What a great point of view boysmom! I think we all need to sometimes step back and think about what is REALLY important in our childrens' education. An elaborate playground and the latest technology is no substitute for strong teachers, a great curriculum, and parents who care and are involved in their child's education. The things I remember most about elementary school are the teachers I had who believed in me and challenged me(I was a very shy child)and my mom being involved in the RIF(Reading is Fundamental) program, Girl Scouts and always making the best decorated sugar cookies for all the parties.

We just learned last night that, because our school's enrollment is down this year, funding in certain areas has been cut and we've had to reapportion our PTO budget for this year, putting more money toward one item and taking it away from several other things we'd hoped to do. All in all it was a dispiriting meeting. But these posts are a reminder that many of the good things we do in the school don't require money--and in some cases, creative volunteer efforts could probably substitute for funding. Happy kids with positive elementary school experiences, stronger families, a stronger community--those are our real goals, not shiny new equipment.

We have a brochure that we distribute to parents at registration and Open House that details what our group does in the school. We have a segment where we talk about fundraising and we make the point that we fundraise in order to finance the amazing events and programs we sponsor. Our fundraising is strictly voluntary and we try to make it as stress-free and non-competitive as possible. If you want to turn parents off just make them feel like you constantly have your hand out towards their wallets. Last year our President tried some new little fundraisers in addition to our regular ones and I started hearing grumbling. She was just trying to find some new, easy, creative things to do, but there were parents that saw it as just another check to write and one more thing to fit into their busy schedule.

We have a huge budget and do a lot for our kids, but if you look at our programs, we have many that run on very little money. If our fundraising disappeared tommorrow it would be disappointing, but not the end of the world(or our group). Maybe you can sit down and look at what your group does for the school and try to help the President see that there are more important things than raising money and if she wants to keep parents involved and happy, she needs to emphasize the positive things your group does and show them where the money goes when they do a fundraiser.

So - NOT SO! Yes we do fundraising - mostly to help w/ the other things we want to do. We encourage family growth through many family activities & events. We supply t-shirts for honor students and students of excellence (much like character counts), we encourage our teachers through 2 appreciation lunches, giving them spirit shirts and finding other small ways we can help them out. We suppliment & encourage the arts department (art, music and drama). We encourage parent participation in their child's education.

Our PTO is here to help in making our school the best for our children. Much of that takes money & so we have fundraisers, but the fundraisers are so we can accomplish the things we desire to accomplish.

I like how Rockne put it:

We fundraise so we can do our important work. Our important work is not fundraising

NOT SO! Besides how can you make money if you don't care to get anyone involved?

Our job is to help maintain a safe and fun environment for our little ones. We give rewards for the studying and behaving. Our PTO also aides in purchasing things that the school needs adn we have a volunteer program because studies show that parental and community involvement raises grades and social awareness, I could go on and on about that subject.

I have made a document on the purposes of our PTO, if you would like a copy you may email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

How big is your school?

Thank you very much for all the imput so far. I think I can use this in my attempts to persuade...
Thanks again