Question: Should we have a contract?

A local restaurant scheduled our PTO for fundraising nights without consulting our organizers first. When the schedule was set they emailed it to us last minute. Generally, our PTO fundraising coordinators use a contract/agreement when we fundraise with a local restaurants. This restaurant has declined to use a contract or agreement. I'm just curious if any other PTO does fundraisers without agreements? Are we suppose to use agreements for IRS purposes? PTO President

Asked by Anonymous

Answers:

Community Advice

mum24kids writes:
No, you don't have to use them for IRS purposes, but it makes sense to have something in writing just so there is no confusion between the two parties involved. For example, let's say you had a conversation with the manager and swore he said he would give you 20% of the night's proceeds, but when the check comes you find it was only 10%: no agreement=no leg to stand on. It doesn't have to be this big fancy legal document, but it's better to have the terms spelled out in writing somehow.

Advice from PTO Today

Rose H writes:
Great advice, mum24kids! Yes, some kind of letter of agreement is important. You might also try reaching out to some of the other PTOs in your town and ask if they've done business with this local restaurant and how they handled it. Could give you some useful information. Good luck.