Dallas mom celebrates school's "alternative fundraiser" in viral Facebook post

DALLAS, TX (KTRK) -- Dallas area mom Dee Wise Heinz created quite a stir on Facebook this week with a post featuring her child's "alternative fundraiser" school PTA letter.

Heinz posted the letter on Tuesday and it's gained quite a bit of attention with parents fed up with traditional fundraising efforts.

Heinz blacked out the school's name in her Facebook post and shared this message: "I love that our school PTA has a great sense of humor. This form came home with our 7th grader yesterday."

The letter featured a number of options for parents that do not include buying wrapping paper, baking or walkathons. The options included several levels of cold, hard cash accompanied by candid statements many parents in Heinz's comments have celebrated:

"$15 I do not want to bake, so here is the money I would have spent on those cupcakes.

$25 I do not want to hit up friends, family, and co-workers, so here is the money I would have spent buying wrapping paper.

$50 I do not want to walk, swim or run in any activity that has the word "thon" in it. Here is the money I would have spent on my child's 'free' t-shirt.

$75 I don't want to attend any fancy balls, so here is the money I would have spent on a new outfit.

$100 I really wouldn't have helped anyway, so here is $100 to forget my name."

The final option gives parents a chance to fill in their own amount with the message: "I am making this donation to express my appreciation for having nothing to buy, sell or do except fill out this form."

Many who commented on the post were supportive of the effort. Maca Ferguson wrote in the post's comments, "This. Is. Awesome."

Another comment by Alison Gibba Logan reads, "I was wondering about such options when my daughter came home with her first fundraiser the second week of school. I'd have much rather seen these options!!"

Since posting the letter, Heinz has appeared on "Good Morning America," as well as numerous other news outlets.

She told ABC News, "I just shared it with my friends ... because most parents can relate to it. When it started to go viral, I called the PTA person and she explained that they'd done this for two or three years and it was a big success."

Heinz says she believes fundraisers serve a "valuable purpose," but just thought the letter was a fresh and funny approach to raising money for schools.

"There have been a few critics saying if you do this, you don't have an interest in supporting your child," Heinz told ABC News. "That's not the case."

Heinz added, "I don't want to diminish the value of fundraisers, but time is a valuable resource also, so I appreciated having the option. With three kids, there's never just one fundraiser and they're never just that simple, so it does take a lot more time than you realize."