Better Schoolhouse Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to Better Schoolhouse! Read on to learn everything you've ever wanted to know about our site.
So what exactly is Better Schoolhouse?
Why did you decide to try to help schools?
So how does this actually work?
How much can I earn for my school?
You're saying I can earn cash for my school without spending anything myself?
So how else can I help besides filling out offers?
How do you police your offers?
So.... what happens if I put in fake information in order to complete more surveys/offers?
How long does it take for the school to get the money?
Do schools need to pay anything to sign up?
I work for a school - how can I help?
Can I use Better Schoolhouse to earn money for my college?
Can I use Better Schoolhouse to earn money for my club/team/special group?
Can I change which school I want to earn money for?
How do I know if a payment was sent to my school?
My account hasn't updated the total amount I've earned yet. What's up?
What's this leaderboard?
How do I use your forums?
What's your "Champions" program?
How can I reach your customer service?
So what exactly is Better Schoolhouse?
Simply put, Better Schoolhouse lets you easily earn cash for your elementary, middle or high school. Fill out one of our free surveys or take advantage of one of our partner's offers, and cold, hard cash will be sent to the school of your choice! It's FREE to join, and you can choose to do as many offers as you want on a daily basis.
In short:
- It's easy
- It's free
- It's much more efficient than traditional real-life fundraising, or programs that require you to buy something and have a small percentage donated to your school.
Really?
Yup! The folks behind Better Schoolhouse (BSH) have run successful online marketing companies for over a decade. We also happen to care a ton about education - most of us are parents, and check out our About page for the strangely high number of teachers in our families. We've been looking for a way to help out schools through our business, and finally hit on it with Better Schoolhouse.
Why did you decide to try to help schools?
You don't need us to tell you about the funding crisis facing America's schools. In far too many places, good teachers are being let go, important programs like PE, band, and sports are being cut, and even basic supplies are dwindling. That's not how schools are supposed to be, and we want to do something about it.
So how does this actually work?
It's pretty simple. Basically, there are a number of market research firms that want to know what you think, and vendors that want your business and are willing to pay for quality referrals. We've worked hard for years to establish strong relationships with these folks, building a network so that they can efficiently reach their most desired customers. Better Schoolhouse connects you with these folks, and then sends a large portion of the money these businesses pay us to the school of your choice.
How much can I earn for my school?
It's really up to you! Each offer can earn a different amount, as you'll see on the BSH offers page. Some, which typically require a purchase, can earn $20, $30, or even $50 for your school at one time. Others, such as surveys, can offer a dollar or two per completion. There is no real limit on how many you can do, although you may not be eligible for every offer.
You're saying I can earn cash for my school without spending anything myself?
Yup! We strive to provide a number of market research surveys that you can fill out to earn money for your school, without spending a dime. They're a win-win - the companies get the information they need to help their clients design attractive products, and your school gets the cash. Plus, it's designed so that you can come back every day if you want to and find something new.
Now, you've probably noticed that surveys don't pay out as much as the other offers. That of course is because you don't need to buy anything yourself. But they're extremely powerful when you start thinking about the network effect. Let's say you get 9 other people to fill out 4 surveys a week as well on behalf of your school (basically one every other day) at $1.50 per survey. For that small time commitment, you've earned about $240 for your school that month - more than many bake sales or other fundraising efforts. And that's just for a few minutes every other day! Going a bit farther, that's $2,880 in a year, just from those 10 people! Now, picture what a difference you could make if you got 20 others, or 50, or 100 to do this.
That's what we love about the site - it gives people the opportunity to help their school simply by recruiting others to use it too!
So how else can I help besides filling out offers?
Help spread the word by:
- Using the Facebook "Like" button to let those in your network know about the site.
- Posting completed surveys/offer in your Facebook stream (you'll be prompted to do so once you're done) so that others can do them too.
- Signing up for our email newsletter - another way for us to provide opportunities for you to earn money for your school.
- Telling your school about the program and encouraging them to contact us. We can then work with them on how to raise money more efficiently, as well as how to receive their funds.
- Letting us know if you work for or know of a company that might want to participate with Better Schoolhouse. We'll gladly work with them to figure out how they can use BSH to drive business while also doing good for their communities.
- Participating in our forums and letting us know if an offer doesn't work, or generally seems fishy so we can remove it.
How do you police your offers?
We work very hard at providing only high-quality offers - we do our best to weed out any with gimmicks, tricks, or those that generally aren't up to our high standards. But some can get through sometimes, especially since we work with so many partners. If you find an offer that results in unexpected charges, doesn't work, seems misleading, or otherwise seems a bit fishy, please let us know in our forums or at support@betterschoolhouse.com so we can investigate and remove it. All that said, make sure you're reading the details of each offer before you complete it so you know what to expect.
So....what happens if I put in fake information in order to complete more surveys/offers?
In short, don't. While this may seem like a good way to earn money for your school, we STRONGLY ask you not to do this. Make sure you're only put in valid information when completing an offer. Our ability to provide these offers - and hence, to help you earn money for your school - depends on us being able to provide quality information to our partners. Basically, if we're giving them junk, they're not going to use BSH any more, and we all lose out.
How long does it take for the school to get the money?
We aim to get schools their money as quickly as possible, although it can depend on how much has been earned. At the end of each month, we do a final tally of how much has been earned for each school, and will then subtract any fraudulent earnings. If we're sending the school $50 or more, a check will typically be sent out by the end of the following month. If less than $50 has been earned, we'll send them a check on a quarterly basis. Every dollar earned gets sent directly to the school in cold, hard cash.
One note about this: the amount of time it can take for us to receive payment from our vendors can vary. It's usually quick, but occasionally it can take a few months. Because we of course can't send money that we don't yet have, the appropriate amount will be sent to the school in the month or quarter in which we receive the funds. For example, if you earn $50 for your school in March, and we receive the payment from the vendor in May, the $50 will be sent to your school in May. This lag will sometimes cause the amount that we show a school has earned for a particular month (which is calculated in the month that the survey or offer is completed and verified) to differ from the amount they'll actually receive that month. But don't worry - the school will end up receiving all of the earned funds!
Do schools need to pay anything to sign up?
Nope. In fact, they don't even need to know about BSH in order to benefit. You earn money for a school, and we'll send it (while giving them a heads-up, of course).
I work for a school - how can I help?
Great! The best place to start is at www.betterschoolhouse.com/schools - that page has several suggestions on how to maximize Better Schoolhouse for your school. We'd also love to hear what you think about the site, especially if you have ideas on how we could make it even more effective. Drop us a line at support@betterschoolhouse.com!
Can I use Better Schoolhouse to earn money for my college?
There are a lot of different rules regarding donations to colleges and universities, so at this time we've decided to focus on schools in the K-12 range. We may expand this to include colleges and universities in the future.
Can I use Better Schoolhouse to earn money for my club/team/special group?
Because this is already a complicated business, we're focusing on schools in the K-12 range at the moment. However, we've love to expand this to include other groups, such as school bands, individual sports teams, or what have you in the future.
Can I change which school I want to earn money for?
Of course! You can switch as often as you like. For example, you can designate one offer to benefit your son's elementary school, and the next for your daughter's middle school.
How do I know if a payment was sent to my school?
You'll see a running total of all funds you've earned for your school in your account (and on the leaderboard, if you're super-awesome!). Checks are sent to each school on a monthly or quarterly basis, depending on how much was earned. We don't send out a message whenever a payment is sent, but we encourage you to check with the school to see if it arrived (and to make sure they keep an eye out for it)!
My account hasn't updated the total amount I've earned yet. What's up?
Depending on the nature of the offer you completed, the time before your account is updated can vary. Some offers will be reflected in your account immediately, while others may take a few days because the vendor needs to verify your information. Please also keep in mind that you’ll only be credited for fully-completed offers – this means that you provided valid information, completed all the steps, and met the vendor’s criteria. Partially-completed or incomplete offers won’t be credited to your account, of course.
If a reasonable amount of time has passed and your account still hasn't been updated, please contact us at support@betterschoolhouse.com so we can look into it. To save yourself some time, please don't contact the company whose offer you completed, as they won't be able to locate your particular transaction. We'll take care of you!
We want to highlight the people who are making a huge impact for their schools, so we created our leaderboard. Hopefully we'll see you on there!
Simply sign in by using one of your already-existing accounts, such as Facebook Connect, Yahoo, AOL, or several others, and post away!
What's your "Champions" program?
Interested in spreading the word about BSH so your school can benefit? Become a Champion! We'd be looking to you to help us contact the right people in the school to make sure they're getting the full benefit from BSH, to help inform others about the site, and generally be a cheerleader for your school. You'll also receive "inside" news and information about BSH, and have an opportunity to provide direct feedback to us. There's no cost to be a Champion, and more than one person can represent a particular school. If you're interested, please see www.betterschoolhouse.com/champions for all the details.
How can I reach your customer service?
You're already at the right spot with these FAQs. You should also stop by our Community forums, as you'll find friendly people willing to help in any way they can. You can also drop us a line at support@betterschoolhouse.com - please just keep in mind that we're a small company, so it might take us a little bit to get back to you.
