It is that time of the year when reports of booster club fundraising con gams are coming in again. The way it works is that someone will pose as a local cheer or baseball booster club in the community asking for a donation or to purchase advertising space. The truth however is that they do not represent the booster club at all.
In this interview Joe Wolpin of Fundraising zone describes what booster club parents can do protect the people in their community.
Joe explains, “Booster clubs count on fundraisers to help pay for the things that the school budget will not. This means that every year school booster clubs of all kinds hold fundraising events. Unfortunately unscrupulous con men will take advantage of the giving nature of many people.”
What are some practical steps boosters can take to educate their donors?
Joe continues, “Regular communication is the key. Use your official school booster club website or facebook to tell your community about your upcoming fundraiser events. Additionally, tell them this is the only official channel for fundraising. Tell your community you will never do any fundraising unless they read about it on the official booster club site.”
Joe concludes, “Finally, tell your community about the kinds of fundraisers you will never resort too. For instance, some cons involve robocalling every home in your neighborhood. It may be a good idea to warn your neighbors about cons like these. Furthermore, alert them that your booster club would never use robocalling. This way if any kinds of calls are made they will know in advance.”
For instance The Shenendehowa Central School District is warning local businesses of a robotic phone calls soliciting donations for their cheerleading team. The district says the fraudulent phone calls are from Elite Sports Promo.
This is a perfect example of schools, booster clubs and local authorities working together. Any booster could use this as a model to not only protect their community but their reputation as well.
A business that donates to a con man posing as a booster club may later on not want to donate to the real school kids groups that need the help.
You can read more tips on how to protect your fundraising donors from cons using some of the FBI top suggestions here.
Media Contact
Company Name: Fundraising Zone
Contact Person: Joe Wolpin
Email: Send Email
Phone: (800) 645-6550
Address:337 Merrick Road Suite 5
City: Lynbrook
State: New York, 11563
Country: United States
Website: https://www.fundraisingzone.com/school-fundraisers/booster-club-fundraising-ideas/