Fundraising - Athletics

Policy 5070(a)

Students Fundraising Activities

The objective of this policy is to provide the acceptance criteria and application method for soliciting gifts, grants and bequests conducted by booster clubs and parent organizations, district employees, and students of the Waterford Public Schools.

Students may engage in raising funds for school-sponsored activities, subject to the provisions of the regulations to be developed by the Superintendent. No such fundraising activities may involve door-to-door solicitation in the community by students.

The Board of Education will not be responsible for any fundraising activities that are not approved in accordance with the procedures set forth in this policy and the accompanying regulations.

Any fundraising activities must comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations, including those provisions relating to the sale of healthy foods and beverages on school grounds or at school-sponsored events.

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes § 10-215f


Regulation 5070 (c)

Students Fundraising Activities


These administrative regulations shall serve to implement the Board of Education’s policy pertaining to fundraising activities. The Board of Education is a public institution fully supported by taxes and the Board has a clear responsibility to protect students, staff, and their families from exploitation by special interests including, but not limited to, economic, environmental, and political exploitation. The Board of Education is not responsible for any fundraising activities that are not approved in accordance with the procedures set forth in the policy and these accompanying regulations.

Criteria for Fundraising Activities:

To be approved, a fundraising activity must be conducted for the educational benefit of students and satisfy all of the following criteria:

1. Each student, parent support or other sanctioned fundraising activity shall have one adult designated with the overall responsibility for continuing compliance with the Board’s policy and these administrative regulations pertaining to fund-raising (the “Sponsor”)

2. The fundraising must have a purpose consistent with the purposes of the school district and be for the benefit of its educational programs, student groups or extra-curricular activities

3. The fundraising must not be anticipated to bring additional costs to the school district

4. The fundraising activity must be suitable for the age and maturity of the students involved in the fundraising activity

5. Students may not be compelled to participate in fundraising, all such fundraising activity shall be voluntary in nature

6. Under no circumstance shall students be required to solicit and no mandatory quotas shall be imposed upon them

7. Prior to a student engaging in any fundraising activity, his/her parents shall be informed and written authorization shall be obtained to permit their children to participate

8. The fundraising must not be inappropriate or harmful to the best educational interests of students, as determined by the administration

9. The fundraising will not be considered an official endorsement of any business or product

10. The fundraising must not be in conflict with any provisions of the school code or public law

11. Door-to-door solicitations by students are prohibited by these regulations

12. The fundraising must comply with all applicable provisions of Board policy and regulation relating to the sale of healthy foods and beverages on school grounds or at school-sponsored events.

Prior approval required:

Fundraising activities shall not be initiated until prior approval is secured as set forth in these regulations.

Requests for prior approval for fundraising activities anticipated to raise funds up to $1,000 for all levels shall be made in advance in writing to the Building Principal, and at the secondary school level, to the Director of Athletics and Student Activities for sports related activities, at least one (1) month prior to the commencement of the activity. The Building Principal or Director of Athletics and Student Activities or his/her designee shall indicate his/her approval in writing to the organization applying for approval. Any fundraising activity over this threshold will also require approval by the Building Principal (at the secondary level) and Superintendent (for all grade level requests over this threshold) The Fundraising Activity Report, Form #2, is due to building principal and Business Office no later than one month following completion of fundraising activity.

Use of Crowdfunding Activities

Prior to engaging in any crowdfunding activities (e.g. DonorsChoose, Kickstarter, GoFundMe, etc) for the Board of Education, its schools, classes, or extracurricular teams or clubs, an employee, student, parent support or other fundraising group must first apply in writing to the building principal and receive prior approval for the crowdfunding activity as outlined above. However, requests to the building principal for prior approval of crowdfunding activities must also include the name of the website or application to be utilized, a full description of the reason for the crowdfunding activity, a copy of the proposed personal profile to be listed on the site/application, and the proposed content to be uploaded to the crowdfunding website or application, including images.

In addition to following the procedures outlined below for the handling of funds and record keeping, the following additional regulations apply to funds received from crowdfunding activities. Any funds received from crowdfunding activities must be deposited directly into a school activity fund and may not first be received by the employee, student, parent group or other fundraising group. Crowdfunding activities must comply with all Board of Education policies, regulations and procedures, and shall not include photos of students or the sharing of any confidential student information.

Handling of Funds and Record-Keeping:

The fundraising activity must comply with all applicable policies and procedures with respect to the processing of monies by staff members and/or students (e.g. school activity fund regulations and regulations pertaining to maintaining cash within classrooms or school buildings).

Student, parent support or other sanctioned fundraising groups shall keep detailed and accurate contemporaneous records of the fundraising activity, with the Sponsor responsible for ensuring compliance with this requirement.

Such detailed and accurate records shall be subject to inspection by school officials at any time.

At the end of the activity, the Sponsor shall produce a final report showing the amount of money raised, the number of students who participated, the purposes for which the designated funds will be used, and any other information as may be required by the Principal and/or Superintendent of Schools.

Coaches Only:

To Complete Fundraising Form: Click HERE for links to Script eforms.

All fundraising requests must now be submitted through Script eforms (paper submissions are NOT accepted any longer).
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