Fundraiser Issue Talking Points

Question:  How do funds raised by D.A.R.E. America fundraisers directly benefit a local D.A.R.E. program?

Response:  The money raised by D.A.R.E. America’s fundraising team in local communities throughout the country benefits each local D.A.R.E. program in the United States by:

• Subsidizing the cost of program workbooks. The price of elementary school program workbooks has increased only 30 cents in 35 years due to D.A.R.E. America’s subsidization of the printing cost.
• Funding the development and evaluation of new D.A.R.E. curricula and lessons. D.A.R.E. America funds the development of all curricula which over the past decade has included the keepin’ it REAL elementary and middle school curricula, the myPlaybook high school curriculum modules, and the new Opioid/OTC-Rx K-12 lessons, a new Teen suicide awareness/prevention lesson, as well as other enhancement lessons including bullying and internet safety.
• Subsidizing the cost of D.A.R.E. Officer Training (DOTs). D.A.R.E. America pays for many annual and bi-annual DOTs while also providing partial support for others via direct grants and payment of travel expenses for officers.  Overall, D.A.R.E. America each year spends hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting DOTs.
• Providing DOT graduates with curriculum at no cost
• Funding MOT and MOT participation of state D.A.R.E. training staff
• Subsidizing the cost of the Annual International Training Conference. While there is a fee to attend the annual training conference, D.A.R.E. America subsidizes the overall cost of the conference by more than $500,000 to keep the cost low for attendees.
• Delivering children’s toys and care kits for the homeless to local communities. In 2017 alone, 650,000 toys were delivered to local law enforcement agencies so they could deliver them to hospitals and needy families during the holidays.  Additionally, 68,000 of “care kits” for homeless and displaced citizens were delivered to the Red Cross and other aid agencies providing assistance to victims of hurricanes and fires that ravaged major cities and regions throughout the country.
• D.A.R.E. America’s fundraising teams serve as an army of grassroots ambassadors for the D.A.R.E. program connecting with 38,000 people per week throughout the United States, many of whom are not familiar with today’s D.A.R.E. program, thereby helping to educate nearly 2 million people about the importance of the D.A.R.E. program to students, families, and local communities.