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FAQs about ARCHES Fundraising

Didn't I already pay for the classes my child is taking at the beginning of the semester?

Yes and no. Your checks paid directly to the tutor do cover 100% of the tutor fees. The $25 per class administration fee, however, only covers a portion of the actual expenses. In addition to rent, we also pay for insurance, supplies, equipment, phone, web expenses, copying, and some modest wages.

Why don't you just raise prices instead of fundraising?

We could do that, but would prefer not to. It is a major goal of ARCHES to keep classes affordable for home educating families who are often single-income.

How does participating in fundraisers work toward my fundraising contribution?

There are two ways to earn credit; a "per unit" fundraiser, and a group fundraiser:

In a "per unit" fundraiser, you get credit for each unit you sell. For example, in the past we held a raffle for tickets to a Minnesota Twins game. ARCHES families earned $0.50 of fundraising credit for each raffle ticket they sold.

In a group fundraiser, the amount of credit your family gets varies with the success of the event, but the formula is always the same. After each fundraising event, we have those who help fill out a simple time card stating the number of hours they worked. We calculate the total profit and divide it by the total hours worked by all volunteers. This gives us a per hour credit. For example, at the last Bible Bingo! fundraiser workers earned a credit of $14.75 per hour. So, a student who worked selling concessions for 2 hours earned $29.50 toward their family's donation.

How do I know how much my family credits are?

After the fall fundraisers are underway a statement will be sent to each family reflecting their cash donations and amounts earned at the events we've offered so far this year.

Isn't it a lot of work to set up these events? There must be a simpler way.

Each event does take a fair amount of planning, but one of the greatest blessing ARCHES has experienced is the sense of community that grew through our fundraising events. We moved beyond just dropping in for classes to becoming a group of friends working together toward a common goal. We've had a greater presence in our community, and we have fun! (And we earned money!) In every way, it proves to be worthwhile.

Can I just write a check to ARCHES instead of fundraising?

Absolutely! ARCHES is a non-profit corporation and any cash donations are fully tax deductible. We will gladly send you a receipt for income tax purposes. Just mail checks to ARCHES 15243 190th Lane NE, Wyoming, MN 55092 or put a clearly labeled check in the Latawiec file at any ARCHES meeting.

What fundraising activities does ARCHES have planned for this year?

Our primary fundraisers are the family bingo nights scheduled for October 9 and February 19. These nights are a fun combination of games, food, and community get-together. There will be many opportunities for you to get involved, including helping on the planning committee, sales at the event, kitchen help, and being part of the skit.

We have had the opportunity to bag groceries in exchange for tips at three Cub Foods stores and we hope to do it again this year. ARCHES families will be notified if we get a date scheduled.

We're also planning something new for 2010—a bowl-a-thon where participants take advance pledges and then collect that dollar amount based on the number of points scored at the game. This will be scheduled over Christmas break and will be a fun time for students to get together to socialize and earn money for ARCHES!