Question: Balancing our Budget

I am a president who came into term with a $3000 deficit. We need to cut some things. 100% of profits from Label programs (around $10,000) has traditionally been handed to the teachers for classroom enrichment. Can the PTO keep some of the profit and give the teachers less? We don't want to take everything away but we need to get in better financial shape. We do several fundraising activities but none with as big of a profit.

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
You absolutely can cut the amount of money you donate from your labels program. But talk it over with the principal first. That's a pretty significant cut and he may have some ideas of other things that you could trim to reduce the impact. In addition, it might be time to reevaluate your fundraisers. You're better off doing two or three large fundraisers than a series of small ones. Check out our Fundraising Strategies page for information on how to choose a fundraiser and how to make your existing fundraiser better, and our Fundraising Ideas page for information on specific types of fundraisers. Good luck!