Donations to Individuals--I think I understand. PTO monies should NEVER be used to give donations to individuals regardless of their tragedy, correct? I printed out Publication 557, regarding 501c(3) organizations and in my cursory review I did not find any language concerning this issue. Is there a specific IRS Ruling that I can get that deals with this issue? At our PTO it was suggested that we amend our by-laws to include an item on guidelines for helping our families. However, after reading Publication 557 that would be in violation of the IRS because these types of donations are now allowed. There has been a longstanding precedent set at our school to help families in need but no definitive guidelines to follow to determine what kinds of needs or how much to donate. It sounds like we need to abolish this practice, true? Someone mentioned setting up a "sunshine fund" but it sounds like those funds need to come from outside sources and NOT fundraising money, correct? We had a 1st graders dad die unexpectly last year and I requested a cash donation and was turned down because we HAD TO HAVE A RECEIPT. That was the only criteria. In lieu of cash they decided to buy small gifts for the child because that way they would have a RECEIPT

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by SFilak:
We just went through the exact same scenario. We were informed that our PTA CANNOT pay any funeral expenses for the family. That is not within the scope of a 501(c)3. There is a specific clause in the IRS charter that "no part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, blah, blah, blah or other private persons except for services rendered in furtharance of the organization" &lt;~~~~not a direct quote, but the legaleeze was killin me! I think that would be the "higher set" that she may be speaking of. It's actually right in our by-laws also.

Funny, a few people were mad that our board declined to contribute PTA money to the funeral fund. When the suggestion was made that we pass the hat and contribute personally on behalf of the "school parents", they were not so quick to take out the checkbook, but they were ready to send a few hundred from the PTA account.

The board also declined to contribute because we didn't want to set a precedent. We pay funeral expenses for A, B has a fire, C has surgery, where do you draw the line? This could be a very slippery slope, and the next thing you know you have become the local charity. I don't mean to sound cold-hearted, but this is not the purpose of PTA/O.

As I stated before, it seems like its much easier to help when its someone elses money.

Just my humble opinion.

Suzi<hr></blockquote>

Hi Tim--I am going by NYS PTA's manual which states that "While a PTA may never donate money to another group or organization or to any individual person or family, it may work cooperatively in coalitions if the purpose is within the Objects of PTA." "then they have a question and answer section "Can a PTA have a fundraiser to raise money for a stuent who needs mediccal procedures? Answer..No Funds cannot be raised through the PTA for an individual, no matter how worthy the cause."
This is why we hve a separate account that we solicit donations from anyone who would like to contribute--something like a sunshine fund- this is used for circumstances like the one given in the example.
We have many tragic events and happy events in our school, and we never allow our fundraised dollars to be used for these events.... It would have to be included in our budget line if we were going to used PTA money($ that were fundraised) for this particular purpose .When we propose our budget it states all the money we anticipate to make from fundraisers and how they will be allocated to certain projects. This must be voted on and approved by membership--by not having a line on your budget for this type of event you are spending money without approval and without disclosure. ..if you start spending money on something that does not appear in your budget using PTA funds, you can get into trouble from what i have been told, and put your tax exempt status in jeopardy..

This subject has brought out the best and the worst in some of us no doubt. I must say to SFilak that the subject here was not about the outside community helping, but about a PTA/PTO 'family' helping. Sometimes doing the "right" thing is not the same as following the established rules. I fully agree with Chrystal that our school is a family. When I walk on the campus as my son's mother, I am just that. When I walk on that campus as the PTVO President or any member of PTVO for that matter, I have 751 children and they are all mine. Would I deny my own child a funeral donation? No. Absolutely, I would find a way to raise funds for this family, be it a car wash, spaghetti dinner, personal plea to others in the area. I'm a natural born fund raiser. In answer to the question of is it right that the PTA/PTO not be able to donate? It most certainly is not. Again, the school children raised the money. It is theirs. It should be spent with the best of intentions. What, in your humble opinion, makes a piece of playground equiptment more important than a $100 donation to a child's funeral? A child who will never get to play on it, see it, touch it? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure if the question were posed to the students, the teachers, the PTA/PTO body, that the answer would have been to donate the money in addition to holding a fundraiser of some sort. When I spoke about the difference between a PTA and PTO, I meant that the PTO, while having and using strict guidelines, we have what is probably a little more freedom to do for our own, not that we have more compassion. I don't think that you are hard hearted, just tied by some rules that don't distinguish between a fire and a death. And as we are all aware, we can't be a charity to charities. As Chystal said, I would rather be the President who had to resign because I okayed a funeral donation than the President who did nothing. Also, on the issue of slave laborers, I just meant that if you try hard enough, you can always find a way around the law. Legally, that is...lol..

Even though our opinions differ on what we believe our organization should have, could have done, we all seem to have our children and our organizations close to our hearts.

Last year we had this similar problem. The 1st grader's Dad shot & killed the Mom (divorced). THe Student was there but didn't visibly "see" it - thank God. We sent out a letter to parents asking for donations and called it a Love Fund. That way parents could help if they wanted to or not. We collected $500.00 (which is good for our little school) and our PTO matched it. Fortunately we haven't had any other tragedies but I would like to think we will find a way to help any child that needs us.