While I cannot find the link, I do recall us discussing how to handle charities that continuously send fundraising letters -- even after they have exhausted any money we have sent them.

But what would you do if that perpetual fundraiser is an adorable niece or next-door neighbor? One writer to Parenting wondered the same thing:

My niece always hits me up for her school fundraisers. My kids don’t solicit family members this much. How can I get it to stop?

Parenting contributor Denene Millner offered two pieces of advice. The first one I thought was rather harsh:

Look, I want to help out, and I’m sure you do, too. But that doesn’t mean you’ve got to pull out the checkbook every time your niece opens her backpack. You could start by practicing the fine art of saying "No, thanks." Nobody said you have to buy the goods, even if the seller is your sister’s child. This won’t be easy, and may not go over well with your sister. But it sounds like you may need to be hard-line to keep your sanity.

Because my parents did not have much money, I had to go door-to-door to sell raffle tickets and chocolate bars for my Catholic school in Miami. To this day, I always buy from children who knock on my door, regardless of cause.

But I do realize that not everyone has the resources to continuously answer that call especially since even public schools have to rely on fundraisers to keep their doors open.

Even my own household has some (unspoken) ground rules when it comes to school fundraisers. While DH and I purchase the bulk of raffle tickets for Ari’s school, we sell only to our family, some neighbors -- the ones on our street -- and closest friends. In return, we buy things from our neighbors’ and friends’ children, which leads me to Millner’s second -- and sensible -- piece of advice: