Box Tops for Education

{{Short description|Fundraising program}}

Image:Box Tops for Education.jpg

The Box Tops for Education (BTFE) program is an American school fundraising program sponsored by General Mills.{{cite book |last1=Molnar |first1=Alex |title=School Commercialism |date=2013 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781136730160 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IencAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Box+tops+for+education%22&pg=PT43 |access-date=24 February 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119699819/cereal-box-tops-can-earn-cash-for-your/ |title=Cereal box tops can earn cash for your school|publisher=The Victoria Advocate|first1=Martin|last1=Sloan|date=September 16, 2001|page=5D}} Schools can earn 10 cents for every qualifying product purchased by parents and turned in to the school. The program began in California in 1996 as a way for schools to earn money through collecting coupons, known as boxtops, from participating products.{{cite news |last1=Audrey |first1=Nicole |title=20 Years On, Box Tops Are Still Raising Thousands of Dollars for Schools |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/20-years-box-tops-are-still-raising-thousands-dollars-schools-n647741 |access-date=24 February 2023 |publisher=NBC |date=13 September 2016}} By 2001, the program had distributed over $50 million to participating schools. As of 2016 it was considered the largest education cause marketing campaign,{{cite book |last1=Strach |first1=Patricia |title=Hiding Politics in Plain Sight |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190606855 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKCkDAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Box+tops+for+education%22&pg=PA92|access-date=24 February 2023}} and given away almost $1 billion to schools as of 2024.{{Cite web |title=BTFE |url=https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/about?redi=302#:~:text=ALMOST%20$1%20BILLION%20EARNED%20FOR,with%20products%20they%20already%20buy! |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=www.boxtops4education.com}}

In 2019, the program switched from physical box tops to a mobile application. Since this change, rates of redemption have fallen.{{cite news |last1=Kelley |first1=Lora |date=7 April 2021 |title=The Dark Side of Box Tops for Education |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/04/box-tops-education-struggles-after-switch-app/618532/ |access-date=24 February 2023 |publisher=The Atlantic}}