. The easiest transactions to complete – or ignore – are the ones in which cash is put into an envelope and the discount card or candy bar is taken by the customer. Simple, no obligation stuff. Especially awkward are those orders, in which you have to put down the quantity, the cash amount and your phone or even address – and the order form is posted in the copy room or community kitchen. Everyone then sees how cheap you are (only bought one item, just one!) or that you STILL haven’t committed…but there’s still time. That peer pressure can be difficult to ignore!

So I’m wondering if you feel obligated, guilty, pressured, bothered or perhaps totally unaffected by at-work solicitations?  Can you pass by the many offers that come your way? Do you decline all such buying opportunities? Do you have a soft spot for the school fund-raiser and buy one of everything?

How do you handle fund-raiser solicitations at work? (check all that apply)

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