Even if your bylaws do not specifically forbid kickbacks, its still unethical. I would put language in the bylaws that makes clear no one should get kickbacks. As for specific companies, I have never come across a company that offers to pay a volunteer.
Thank you all for your comments, but what I was looking for more specifically was if you knew of an organization that did give a kickback so I would know which ones to avoid. I realize that it would be unethical and against bylaws, but what if such language is not in the bylaws?
I would think kickbacks or payment would be in violation of bylaws or operating rules of the PTO/PTA. It would fall under unethical decision making at the very least.
A free sample handed out to everyone who attended an informational luncheon or passed by their booth at a vendor fair would not count as a kickback in my opinion. Those would be a normal part of the marketing process.
As a parent, if I discovered someone in the PTO was being paid or given kickbacks for any reason, I would be extremely angry. I would begin to start questioning every single thing the PTO did and demand some answers. A PTO must have ethical/moral business standards to retain the trust of the parents and school district.
I run our fall fundraiser and can not imagine being paid to be a volunteer. The only "kickbacks" I get is tasting cookies and maybe a candle to sample. If a rep. ever offered to pay me it would immediately disqualify them from doing our fundraiser. This seems like a conflict of interest. What would stop the "volunteer" from picking the company who gives them the most money, even though it might not be best for the school. I agree with the other responder that if you pay one volunteer you have to pay them all.
If you are have trouble finding a volunteer to run the fundraiser because it is too time consuming or difficult, then I think its time to look for a different fundraiser. There are companies out there that will do the bulk of the work. We always work with reps. that will do most of the product distribution by themselves. This way volunteers don't have to sort and hand out products. Another idea would be to have a couple of people run the fundraiser so that no one person is overwhelmed.
As a parent and volunteer, I would be furious if people were getting paid to volunteer.
I agree that it would be totally unethical for a volunteer to take anything substantive from the fundraising company.
The principal paying someone to run the fundraiser is an unusual situation, but at least it was out in the open. The problem is - of course - that you can't pay all volunteers so later it can become a problem as to why one task was a paid one while another wasn't.
On the other hand, you do have some control when paying someone to do a job. I really admire principals in having to work year in and year out with volunteers. Many are hardworking, dedicated people. But every year there's some sort of drama, some flaky person. Some years are worse than others. I think I'd lose patience.
