What Does it Mean to Effectively Fundraise at Riverdale?
Fundraising, when leveraged effectively, has immense potential to transform lives and provide substantial aid to those in need. At Riverdale, students are encouraged to apply for fundraisers and drives that support organizations they believe need attention. For the past several years, Riverdale students had to fill out an application detailing various questions to secure approval for a fundraiser. The questions on the Google form application ask students to consider how their fundraiser ties into the Riverdale community and what beneficial learning will occur throughout the fundraising process. When proposing organizations to support, students are asked to be mindful that Riverdale is both a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a community that represents a multitude of identities, experiences, and perspectives. Therefore, students cannot fundraise for organizations that support or have any military or strong political affiliation.
Last year, current junior Leo Ziff organized a coat drive for New York Cares, collecting over thirty coats that were donated to New York residents. Ziff’s request to fundraise was quickly approved because his coat drive positively impacted people throughout NYC. Ziff credits the simplicity of his process to New York Cares’s clarity on how drives are handled: the organization is structured around receiving coats from drives, so it gives very clear guidance. The execution of the drive was smooth, Ziff stressing the benefits of “finding an organization that is used specifically for fundraising” He purposely focused on an organization that made it easy to collect supplies for them. All Ziff had to do was use New York Care’s website to register where he would be dropping the coats off. Sometimes, people can get lost in the web of communication, so Ziff emphasized the importance of finding an organization that is clear and easy to work with.
In addition, senior Emily Faber recounts her journey from sweetening lives with a bake sale for City Meals on Wheels to enriching minds through a book drive for South American migrant children on the Upper West Side. Upon meeting all the necessary drive requirements, such as finding an advisor and filling out an application, Faber’s idea was approved. To promote her drive, Faber printed out and hung up fliers through the Riverdale hallways. Understanding the importance of her drive, the Riverdale community donated an impressive 500 books. Faber stressed how although Riverdale currently offers fantastic resources and backing for initiating drives or fundraisers, the bulk of the drive is self-regulated; nobody will hold your hand through the process.
On the other hand, Faber’s bake sale was a slightly different experience. For Faber, approval took more time than the process of organizing the bake sale. The school tends to be more cautious about green-lighting bake sales because handling money in fundraising is complex with various factors such as collection, expenditure, and meeting the organization’s needs. Once the bake sale got the go-ahead and was in action, they were only allowed to accept cash payments for organization purposes, limiting the potential profits since not all students carry cash.
Overall, Faber’s two initiatives took a lot of effort, but with hard work, she was able to turn her passions into realities. Faber also explained that she felt her experience was simple because neither of her fundraisers had political affiliations. She shared that she believed Riverdale has “resistance to things that not everyone might agree with because supporting something not everyone approves of is difficult and could cause controversy.”
Riverdale’s caution is why the fundraising process has been different for clubs like Riverdale’s Jewish affinity group, known at Riverdale as “Jewish in New York,” or JiNY. The Co-Leader of JiNY, senior Daniel Levey, shared with us his fundraising process amidst the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Levey explained how when organizing any drive or event, the school not only has to approve the topic but also understand exactly where the proceeds are going and whom they are benefiting.
Riverdale’s stipulation for events to back non-political, non-governmental, or militaristic charities meant that JiNY had to be more selective in their process to aid people affected by the current conflict in the Middle East. Levey explained how “there’s more consideration when you are fundraising in a political environment. For example, getting books for underprivileged students in New York is a lot different.” Faber described how because recent events in the Middle East have impacted the ability to fundraise, “it is extra important to look for non-political charities...and the school has to be comfortable supporting it. The school does not want to be...biased; they are trying to be a neutral organization that supports all people.”
Following the Hamas attack on Southern Israel on October 7, students wanted to collect donations for organizations in Israel or Gaza.
Ms. Rachel Klein, Middle and Upper School Director of Service Learning, was tasked with finding non-partisan, neutral humanitarian organizations doing work on the ground. She and her Service Learning Team identified multiple organizations that they hoped would appeal to many different student interests.
After many conversations with students and faculty, Riverdale decided to provide an additional update to the fundraising guidelines. Students can now fundraise for humanitarian organizations that are specific to Israel or Gaza. To navigate the issue of neutrality, JiNY partnered with an organization called the Afya Foundation, which assists all individuals impacted by the current conflict in the Middle East.
JiNY is not the only student group navigating how to properly fundraise at Riverdale in this context. According to Ms. Klein, “All bake sale and fundraising applications have to fill out the same application, answer the same questions, and put in the same amount of effort if they want their application to be approved.” For example, the Meet Me in the Middle (MMM) affinity group also held a bake sale recently, supporting the Global Empowerment Mission, which assists those affected by the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Israel.
These experiences highlight the broader lesson that perseverance and determination can lead to meaningful impact within the community. While it sometimes takes extra time and effort, it is worth it in the end when hundreds of people’s lives are changed for the better.
