To think that nursery fundraisers are a bit cheeky?

[punnedout]

My DC's nursery had a fundraising day last weekend, where parents were invited to attend and throw money away on raffles, cake stalls etc. I naively asked which charity we were supporting, and was told that all monies raised were for the nursery and would go towards new nursery toys etc.

This is a private nursery, which is consistently oversubscribed and isn't cheap - AIBU to think that they should use some of their sizeable profits to purchase equipment, rather than fleecing parents for more money on top of already high fees?

Yanbu at all. I agree with everything you say.

It used to bug me no end that they use to ask for old toys etc at my dds nursery too. Here's an idea - buy them yourselves out of the hundreds of profit you must surely make. 55 a day for my 2 yr old, ratio of what 6-1, staff paid minimum wage, they must be rolling in it.
School fairs otoh, here, have some money!

YANBU total cheek, owners will be doing it in old folks home next as the owners drive up in their Bentleys and your handing over your £1 for a raffle ticket and your relative is being fed on 50p per day!

• less than full occupancy
• meals

-staff holidays

• rent

-rates -marketing -websites -locums for sick cover

• nappy disposal service
• laundry

-cleaning fees

Etc etc.

Sure, basic equipment will come out of the budget but new big stuff, say climbing frames may need extra funds, just like at a school

Regardless of their overheads, snatch, they're a private enterprise. They can't pretend they're a school to get more profits. It's like Tesco doing a charity fair for Tesco.

YANBU. I don't know about DD's current nursery, but in her previous one the owners were doing nicely out of it. Private schools, plush cars etc. I would have been disgusted if they had run a fundraiser, but luckily they didn't.

thedoctine

Have you forgotten to add, huge massive fee's the highest in the world or nearly....to sustain! ?

YANBU. The idea of a private company 'fundraising' and then giving itself the takings is wrong. It's a business, not a not-for-profit organisation. If profits aren't great, that's not a reason to masquerade as a charity and invite donations / hold charity type events.

If a local corner shop which was struggling financially had a fundraising raffle etc and spent the money on refurbishing their shop, it would be the same principle. It's only because the children are supposedly benefiting that people don't mind.

The thing is, who is to say that the children really are benefiting from all of the money? New toys may appear, but they might have been already paid for by nursery fees. I assume there is no breakdown provided to parents on how the fundraiser money is being spent.

Ha! Had that conversation years ago. Nursery "would you like to do some fundraising for us?" Yes, I donate the first 21 hours of my salary to you each week"
Never asked again

YANBU.

It's really embarrassing begging parents for money to buy new equipment when you work in a private nursery. In the end the money will just go to more profit for the owner to spend on daughter's riding lessons and for petrol for her Mercedes.

It's just another sign of a bad nursery.

if the nursery is a private business run for profit then I agree they have no business fundraising. however if they are a charity run nursery, like the one I work in, fundraising is one of the ways we afford to replace equipment.

Yanbu
This reminds me of my friend who is on the PTA of her DC's public school and can't understand the lack of support at fundraising events.

Like I said, if they weren't clear that the proceeds were going to the nursery, that was wrong. Otherwise, I have no issues, and yes, my children go to a private nursery, which is not part of a chain and which is not hugely profitable o. Around £55 per day per child.

yes, i think cheeky
my younger dc attends a private nursery
they have Christmas and Summer fairs, and funds raised from the raffles and cake stalls go to whichever local charity the nursery nurses have chosen that year. the owners of the nursery chip in with a week's nursery fees as the top raffle prize.

Thanks for the comments, on balance I do think I'm right but I also appreciate the point about charity run nurseries (which this one isn't). I also agree with the food point, it is billed as approved by the world's shittest nutritionist.

I think its quite vile... I would be asking more questions about this, I mean if they need to resort to fund-raisers yes I think its a sign of a bad nursery, who is running the books what else are they skimping on....

Yes what other business.....would get away with this?

DSIS is a nursery nurse and they are having a fundraiser, I was doing this face when she told me about it. Places are expensive, and there's no shortage of takers but they're asking parents to sponsor them to do a walk, having a fun day etc to buy new toys. The manager has just dropped thousands on new outdoor equipment. I think it's cheeky.

Some nurseries are registered charities and entitled to fundraiser. They do not aim to make a profit and can still be expensive as all the overheads are high.

And it's not exactly like they raise a lot of money anyway. I turned down a job at one nursery because when I asked about the toy budget the manager told me that the rooms raise money to buy toys. She told me that the previous year the pre-school raised £90. I could help but work out that in a room of 40 children that was equivalent to raising the daily fee by one third of one pence. The staff costs in the room would have been in the region of £90,000 per year @ 6 staff x £15,000.
Buying toys should be part of your business plan. It's how grown ups run things.

Not that I'm bitter at the way some owners/manager run nurseries.

Am I weird in actually loving my nursery and thinking it is great value?

DS goes to a council nursery and I can totally understand why they are fundraising to sort out the back garden. They moved to a new premises and the council didn't think an all day nursery needed any kitchen facilities!

Private nursery, I agree, suss.

YANBU! Some nurseries may not turn over much of a profit but when they do, who's keeping it? They certainly aren't going to be putting your fees down to thank you for contributing during find raising. Totally different situation from schools, playgroup or community nurseries where no one is in it for financial gain.

Our nursery does fundraisers, but for specific things that they want - so they provide the duplo, paint, toys etc as standard, but for large, bigger items that aren't necessary and out of the ordinary, they fundraise.

Can't see an issue with it myself if it's for that; daily stuff, that's out of budget to me.

YANBU.

That's a bit like me saying I will give you a lift to the shops but please buy me a car first

I agree with the original poster; privately run nurseries are intended to be profit-making. It would be nice to think that the staff would have their (extremely poor) pay increased, but that's not going to happen; this is simply a way of persuading parents to pay even more.

Most private nurseries offer the funded places from 3, so to an extent have state involvement.

I'd be surprised to see a fundraiser for general running costs rather than for specific equipment. Raising £500 at a fair might lead to a more exciting climbing frame, it's not going to be pay rises for all.

My nursery got a grant to redevelop their outside space , it was usable before but would have taken them years to save for the capex out of profits, by which time many DC would have left.

The PTA at school buy similar things - nicer play equipment etc- this is also fine by me.