The rebate for eToys, for example, which she had estimated would be a popular store among parents, was listed by Schoolpop as 20 percent last spring, but her school received only 4.7 percent on eToys purchases in its recent check. I'm finding it disappointing. Schoolpop, so far, has not asked retailers to lock in their rebates for any set amount of time. But only 30 percent of them have done so. He said ShopforSchool drops companies from its World Wide Web site that cut their rebates significantly.
Merchants come out with a certain percentage and then whittle it down once they get the customers.
Ms. Mandell said that makes it difficult for schools to know how much they'll receive from the arrangements. In Chicago, rebates from shoppers who designate the district as a beneficiary rather than a particular school will go to the district's foundation, which, in turn will direct the money to the poorest schools. One potential problem that the fund-raising companies might partner with retailers that are inappropriate for education has not yet materialized, administrators say. They're all reputable companies. The Florida Education Foundation has retained in its contract with IBMC the right to have the final word on the content of the virtual mall, including the identity of the merchants.