But a new online fundraising scheme aims to direct a percentage of online sales to local schools. When parents make purchases at e-retailers a percentage of the sale is rebated to a specified school. Even minus the cut taken by the middleman Net agencies, the online fundraising process could mean big bucks for little effort. At PTOtoday we look at the work-reward equation. These programs can generate rewards for comparatively little work.
Parents log on to the school-support site and choose the school they want to support.
From there links lead to participating merchants. Fundraising sites claim it's a win-win situation for schools and parents. Kids and parents do a lot of work for little payoff. Cash-flow needs in US schools have traditionally been met with special events, corporate programs like General Mills' Box Tops for Education , and product sales from which sponsors kick back a commission to schools. Analog programs like Scrip were front-runners of Web fundraising sites, returning a portion of purchases at participating stores to schools.