Parent alleges MMSD-endorsed fundraising app pressures students, requests independent probe
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Summary
A Madison parent told the school board that use of the SNAP Mobile fundraising platform in athletics pressured students and families to share contacts and publicly displayed donations, and requested an independent investigation citing district policies on bullying and solicitation.
Patrick Grant, an MMSD parent and booster volunteer, told the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education on Sept. 29 that he believes the district-endorsed use of the SNAP Mobile fundraising app for athletics violates district policy and harms students and families.
Grant said his concerns began after a back-to-school sports night where a SNAP Mobile representative encouraged teams to collect names, email addresses and phone numbers on school grounds for targeted donation campaigns. “This directly violates policy 45.10, the anti-bullying policy,” Grant said, and he asked the board to open an independent investigation.
Grant told the board that one fundraising page he reviewed showed just two anonymous donors of 179 total and that SNAP Mobile’s public donor displays and “social cheers” can reveal who has not given and create social pressure. He also noted the platform takes a 20% cut of donations and asks donors to cover a credit-card fee and tip the platform.
Grant said the district’s money-solicitation policy (policy 41.21) requires reporting by grade, building or school and prohibits collection practices that cause embarrassment; he argued that SNAP Mobile’s design and district promotion of the platform risk violating that rule.
“Make it easier for coaches and parents to work together, not drive a wedge between those with means and those without,” Grant said. He asked the board to (1) investigate the platform’s use, (2) ensure any investigator is independent from those who selected SNAP Mobile, and (3) reconsider use of SNAP Mobile for winter or spring sports and other fundraising.
The superintendent acknowledged the comment period; no board action or vote on SNAP Mobile occurred during the Sept. 29 meeting. Grant’s written concerns and public comments were added to the meeting record.
