Fundraising encompasses a broad range of activities, including charitable donations, grants, sponsorships, and the sale of products and services. Below are some of the activities that are part of fundraising.
Sale of Products
The most traditional form of fundraising is selling products that offer a financial return to the school community. Fundraising activities are successful when the product or service offers real value to customers, is innovative and where the return on your investment of time and effort yields a profit.
The Approved Fundraising and Fun Fair Vendors Directory provides a list of approved vendors for schools to work with, as well as the procedures schools must use when planning events and initiatives and spending their raised funds.
What are the benefits of being an Approved Fundraising and Fun Fair Vendor?
- Access: Approved vendors are able to work with any one of our schools and have opportunities to promote their product or service to all staff.
- Value: Our low cost annual fee contains no profit element and is used to recover our administrative costs, as well as make vendor selection more efficient for schools and vendors.
- Compliance: Ensuring adherence with TDSB policies and procedures, as well as industry guidelines, such as the Technical Safety and Standards Association (TSSA).
- Convenience: One-stop shopping for schools and staff for all approved vendors.
What information is required from approved vendors?
- Completion of the online Fundraising and Fun Fair Vendor Application Form .
- Signed agreement between the vendor and the TDSB.
- Submission of a certificate of insurance showing $5 million in liability coverage and naming the TDSB as an additional insured.
- A copy of industry certifications, as is applicable, e.g. Dine Safe certificate, TSSA license, etc.
- Fee payment (by credit card or cheque)
Bingos/Raffles/Lotteries
Schools require lottery licenses for games of chance. A lottery scheme may be defined as any scheme that has the following three components:
- A prize
- A chance to win the prize
- A consideration or fee
Tickets for raffles, bingos and other gaming events may only be purchased by people 18 years of age and over. To apply for a license, please visit the City of Toronto’s Lottery Licences website.
All other types of lottery licenses are issued by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. To hold a gaming event with prizes valued over $50 000, please contact the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario at www.agco.on.ca.
Donations
Donations are gifts of resources or funds to support a specific activity. The TDSB issues charitable receipts or letters of acknowledgement for donations of $25 and over if paid by cheque or cash.
Donations are not tied to specific recognition, endorsement or other publicity, though it is good practice to thank donors, both privately and publicly for their support.
Online Donations
The TDSB's Online Donations Module allows TDSB schools to collect and track donations made online. Donors will receive a tax receipt for any donation amount (there is no minimum donation required). Donors receive their tax receipts via email and they can also retrieve and reprint tax receipts by logging on to the School Cash online website at http://schoolcashonline.com.
All TDSB schools now have access to the Online Donations Module. Please note that the online donations module is intended for TDSB internal fundraising purposes only and funds collected via this method are not intended for redistribution to other external charitable organizations.
If you wish to make a monetary donation to schools or to the TDSB, kindly complete the online Monetary Donations Form.
In-Kind Donations
In-kind donations include new and gently used items, and vehicles. The donor is responsible for providing the donation voluntarily and arranging for delivery of the goods to the school. These types of donations may qualify for a tax receipt.
If a tax receipt is required, the donor must provide proof of the current fair market value of the goods. For new goods, an original invoice should be provided. For used goods and vehicles, the donor must provide a third party appraisal of the merchandise to be donated prior to the donation being made.
If you wish to make an in-kind donation to schools or to the TDSB, kindly complete the online In-Kind Donations Form.
For more information, please contact the Business Development department at 416-395-9694 or email businessdevelopment@tdsb.on.ca.
Fundraising Events
To assist schools with their fundraising and special events, the Approved Fundraising and Fun Fair Vendors Directory provides a list of approved vendors for schools to work with, as well as the procedures schools must use when planning events and initiatives, and spending their raised funds.
If your school wishes to use a vendor that is not yet an Approved Fundraising Vendor, please contact Business Development at 416-395-9694 or via email at businessdevelopment@tdsb.on.ca. If your company wishes to become a TDSB Approved Fundraising Vendor, please complete the online Fundraising and Fun Fair Vendor Application Form .
Grants, Contests and Scholarships
Business Development will support schools and school councils as they consider applying for grants and move through the application process. Grants are reviewed to ensure they align with TDSB policies and procedures.
To view Grant/Competition Opportunities, TDSB staff and school council chairs can visit the Business Development What's This? site on the internal TDSB website.
Sponsorships
Sponsorships often involve pre-determined benefits for the sponsor, including use of corporate logo and/or materials, joint use of corporate logo with the TDSB logo, media opportunities and other forms of recognition. All recognition given to a sponsor must adhere to the Advertising Policy and Procedures. If you are interested in sponsoring an event, please contact the Business Development Coordinator at 416-395-9694 or businessdevelopment@tdsb.on.ca.