By Joe Cool

The Katipunan Fund Drive (KFD), a yearly fundraiser event where classes band together to showcase their business management skills for a cause, is deemed by many as the greatest rite of passage for Atenean students. As this year’s KFD comes to its conclusion—and the event gears up in other basic education units following the senior high’s footsteps—students and teachers alike look back at the fruits of this event; not only reaching their monetary goals, but also touching the hearts of many. However, along with these successes, looking back at this year’s event may expose a lingering sentiment that this was not simply a mere right of passage, but a trial by fire instead. 

A Long-Standing Tradition

Making its debut in 1995 with the title “Pinatubo Fund Drive,” KFD has served as a call for students to be people for others in raising funds for calamity victims, Jesuit Missions, and CSIP Partner Communities through their various businesses. Handled by the Christian Service and Involvement Program (CSIP) Department, the event also acts as a learning opportunity for students in the fields of leadership, entrepreneurship, and service. Following the theme of “KaBayanI,” this year’s KFD especially highlights the important connection one must have to others, to their country, and to themselves in the formation of an Atenean student. 

In its 28-year run, the Fund Drive has carved a place in the hearts of the student body as an experience of their class’ triumph against all odds. From the initial class brainstorming sessions for their business until the fulfilling moment the business sells out, students are able to find the core of KFD within the bonds that are molded because of it. As a completely separate entity from academics and extracurricular involvements, KFD has become an opportunity for students to branch out from their usual routines in the service of others. Mia*, a grade 12 CEO, recalls her motivations in stepping up for this large role. “When my class officers had asked me if I was willing to be CEO, it really made me think ‘Wow, my classmates really trust me to run this class business for them.’ [….] That really motivated me to step up and to help unite the class and sell a product that could really raise funds.” 

Whether it be current students or those who have long left the classroom walls, KFD remains a core memory for many of their short two-year stay in ASHS. Ms. Kaia Catacutan, one of the KFD co-heads for this school year, shares her perspective of being a KFD CEO alumni now playing the role of co-head, stating, “KFD is a becoming — the full circle experience of being an Atenean student and an Atenean teacher. Ang papel ng KFD sa buhay ng Atenista ay [isang] paalala sa kanya na kahit sa gaano kaliit na bagay, may maari siyang madulot para sa ibang tao.”

A Trial by Fire

Well before classes could open their stalls, student CEOs and the KFD team alike had already spent countless hours working in preparation for the first day of selling. From endless meetings and orientations to the stacks of Jotform proposals and Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) registrations, it was clear that the light-hearted event was a large undertaking for all parties involved. Hence, it had come as a surprise to many that the CSIP Department had entrusted this to a very restricted team, limited in both manpower and experience. 

Ms. Kaia continues to articulate how her and her counterpart, Ms. Irish Cariaga, were approached for the position as somewhat of an initiation for them as new teachers. “I did not choose to head KFD this year. Again, I am a first year teacher in the Ateneo. I think it was the trial by fire naming mga first year teachers sa CSIP because last year, another first year teacher in CSIP SHS headed the KFD [with] another veteran. And, this year, the subject area coordinator then chose us to head KFD, knowing that we already had experiences being a student here in Ateneo.”

Despite the good-natured intentions this appointment had sprouted from, it is hard to disregard the great influence left upon students and their businesses because of it. Acknowledging that KFD was made for the holistic formation of students—an expertise of the CSIP Department—it must also be acknowledged that KFD is an intricate event that utilizes a considerable amount of entrepreneurial knowledge, which the department is not fully adept at. 

From the variety of stalls, ranging from food to elaborate events, with their corresponding documents, registration, and approval processes alone, it is evident that the team which handled KFD was in extreme need of more manpower to handle all of the 48 sections of the ASHS. From the perspective of Marga*, a grade 11 CEO, “Siguro ang pinaka puno’t dulo ng problema is sobrang bagal yung office na naghahandle ng food and safety mandates. As well as, wala [rin] enough support from the KFD coordinators pero hindi naman [nanggagaling] sa kanila mismo ‘yung problemang ‘yun. I think that kind of rooted from the fact that only two KFD coordinators were handling the entire event, and they were handling over 40 classes. [So] it’s understandable that concerns aren’t addressed ASAP.”

However, it was beyond these small logistical delays that much greater problems arose, ultimately leading to the postponement and even cancellation of large-scale events, such as those of 11-Torres’ Pic-Torres and 11-Perez’s High Street Event. Due to the short time frame and quick-paced nature of the fund drive as a whole, accelerated decisions and lapses in proper procedures were unavoidably made by both student CEOs and the KFD team themselves. Acknowledging the importance of the various processes each business had undergone in preparation for the KFD proper, Ms. Cariaga shares her sentiments on the unfortunate turn of events. 

“I speak for the team [when I say], we really wanted these events; we were excited for them and were looking forward to them once the proposals were drafted. But then, initial approval does not mean approval within the process for planning the actual event, and I believe that this is a learning opportunity for them. In order for events and things to take place, there are processes and rules that need to be followed, and we have to be aware of those processes in order to protect both parties.”

While the CEOs have been made aware of and complied with the technicalities their businesses required, they too urged the need for proper guidance and communication with their KFD moderators to accomplish these lengthy processes. Nick*, a Grade 11 CEO, shares that although they, as a business and a class, had their own faults, it was vital that their skills as students were complemented by the direction given to them by those seasoned in the field of KFD. The absence of precisely this was a crucial factor in why their business had failed to reach its fruition. 

“Hindi sila gaano [nag-initiate] na pumunta sa amin. Lahat, palagi kami [ang] lumalapit sa kanila, and they really lacked the initiative to approach us whenever we [needed] help. Or whenever we did need help, they took quite some time to reply. […] Meaning, yung KFD moderator [namin], medyo absent siya; he was only present in the last few days because we were very desperate in getting things approved. So, on our part, sila ay nagkulang on adult supervision, on guidance, because we are just basing it off on our experience.”

To Be a KaBAYANi

“Think of it as a group work. Kapag ‘yung isang kagrupo mo ay hindi gumagalaw, do you wait for them until matapos ‘yung gagawin nila despite ‘yung alam mo na ganito ‘yung deadline? Diba hindi?” 

Like Nick’s statement had analogized, the foundation of the event is found in the collaborative effort between the entirety of the ASHS student body with the CSIP Department; thus, all parties involved must be able to communicate and respond to the needs of the other. Recalling the events of this year’s run, it is evident that a major contributing factor to the event’s results was the clear gap made by the limited communication and transparency on both the parts of the student CEOs and KFD Team. 

Marga continues to share, “I think the most important, and ang tunay na nagbibigay pundasyon sa makapangyarihang relasyon ay ang clear line of communication and yun ‘yung nagkulang with the CSIP Department KFD Coordinators and the students themselves. Madaming tanong na hindi klaro nasasagot at dahil dun, nagkaroon ng conflicts and I think that is what should be addressed for next year’s KFD.” 

In spite of this, it is paramount that we, as a community, hold true to the meaning behind KFD even in the midst of all the strains and struggles it had caused. Circling back to the theme of KaBayanI—kapwa, bayan, and sarili—we must acknowledge that the real success one’s KFD business may achieve is not found in the profit made but rather within the people formed because of the event. Sharing the sentiments of the KFD Team, Ms. Cariaga believes that the event had been a success precisely because of this concept. “Even though they had their own struggles, we can see that they enthusiastically and eagerly sold their products, marketed their products, and supported each other’s KFDs. And, I believe that’s the meaning of KaBayanI.”

At its core, the Katipunan Fund Drive continues to demonstrate its connotation as a right of passage as it furthers the initiation one has to the school through building the community within it. Fundamentally, the fund drive remains a collective effort in being aware of and reaching out to those beyond the walls of the Ateneo in order to truly be a school for and with others. 

Names marked with an asterisk (*) are pseudonyms and were used in place for students who opted to remain anonymous.