Fundraising Guidelines

Fundraising activities shall be conducted in such a manner as to offer minimum competition to commercial concerns while still benefiting the student body as a whole. To this end the Board shall permit no more than one school-wide fund raising activity per school year for elementary schools and middle schools. High Schools shall limit fundraising to no more than three major fund raising efforts per year. This parameter would not limit a school from entering into a corporate sponsorship in addition to the fundraising effort.

Any fundraising activities need to have prior approval from WPS Learning Services. Any expenditures related to the fund raising efforts must have completed fundraiser approval form located on the Forms & Resources webpage. Please attach all expenditures when turning into Accounts Payable.

School fundraisers must follow these regulations:

• Students should not be used as door-to-door sales agents
• No money should be paid to vendors prior to delivery of products or services
• Fundraising projects should be limited in number and be beneficial for students
• Items sold should be in good taste and appropriate to potential customers, i.e. age, economic status
• Projected profit from the fundraising project must be worth the efforts of staff, students and parents
• Generally it is preferable to use the school newsletter to promote fundraisers instead of sending material home with every student

The fundraiser idea should be presented to the student activity sponsor, who will forward the fundraiser request to the principal. All fundraising proceeds must be deposited intact through the school's business office. No outside bank accounts held by parents or activity sponsors are allowed. Expenses related to the fundraiser will be processed through the school's business office following all district accounting and safeguarding procedures. When a school sells goods as a fundraiser, the sales may be subject to sales tax collection, remittance and reporting.

Fundraiser and Activity Approval Form (Other Financial Forms)

All non-school related groups wishing to raise funds on a community-wide basis, outside of school buildings, for the benefit of WPS students or staff are required to coordinate their activities through Learning Services. Non-school related groups are those agencies not having a direct relationship or identification with a specific school building such as a private business or service club.

The funds, directly or indirectly, shall be of educational benefit. When a student or students will be the beneficiaries of fundraising activities, the funds collected shall be deposited to the school and redistributed to the students at the direction of the building principal.

All activities must conform to existing local, state or federal laws. Fundraising trips to gambling establishments are not appropriate fundraisers for students. Parents are non-school related groups and are not to coordinate fundraising activities outside the schools. Parents, who initiate and coordinate fundraising activities on behalf of the district or school, must comply with the same accounting and safeguarding procedures followed by the schools.