School-Based Fundraising
A resource created by SURJ Toronto. For feedback, additional resources, or questions contact us.
School-Based Fundraising is a Social Justice Issue
SLIDE 2:
COVID-19 has exposed HUGE structural inequalities across the GTA. This is playing out in the public school system too!
School-based fundraising means that schools serving wealthier areas have access to extra resources to enhance and enrich students’ safety, well-being, and learning. Meanwhile, schools in more racialized and working class neighbourhoods tend to have less access to in-kind and monetary donations to support their students! But if schools with more resources commit to sharing them, all students will have more of what they need to thrive. Here's how you can take action by encouraging your school to redistribute a portion of their school-based fundraising, this year and moving forward!
SLIDE 3: CONTEXT
While the government funds TDSB schools with a basic per student amount, this money is not sufficient to cover extra initiatives, supplies, or technology to support students, or programming that enriches their learning experience! To make up these costs, schools rely on fundraising conducted by a parent council. This is not an insignificant amount of money: in 2017–2018, TDSB schools fundraised nearly $44 million.* Because this fundraising draws primarily on families' spare income, schools in richer neighbourhoods generally have access to more money than those in lower income communities. This divide is so stark that in 2018 some schools raised as much as $300 per student, while other schools raised no money at all! This discrepancy is particularly significant during this pandemic, as schools with access to extra funds are able to draw on them to support outdoor learning, improve the classroom set up, and implement other additional risk reduction measures.
* With credit to People for Education for collating this publicly available data
SLIDE 4
Given this discrepancy, which exacerbates deeply entrenched inequality in the public system, it’s worth thinking about your school’s approach to fundraising. Consider…
What does the fundraising in your school go toward? Is it things your school needs, or things they would like to have, or both? How do the resources your school council raises support students, enhance their learning, and improve their well-being?
Think of students at your school and those at other schools in the city – do they all have the same needs? Are there things your school community currently has access to that others do not?
How does it feel to think about these gaps in access and opportunity? How does your school’s approach to fundraising fit with or go against your values around equity and social justice?
What would a fundraising model that reflected your core values look like? How would it feel to know that your school’s fundraising initiatives were supporting the collective well-being of all students in the city?
SLIDE 5: ACTION
Every parent or guardian can bring a motion to be voted on by their school's School Advisory Council (SAC). This means that as a parent or guardian you have an opportunity to influence how your school approaches fundraising. So use your power to make a change!
Redistributing funds raised by your school is a way to materially address inequality in Toronto's schools. We have a few suggestions for ways to approach this! You can allocate a portion of the money your school council fundraises to:
The TDSB's COVID-19 Central Relief Fund (https://tinyurl.com/TDSBcovidfund) which will contribute to emergency supports and PPE for students in the highest risk schools.
The Toronto Foundation for Student Success (https://tfss.ca/), the organization that provides nutritious meals, after-school programming, and emergency financial supports to TDSB students who need it.
A Community Support Fund at your own school that's easily accessible by families in your community to cover costs such as food, winter clothing, and fees for school trips or programming.
SLIDE 6: ACTION
This is not about charity or saviourism. This is about recognizing the unequal distribution of resources in our city and school system, and committing to doing some part to address this disparity. It also makes a powerful statement in the face of government austerity and the systemic hoarding of resources and opportunities.
The Learning Opportunities Index (LOI) is the TDSB's mechanism for identifying schools that face more structural barriers that impact student success and well-being, and reflects income levels in the school community. It isn't perfect, but it's a useful tool for better understanding your school's relative access to resources. See more here: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/research/docs/LOI2020.pdf
SLIDE 7
So HOW can YOU make this happen? It’s simple!
Talk with parents in your school community about the issue of school-based fundraising and how it further entrenches inequality in the system. Consider where your school falls within the board in terms of its capacity to raise funds, and what that means in terms of your school’s capacity to redistribute resources in order to better support ALL kids and school communities. Pledge to take action at the link below so that we can offer you support and connect you with other interested parents at your school!
PLEDGE HERE: https://tinyurl.com/SACpledge
SLIDE 8
Bring a motion forward to your SAC! At least two weeks ahead of time, submit a motion on fundraising redistribution to the SAC chair to be added to the next meeting's agenda, and then start talking to fellow parents and invite allies to attend the meeting to voice their support. Your motion could read something like this:
"Whereas there are extreme disparities across the TDSB with regards to different schools' capacity to raise funds, and; Whereas all students in Toronto deserve access to safe, inclusive, and engaging educational opportunities, clothing, and food, and; Whereas our school community is invested in doing our part to acknowledge and address systemic inequalities, Be it resolved that the _______ SAC commit to redistributing 20% of all annual funds raised to:
The TDSB's COVID-19 Central Relief Fund OR
The Toronto Foundation for Student Success OR
A Community Support Fund at our own school
SLIDE 9: FURTHER ADVOCACY
Whether or not you are attached to a school community, you can still take action on this important issue:
Send these slides to 3 friends with kids in public school and encourage them to take action!
Donate to these rad education-adjacent orgs:
Latinx Afro-Latin-America, Abya Yala, Education Network (LAEN)
https://laentoronto.wordpress.com
Freedom School
https://freedomschooltoronto.ca/
Parents of Black Children https://parentsofblackchildren.org/
Last, but definitely not least, demand structural change! School-based fundraising is a band-aid solution to a systemic problem, and public schools should NOT be relying on money from their respective parent communities in order to provide children with safe, inclusive, engaging educational opportunities. Email or call Ford & Lecce and demand they resource schools ROBUSTLY and EQUITABLY.
Premier Doug Ford
416-325-1941
premier@ontario.ca
Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education
416-325-2600
minister.edu@ontario.ca
Reach us at surjtofamilies@gmail.com if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback about this resource.