Keep trying to negotiate. But if the principal refuses, try for a compromise. Perhaps you could ask attendees to bring a can of food for a local food bank. It would be still have a philanthropic twist and food banks are desperate for help with increasing demands on them.

Thanks for the background. We are a public school and have many underprivileged children that attend and I know as a parent if I were to have my child in a "wealthy" private school I would expect them to donate to a local charity if they could. I think that is the least that the school could do if they have the money to do it. So in short I am with you on this one. Hopefully if your group does not donate this year your students parents may notice and request that it be done in the future.

TY for your feedback. As a little more background, we are a small private school, and the school itself is a non-profit. Our fall fundraiser was a HUGE success, surpassing last year's profit by several thousand dollars. I think we are one of the few schools that actually had a more successful fundraiser in a tough economy. My feeling is that because of our success, we should pay it forward. We are what many would call a "wealthy" school, and I don't think that a small donation, rather than charging admission, would break anyone's budget.

If there is no charity to support, we still would charge the admission, and it would just go in our pockets. This event also makes money for the school, even with the charity involved, so in my mind, it's a win win situation.

The charities chosen are local to our area, and are for children. I think that's why I'm having such a hard time here...

I guess for me I would need to know what type of charities you donate to. If it was to a national charity like Riley's Children's Hospital or to United Way, etc... then I would tend to agree with the principal. Although if it were to a local food bank or as we are doing, for our family movie night donating to our local Fire Dept for their annual Toy drive for Christmas then I think the principal would be wrong in not letting you. My thoughts on the matter of school functions donating to charities it should directly go toward the students that attend your school or community.

Each year in early spring our PTO hosts a family event that supports a charity. A different charity is chosen each year, and in lieu of charging "admission," the fee to get in to the event is a donation ($5 suggested, though any amount is accepted for admission) for the charity. (Receipts are given to parents for tax purposes and records are kept to track donations). This event has always been wildly successful, lots of fun, and teaches the students about giving to others.

I am in the early (very early) planning process for this event. I recently submitted my choice of charity to the principal, who responded that we will still hold the event, but will not support any charity this year. The reason was the economy, and not wanting to ask parents for any more money.

My feeling on this is that BECAUSE of the economy, we need to support a charity. My opinion is that when people are tightening their belts, charity organizations are the first to feel the effects. I feel especially passionate that we support a charity, because in my time chairing this event, the donations have all benefited children who are ill or otherwise in need. I have found that because of this, many families give much more than the suggested donation.

What is your opinion on this? Do I let it go, and just have the event with no charity? Do I let some time pass and see if there is any change in the economy before the event (I'm an eternal optimist), or do I push to support the charity, and cut back in other areas, so that everyone still has the opportunity to participate? I would even go so far as to "request" a donation for admission, rather than "require" a donation for admission if it means we can still give to children less fortunate.

TIA for the feedback!