Some schools may be reappraising their goals, he said, and "the other impact is if they had taken out a bond to help pay for facilities upgrades and had a variable interest rate that had been historically low, they may have just been greeted with a whole new set of problems."
One sensitive issue for schools is how aggressively to solicit financial contributions from hard-hit families. Danese Bardot, director of development at Pacific Hills, said parents are being encouraged to make monthly gifts instead of one lump-sum donation. So far, she said, this year's fundraising is outpacing last year's.
"We're continuing to ask them to make decisions to support us and reminding them that this is an investment in their school," she said. "What they're spending [monthly] for the cost of a cup of Starbucks, they should consider pledging that $25 to the school."
Besides direct mail and telephone appeals, Pacific Hills will coordinate its annual gala with an online auction, using a service that promotes these events to anyone who wants to support educational causes. More schools are using such technology to reach a broader market in the hope of increasing fundraising.
Cambridge, Mass.-based cMarket, one of several online auction firms, reports that K-12 school online auctions have raised more than $16 million on its site since 2005. California ranks first in the nation in money raised, with more than $6.7 million -- more than $4 million of that for schools in Southern California.
St. John Bosco High School, a Catholic campus in Bellflower, opened its first online auction last month and hopes to raise $10,000 before it closes Nov. 24 with items such as two VIP tickets for "Dancing With the Stars" (valued as "priceless") and an autographed Home Run Derby gold baseball from all-star rookie Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays.
At a time when the school is challenged not only by the economy but also by competition from other nearby Catholic campuses as well as public schools, Bosco has to exhaust all resources, said Erin Wilson, director of annual events.
"This has opened us up to so many more people than just families of Bosco," Wilson said. "We've been around for 70 years, but times are changing."
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carla.rivera@latimes.com
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