Peel District School Board                                                                           

PARTNERSHIPS/FUNDRAISING

Statement of Policy

It is the policy of the Peel District School Board to support, facilitate and encourage the development of authentic, mutually beneficial relationships between schools and the larger community, including business and non-business sectors, with due sensitivity and regard for the legitimate needs of all parties involved.

Administrative Regulations

1.         Ethical Guidelines

To provide a general framework, the Peel District School Board subscribes to the following ethical guidelines from the Conference Board of Canada.
Partnerships are supported which:

• enhance the quality and relevance of education for learners
• mutually benefit all partners
• treat fairly and equitably all those served by the partnership
• provide opportunities for all partners to meet their shared social responsibilities toward education
• acknowledge and celebrate each partner’s contributions through appropriate forms of recognition
• are consistent with the ethics and core values of all partners
• are based on the clearly defined expectations of all partners
• are based on shared or aligned objectives that support the goals of the partner organizations
• allocate resources to complement and not replace public funding for education
• measure and evaluate partnership performance to make informed decisions that ensure continuous improvement
• are developed and structured in consultation with all partners
• recognize and respect each partner’s expertise
• identify clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all partners
• involve individual participants on a voluntary basis

2.         Principles for fundraising activities

There may be times when fundraising is proposed to support capital items. These might include capital-related or small-scale capital items such as computers, furniture, street signage or creative playgrounds.  There might also be occasions when there will be fundraising for a capital project—such as a school auditorium, theatre or pool.

For both capital-related and capital projects, the proposal for such fundraising may come from a parent group, community organization or at the request of the Peel District School Board.  Such fundraising must meet the Guidelines and Principles of this policy and for all capital project fundraising, a Viability Review is a required part of the process.

The Viability Review is not required for capital-related items or small-scale capital items, as described above.

The principles which are outlined below are intended to provide guidance to schools in the area of acquiring resources from non-Peel District School Board sources.  These may be financial, human, or material in nature.

Arrangements are supported which:

• reflect a philosophy of support and assistance to schools and students
• are consistent with Peel District School Board values
• include consultation with the local school community
• are legal, ethical, and benefit students (example:  no tobacco or alcohol products)
• are subject to the discretion of principal and staff in the use of donated materials, resources and services
• do not require students to listen to or read commercial advertisements        (i.e. avoids commercialization)
• are subject to normal audit process and system accountability
• involve specified time frames and include a regular review of arrangements
• involve cooperative (consortium) efforts to achieve maximum commercial advantage  (e.g. multi-school and multi-board) wherever possible
• allow for recognition by board and school, including display of corporate symbols where acceptable and appropriate
• involve widespread sharing of best practice, expertise and creative ideas to achieve maximum benefits to the system
• do not require direct endorsement of products or services
• require prior approval by the principal for fundraising activities within the school community, and by the Superintendent of Schools for activities beyond the school community
• require senior administration approval for any contracts above $50,000 annually
• require senior administration approval for any region-wide agreements or campaigns for funds by outside organizations

3.         Operational definitions

To assist with clarity of communications the following definitions are used:

partnership:   the collaborative effort of schools, community, and businesses to prepare students to function productively in society as workers, consumers, citizens and lifelong learners through the exchange of human, intellectual and/or material resources to the mutual benefit of all involved.
sponsorship:   the provision of funds, price reductions, equipment, materials or services in exchange for some form of exclusivity and/or product recognition for a specified period to time.  This might include cross promotions. (e.g. chocolate bar sales).
donation:   a gift of funds, equipment, materials or services which may involve the provision of a charitable donation receipt as appropriate.
fundraising:   the acquisition of resources from other than Peel District School Board sources.  These include proceeds from sales of various items (e.g. food, materials) donations (e.g. money, equipment) or advertisements (e.g. yearbook).
advertisements:   the provision of advertising space on behalf of a commercial concern in exchange for revenue or goods in kind (e.g. yearbook ads).  This should not be confused with the display of corporate logos as sponsorship recognition.
School-generated funds:   all revenues and assets acquired by schools from other than school board budgets   These are still subject to audit and there is full accountability for disposition.
Capital-related:  Capital-related items are those which are smaller in scale and include computers, creative playgrounds, street signs, furniture, etc.
Capital Projects:  Capital Projects are larger in scale and usually involve construction –such as an auditorium, theatre or pool.
Viability Review:  Viability Review is a defined process for determining approval of Capital Projects.

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