I have spent most of my summer trying to set up ways to finance Science Camp for my 5th grade students. The total estimated cost for ONE class is between $11,000 and $13,000, depending on the transportation. The original camp I was going with was four days/three nights long, but I found another camp that really stands out where we can go for five days/four nights at a lower cost than the first camp. Our school is in a very economically disadvantaged area where most of the parents work in agriculture which makes it very difficult for them to pay for the entire trip.

Here are the fundrasing ideas I've come up with so far (feel free to add any suggestions you might have *smile*):

-Canning- Where you place informational cans out in the community where people can drop in their change. Amount taken in so far in the last month-$100.44.

-Grant- Recieved from an Educational Foundation. Glad that I'm a halfway decent writer. Made a presentation in front of them on Tuesday. Was informed on Wednesday they were giving us $2,500. *huge smile*

-Matching Funds-Potentially offered from two other organizations to see if, now that we have one grant, they're willing to match it. Funny thing is, once one group gives you money, other groups seem to think you're more "worthy" of getting their funding. Haven't been able to get their applications yet. One I need to contact directly, the other said the application was on line. I haven't been able to get the application to download for me. Guess that means another phone call.

-Student Store- Last year my students raised about $1,100 selling scented pencils. I spent close to $500 for this year's supplies. We've now expanded to obtain different styles of pencils, pens and cute notepads. I'm hoping that my students "work it" and are willing to take things home to sell in their neighborhoods to people/children they know and not just rely on the Student Store sales.

-Parent Contributions- The estimated cost of going to Science Camp is $350 per student, including transportation. I'm sending out a letter this week requestion $100 per student or $10 per week for 10 weeks. Most parents seem to be happy with the science camp idea which is amazing to me as many of our parents culturally believe that "girls" should not be allowed to spend the night away from home until they get married!!!! I'll be holding a parent meeting soon to really fill them in so their concerns won't be so great.

-Back Up Activities- Car Washes, Dog Washes, Water Sales, Employer Solicitations/Sponsorships and, hopefully, approval to have weekly Popcorn Sales. I still have to get information from Food Services to see what the government now approves for food sales at school and when we can sell it. I was under the impression that "healthy snacks" could be sold after lunch service. Now I'm being told that we can't sell until after school...well, that defeats the purpose. Students can go next door to the laundry mat and buy all sorts of candy and such after school, why would they want some air popped popcorn?

I've also been looking for ways to cut the cost of the trip. Transportation (either school bus or the district's approved charter bus service)is fully 1/4 of the total price. I can cut that almost in half if the District will let us take the train! I think it would be a wonderful experience for my students as well. We've had a lot of changes in our fieldtrip regulations over the summer, so there seems to be no one person who can give me the all the information I need at the moment. I'll be tracking people down next week.

My biggest concern is that, although the Science Camp said we could do defered billing until April, 2008, the District is saying that we have to have all the money together before we go. That's a bit tough, because we're leaving in eight weeks!!!!!

So, with ALL that said, we currently have $2,600 towards the cost of the trip. If I can get the parents to pay before the trip, that's about another $3,000, or half way to our goal. Fingers crossed that:

1) the District will allow us to use the Science Camp's deferral.

2) the District will allow us to take the train and save half the cost of the transportation.

3) we get matching funds from the other two grants.

Cross your fingers for us. I'll keep y'all informed of how it goes!

CJ