Rose:
We are still working on that. We seem to have gotten on the bad side of a group of teachers and a few parents for saying no. I tried to explain at our meeting that there is only so much money and so we had to make some cuts in order to pay for 3 new request that the board felt were a "need". I also explained that these items were cut and the new items were put in the ORIGINAL budget and the general membership voted that budget into place.
When they asked why we were not doing more fundraising I told them because we don't have the parent involvement to plan these events. We did discuss more ways to get parents involved, including the teachers add things that the PTO is doing in their weekly e-mails. (My board has already done a great job of getting quite a few K parents in but they are not ready to Chair a committee....yet )
I think we are making baby steps. It is not easy that's for sure. This was a rebuilding year for us. There were a lot of changes. I also think that their is a whole new generation of parents coming in the school and how they think the money should be spent in not the same as the past generation.
We are trying our best to communicate and really give the FACTS. Give it to them straight.
Really like your point about staying focused on the mission. Question: How do you push back when requests come in that you don't think are appropriate?
This has been an issue with us this year. The school is asking/expecting us to pay for things that The Board does not feel are a "need" or in line with our mission statement. While I don't mind helping the school upgrade/replace things that their own budget can't afford I do not think we should feel pressured to do more fundraising to pay for it.
It is important to remember your mission. Our Mission Statement is this: The mission of the Westminster Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization is to promote the partnership and involvement between parents, teachers and the school community at large. We envision a healthy, caring and encouraging educational and community environment for all students of Westminster Elementary. This fund shall provide the funding to meet these needs as agreed upon by the WES PTO executive board and its members.
Are the fundraisers helping you with your mission or is your group paying for things just because you have the money? It is hard to say no when the school asks for something but sometimes you have to. What are the NEEDS? How many students will benefit? How many teachers will benefit? Will it help us grow our community? Those are the things that come first.
We only do two major fundraisers a year. Then we do about 3 other small fundraisers with no pressure made to participate (things like restaurant nights). That being said we only raise about $20K a year.
I also think it is important to communicate how the money is spent.
The idea of throwing whatever you can against the wall to see what sticks, doesn’t usually work. In order to get off the fundraising treadmill, sponsors need to focus on improving the quality of fewer fundraisers.
One way to do this is by utilizing available sales tools that many companies provide that are designed to help improve sales. Unfortunately these tools go underutilized by far too many sponsors. Unreached financial goals are why sponsors end up having so many additional fundraisers in the first place.
Our school collects money in the beginning of the year $25 from each family for the PTO which goes for expenses. Not every family gives but most do.
We also do fundraising throughout the year. I believe one big fundraiser -we do Race For Education- every other year and make between $25-$50 from that. That money was used this year for smart boards for 11 of the teachers. Two years ago was the first year of RAce so last year there were several smaller fundraisers. This year is RAce again.
I prefer one large fundraiser a year rather than a bunch of smaller ones but part of that is personally my kids are involved in sports so I am hit by them alot also.
