A school donation box offers benefits far beyond the most visible ones. It is a formula for giving back to the community and a model of assistance that can improve people’s lives.
What are Donation Boxes, and why do they work?
Donation boxes may have different formulas or formats, but they all have the same purpose: to make it easier for students to give back through donations. The donated items placed in the boxes generate more community feeling and go towards school improvement and sustainability.
In general, it is considered that having a donation box in the school is a great pedagogical idea as it contributes to improving aspects such as solidarity, good habits, integration, and community feeling.
The donation box is often attributed as a very important component related to philanthropy and positive spirit. Although it is not the only fundraising formula for schools, it is one of the most effective and stable, as it can maintain it over time.
There are different formulas. As we said, the donation boxes initially focus on the money. Thus, they were boxes with a very simple model to make cash donations and were accompanied by a very clear message calling for the contribution of gifts.
What they look like and where they are located
The boxes are located in public and easily accessible places. The aim is to integrate them naturally into the school environment. There is no single model: they can range from simple cardboard boxes used as piggy banks to more complex packages designed to receive goods instead of money.
Generally speaking, the proceeds from donation boxes are intended to benefit the students. That has to do with, for example, buying new books, paying for certain excursions, pedagogical or cultural options, etc.
If we think about it, this is a different formula from conventional financing in which everyone contributes a pre-determined amount for such activities. The idea is to be able to contribute according to what we can afford. That also generates a very important awareness of the value of things and, of course, of the importance of money.
Other benefits of donation boxes
We have mentioned some main benefits, such as contributing to extracurricular expenses, field trips, buying books, and improving community and positive attitudes. But there are more benefits we should consider when considering a school donation box.
Reducing the tax burden is one of them. Keep in mind that a charitable donation obtained through these boxes can be used to supplement school tax burdens. It may not be a very big tax relief, but it is significant.
Another important issue is, for example, the possibility of supporting students with fewer opportunities. We can see this when we make donation boxes of school materials that can be destined for those students with fewer resources. In addition, these actions are generally anonymous regarding what is contributed and who receives it.
On the other hand, a very interesting issue is that the active donation boxes end up transcending to the students. It is common for the teaching and administrative staff and even the school board itself to join together for certain charitable causes around this type of action continued over time.
In other words, in addition to maintaining more or less stable donation campaigns, in many cases, specific actions are generated to respond to a given situation. Let us imagine, for example, a natural disaster that has affected part of the student body especially, or the support of all elements of the school for an environmental sustainability campaign.
The latter is another important part of encouraging civic spirit and supporting good causes: environmental causes are only part of it, as social causes are also supported.