I know parent group fundraising is critical in many areas, but this may actually be an opportunity to re-think the parent group role. What can you do without funds or with minimal funds or with less funds?

Go back to the root of being a parent group. Focus on areas like:
* Parent involvement
* Recruitment of volunteers
* Communication and outreach
* Community involvement
* Family events and activities

PTO groups do (or can do) so much for the school beyond the monetary role. I always think it's a mistake when their success is measured in dollars raised.

We haven't seen any problems yet. There were a few parents that complained about the cost of the spirit wear items ($8 short sleeved T's, $10 long sleeved), but they seemed to be the same parents who always complain. Our first event that will have a fee involved will be in Nov and is our annual chili supper. Since our school turns 140 this year we are really marketing the event to the area and involving the school's b-day as much as possible. For our sales based fundraiser we are compiling a commemorative cookbook w/ current students and alumni, marketing again to the area to try to take some of the sales burden off our kids and families. We have also tried to capitalize on the donors in the community that we know we can count on and the parents we have who have their own business or know that their employer will give something.

We finished our fundraiser a couple weeks ago and it really went very well. I must admit I was surprised that with the economy and the fact that the prices for the fundraiser items going up that we didn't see a big drop. It may have helped that we were selling food items, maybe people can better justify that purchase. I will say that fewer students participated, but those that did really worked hard. Donating to schools may be an area where people still feel like they should help. If things continue to spiral downward, we might see declines in spring fundraisers or fall fundraisers next year.

You know one tip I might give? I'm sure that with the tough financial times many groups will tighten up and try to put their monies to what they consider the "best use". I'd like to suggest that we NOT forego those free and low cost family events that many of us do. Many of our school families will be struggling to put food on the table and gas in their cars so they can get to work, so the first thing they will eliminate will be those extras like eating out and going to the movies. If we as parent groups can continue to provide opportunities where families can enjoy a night out together away from the stresses of life, then I think we will be providing a very beneficial service to our schools and our school families. Keeping that morale up will be come ever more crucial.

I'd be interested to know if and where the pinches are coming from. Eg, we seem to be ahead of last year on (voluntary) dues collection, but maybe local businesses won't be able to donate as much. I think PTOs are fortunate, in comparison with other non-profits, in that our revenues come from working parents rather than donations from people with large stock market exposure, where their ability to donate depends strongly on how the Dow does. But, probably giftwrap and candy sales will be down, because that's something easy to cut.

As parent group leaders, we've all faced the challenge of doing a lot with a little. But as the economy worsens and household budgets get tighter, parent groups are surely feeling a tighter strain on their budget than normal. How is everyone dealing with this challenge? What tips, tricks or hints can you share to help us all get through until the economy rebounds?