STUDENT FUNDRAISING FJ (REGULATION) Fundraising

STUDENT FUNDRAISING FJ (REGULATION)

Fundraising activities are not confined to regular school hours but are considered an extension of the school program.

MAINTENANCE OF When fundraising activities are in the name of a campus or the Dis- FUNDS trict and are open to the entire student body, all funds raised become campus or District activity funds, as appropriate. When fundraising activities are confined to a specific student organization or group, all funds raised belong to the group or organization responsible for raising the money.

VOLUNTARY Students must not be required to participate in fundraising activities PARTICIPATION AND and cannot be penalized for choosing not to participate. EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS Schools, organizations, or groups may not require students to do- nate an amount in lieu of participating in a fundraiser. If a student decides not to participate, that student cannot be ex- cluded from having the opportunity to benefit from the fundraiser. Money raised shall be used to equally benefit all students of the applicable group or organization and not just those who participated in the fundraising efforts. Benefits given cannot be based on participation in a fundraiser or based on revenues raised individually.

ACCEPTABLE Funds raised by a student group or organization must be deposited PURPOSES OF into the student activity fund account and used to support only the FUNDRAISING students involved in the particular group or organization. ACTIVITIES

NONPROFIT / To the extent a student group or organization elects to engage in a CHARITABLE fundraising activity that will benefit a nonprofit or charitable organi- DONATIONS zation, the student group or organization should partner directly with the nonprofit or charitable organization. The nonprofit or charitable organization should have a representative at the event who directly solicits and collects the donations. All funds should be donated directly to the nonprofit or charitable organization, not to the student group or organization.

EXCEPTION However, if a student group or organization is conducting a donation event in conjunction with a curriculum-related lesson and the event will be conducted over more than one day, the following protocol must be followed: 1. The event must clearly inform participants/donors that the money collected is being donated and must clearly identify the nonprofit or charitable organization.

DATE ISSUED: 3/6/2017 UPDATED: July 2019 IIMPLEMENTED: 1 of 6 UPDATE 53 19-20 School Year FJ(REGULATION)-RRM

STUDENT FUNDRAISING FJ (REGULATION)

2. Collection and storing of money shall be done in accordance with the COMPLIANCE section below. 3. Money shall not be deposited into any district account. 4. The representative of the nonprofit or charitable organization shall be present for at least a portion of the last day of the event and all money shall be given to the representative at the con- clusion of the event.

DONATIONS TO Many heartbreaking events happen in the lives of our students, Dis- INDIVIDUALS trict staff, and their families. These events may range from death or injuries in tragic accidents, to major illnesses or fires. Funds for these situations can be donated to the family directly by the family setting up a special account at a bank or credit union. Donations can be made by individuals or businesses by sending checks to the bank or credit union for the particular individual or family. Money, however, cannot be collected by a student organization, a District employee, or otherwise on behalf of the District and then donated to the individual or family. Such contributions are not tax deductible for income tax purposes.

REQUESTS FOR A student group or organization desiring to conduct a fundraising FUNDRAISING activity must submit an online request for approval (located on the ACTIVITIES Community Relations, Athletics and Fine Arts webpage). All fundraising projects shall be subject to the initial approval of the campus principal or district-level program director. Final approval is given by the Community Relations department.

Each request for approval of a fundraising activity shall be made separately and each organization shall submit one online form for each fundraising activity.

Each request for a fundraising activity shall be submitted online at least three (3) weeks prior to the first day of the activity.

LIMITS ON The appropriate District employee sponsor will plan with the organi- FUNDRAISING zation to identify goals aligned to the budget and the organization’s ACTIVITIES needs for fundraising activities. There must be a specific purpose for the fundraising activities identified and the amount of money to be raised.

Funds shall be used for the purpose for which they were raised. Sponsors who do not properly manage their activities and/or have a large surplus of funds will not be allowed to conduct subsequent fundraising activities.

DATE ISSUED: 3/6/2017 UPDATED: July 2019 IIMPLEMENTED: 2 of 6 UPDATE 53 19-20 School Year FJ(REGULATION)-RRM

STUDENT FUNDRAISING FJ (REGULATION)

MAXIMUM Each student group or organization may conduct the following fund- NUMBER raising activities between June 1 and May 31 of each year:  A maximum of one (1) Major Fundraising Activity  A maximum of 3 Minor Fundraising Activities in a school year.  A maximum of one (1) Monetary Philanthropic Event where funds are raised for a nonprofit or charitable organization (as long as the requirements in “Nonprofit / Charitable Dona- tions” section above are followed).  A maximum of one (1) Non-monetary Donation Drive In limited, extenuating circumstances, the Community Relations department may permit an organization to conduct more than the maximum number of fundraisers between June 1 and May 31 of each year.

DEFINITIONS For purposes of this Regulation, the term “Major Fundraising Activ- ity” means a fundraising event or activity that occurs within a defined time period and that involves students, staff sponsors, or par- ents/volunteers selling, soliciting, promoting, or contributing to benefit the student group/organization. The following are examples of major fundraisers:  Pledge Drives (e.g., juggle-a-thon, free throw-a-thon, 100-in- ning game, kick-a-thon)  Product Sales (Limited to a two-week period) (e.g., candles, cookie dough, coffee, popcorn, school logo mugs, pajamas, flowers, candy)  Events (e.g., gala, silent auction, casino night, 5k race, golf tournament, beach bash, bazaar, carnival)  Gift card or discount card sales The term “Minor Fundraising Activity” means a fundraising activity that is a low dollar amount, based on campus, and sold primarily to students, especially related to campus events, such as flower sales for students, notes expressing thanks to a teacher on teacher ap- preciation day, or glow necklaces for a school dance. A “Monetary Philanthropic Event” is a philanthropic activity that requests donations of money to benefit a nonprofit organization or other charitable cause.

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STUDENT FUNDRAISING FJ (REGULATION)

A “Non-monetary Donation Drive” is a philanthropic activity that requests donations of items for the benefit of another group or organization. The following are examples of non-monetary donation drives:  Coats for Kids  Can Drive  Green Santa Toy Drive

WEB-BASED Fundraisers that include a web-based component (e.g., ordering SOLICITATIONS popcorn through a fundraising site; paying dues online; pledge- drives online; etc.) are considered part of a typical fundraiser and considered an acceptable method of fundraising. Web-based solicitations must be targeted to known family and friends and cannot be solicitations to the public at large. Money collected from web-based solicitations cannot be deposited into an individual/personal bank account. The money must either be collected and managed by the third-party vendor or deposited directly into an account for the student group/organization. Identification of any web-based fundraising component must be in- cluded in the request for approval.

CROWDFUNDING Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money by a large number of people typically through the Internet. Crowdfunding includes, but is not limited to, platforms such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Crowdrise, MightyCause, Fundly, Fundrise, Patreon, Rallyme, Pursuit, SportFunder, Crowdcube, MakeaChamp, Donors Choose, FuelMySchool, Sup- port-a-School, Indiegogo, Bonfire, MobileCause and RocketHub. Crowdfunding is not an approved method of fundraising.

USE OF DISTRICT Student groups/organizations seeking to use District facilities for FACILITIES fundraising activities may do so at no cost, in accordance with Board Policy FM (Local).

COMPLIANCE On initiating a fundraising activity or project, each sponsor and principal are agreeing to comply with all relevant state and federal laws related to fundraising, including any eligible tax-exempt fundraising projects. The District’s business office should be consulted with any questions or concerns by these individuals.

The sponsor is to maintain an inventory of goods being sold and must reconcile the ending inventory and receipts by using the Fund- raiser Profit / Loss Statement from (FJ (Exhibit)).

DATE ISSUED: 3/6/2017 UPDATED: July 2019 IIMPLEMENTED: 4 of 6 UPDATE 53 19-20 School Year FJ(REGULATION)-RRM

STUDENT FUNDRAISING FJ (REGULATION)

The following collection procedures shall be observed: 1. Collections shall be submitted to the finance clerk weekly or whenever the aggregate amount of such collections exceeds $250.00. 2. Any checks or cash not remitted to the finance clerk must be locked in a secure location in an administrative office. If a se- cured area is not available, the sponsor is to remit collections on hand to the finance clerk for temporary safekeeping until such time that the sponsor is prepared to submit the weekly collection or complete collection to the finance clerk. 3. No money should be taken home or carried around on one’s person. 4. The sponsor is prohibited from cashing personal checks from money collected for an activity.

Funds must never be withheld for the purpose of making cash payments to individuals or vendors for goods, services or materials received. All payments to individuals or vendors for services or materials received must be paid with a check.

CONTRACTS Only those individuals authorized in CH (Regulation) can sign agree- ment or contracts. Sponsors are not authorized personnel and cannot sign agreements or contracts. All agreements or contracts must be sent to the District’s Director of Purchasing for review and signa- ture in accordance with the procedures outlined on the Purchasing website located at https://www.ltisdschools.org/Page/3243.

RECORD KEEPING At a minimum, the following documentation must be submitted to the appropriate campus administrator within 3 business days of completion of each fundraising activity: 1. All deposit slips 2. All vendor invoices 3. Fundraiser Profit/Loss Statement (FJ (EXHIBIT)) The campus administrator will input the required information into the KEV system. This documentation will be retained by the campus administrator for a minimum of 5 years after the end of the applicable fiscal year.

DISSOLUTION Should any student group or organization disband, cease to operate, or choose to withdraw from association with the District, those funds or property designated for a specific project shall be dedicated to- ward the completion of that project. Any other remaining funds would be returned to the campus activity fund.

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STUDENT FUNDRAISING FJ (REGULATION)

Any group or organization operating under these policies that, in the opinion of the District designee, does not adhere to the policies and regulations established by the Board and school administration will cease to be recognized as a legitimate organization. Any decision to remove or disband an organization may be appealed through the complaint process outlined in FNG (Local).

DATE ISSUED: 3/6/2017 UPDATED: July 2019 IIMPLEMENTED: 6 of 6 UPDATE 53 19-20 School Year FJ(REGULATION)-RRM