GGP Co-founder Responds to Wall Street Journal Column

The following was written in response to Wall Street Journal columnist Terri Cullen’s critiqued of traditional school fundraisers in her column “Fiscally Fit”

Dear Ms. Cullen

I read with interest your Fiscally Fit column of October 11, 2007. Like you, I began to resent the meaningless items (wrapping paper, popcorn, candy and other items) that were either harmful to children’s health or to the environment that my kids were asked to sell on behalf of their school. Yet, with tight school budgets and rising costs of living, I accept that supplementing our children’s education remains a harsh necessity.

Happily, there is a better way! Two years ago, Catherine Shimony and I pioneered a new school fundraising model and created the nonprofit organization, Global Goods Partners (GGP). GGP offers schools an effective, educational, and socially responsible fundraising tool. Unlike a typical fundraiser, school communities have direct access to handcrafted, high quality, and fairly traded products made by GGP’s partners in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Schools realize financial benefit from the sales while supporting impoverished communities worldwide. Accompanying educational materials engage students in topics ranging from world hunger, human rights, health care, natural resource management and, importantly, the ways in which local acts—such as an ordinary purchase—can have a global impact. In addition, we provide technical assistance and grant support to our partners in the developing world, assisting them in building sustainable, more effective programs which also helps build stronger local communities.

Schools ranging from pre-kindergarten to university level have adopted the GGP fundraising program and are using it successfully to raise funds, raise awareness and act for social change.

I encourage you and your readers to consider the GGP model for school fundraising. In doing so, we can raise necessary funds for our kids and assist women and families in developing nations at the same time. Our children will also learn that there is a great big world outside their doorstep if we show it to them.

Regards,
Joan Shifrin
Co-founder
Global Goods Partners

To join the discussion with Ms. Cullen on school fundraisers click here