Getting socked during fundraising season? Taking suggestions for Our Best Life

CLEVELAND, Ohio - My middle school neighbor knocked on the door recently, asking if we would donate to Volley for the Cure, a fundraiser to end breast cancer.

Absolutely. It's a huge health issue. I wrote a check.

That ask was the first of many. It's fundraising season, all.

Booster clubs, sports teams, elementary school PTAs are all asking for money. They're coming to your door and sending you emails about raffle tickets, discount cards, candy bars, popcorn, wrapping paper or pots of chrysanthemums.

All are for worthy causes, to pay for field trips and facility upgrades and new equipment - or to find a cure for cancer.

Some of the products I genuinely want, whether it's that pot of mums or Girl Scout cookies. Sometimes fundraisers are actually fun events I'm happy to attend. Sometimes organizations partner with restaurants, which give organizations a cut of the profits for one night.

But the sheer number of requests can be overwhelming. And most of us dread asking friends, family and neighbors for money.

On top of requests for school and community fundraisers, my daughter has been asked to sell $250 in raffle tickets for her swim team, and my son has been asked to sell $200 in tickets for his hockey team.

We're supposed to post the link on social media, so the amazing prizes "will sell themselves."

I have not had that experience.

Fundraisers are easy to ignore, unless you're asking someone directly. The only people we want to ask are my kids' grandparents, since our friends are all managing their own kids' fundraisers.

It's not a small request, to ask someone to buy a $20 raffle ticket through an online platform that charges a $2.95 processing fee on every transaction. (Seriously?!)

The idea is laudable: community members voluntarily supporting programs that help the community. All of us lending a hand to lighten the load.

It's the practical aspect that's icky.

More than half of school principals dislike fundraisers, according to the National Association of Elementary School Principals. About 75% of American schools conduct one to five fundraisers each year, and 87% believe they reap valuable returns.

I still remember the magazine sales of my elementary school years, when we could win plastic sunglasses or keychains for selling so many subscriptions. The kaleidoscope of prizes was mesmerizing.

Now, kids can win accolades or donut parties for selling. At one school, kids who send a dozen emails can have a Kona Ice party, and if they sell enough they can skip school to go to Kalahari water park. That's some serious coersion.

Obviously, selling is not mandatory. Neither is buying.

You don't have to give when asked. You can politely decline. You can give only to causes you truly believe in and feel good about.

For example, I have asked friends, family, businesses and my social media world to support stillbirth prevention through Lydie's Loop , annual family events in Bath and Columbus my sister plans in honor of her daughter, who was stillborn in 2014. The money supports Count the Kicks, which is making huge strides to save the more than 20,000 babies who are stillborn every year in the United States.

What about the rest of the barrage of requests? (I hate to complain about a problem without at least positing a solution.)

You could ignore the fundraisers and hope others sell more than their fair share. You could buy hundreds of dollars of raffle tickets yourself - and hope you win the grand prize.

But adding a couple hundred dollars to a sports season that already costs families thousands of dollars each year is a tough ask.

Maybe you could charge participants individually for all the things fundraisers raise money for: pizza parties, team T-shirts, trips, etc.

Maybe you could make fundraising a group-bonding activity, getting paid by an outside vendor for doing work. When I was in National Honor Society in high school, we worked the concession stand at Blossom Music Center to raise money.

Last week, I was thrilled to drop off two garbage bags of old clothes, coffee mugs and household goods for the high school senior class, to sell to the local thrift store . That's a win-win-win.

I'm also happy to buy a ticket for a night out with friends, to support a good cause.

If you have other suggestions to manage fundraising season, I'd love to hear them. Anything besides raffle tickets.

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