Thought it was worth circling back to this. We are sorry for your board's loss. You raise an important issue that is a little difficult for some folks to talk about. Of course, everyone is sorry for the loss. But, the PTO is made up of all different families and individuals who have different (and valid) opinions about how PTO money should be spent. What we often see is groups do a separate collection asking parents to donate for the deceased person's family and then that money is given to them. This way, existing PTO funds aren't involved, the collection is set up as voluntary, and it is not handled as "official'' PTO business.
I think
imported_schoolmom
had the right response, but it may be too late, and it may be hard to get the donation back without seeming insensitive. Personally, I'm the treasurer and I donated a lot of time to my PTO -- but much of that was to get our 501(c)(3) designation, and I wouldn't want the PTO to jeopardize that by making a donation that violates IRS guidelines.
Could the money instead be used to install a memorial bench or playground structure?
Our school had a board member pass away and the PTO donated a large amount of money to the family. Yes she served many years and donated so much of her time. But where do you draw the line on something like this? Very little was mentioned to the families of the school before voting on this in a PTO Meeting, which in my opinion resulted in a lack of parents showing up to the PTO meeting to vote yes or no on this donation. Thoughts?
Thanks again - and yes, I had thought that the school should put out a flyer and maybe the Fire Dept. as well. I am sure that many families will be happy to help. Thanks for the input.
I agree...but Perhaps for the family that lost everything, you can put out a flyer, saying something like "We will put a box in the office for donations, such as clothing, blankets, nonperishable food, etc."
It all depends on if you feel compelled to help the family. Or perhaps contact a local church that may be able to help. We have churches that have a "clothes closet" and food pantry for things like that.
Thank you so much. That's exactly how I felt - but the past president was there (at the meeting that included discussion of the donations to the 2 families), and she is the person who made the motion to make the donation. But now I am ready to make the stand.
