Last year we had a family who lost their home in a fire. Everything was a total loss and the family had 4 kids, ages 10 and under. We all wanted to help out and the way we handled it made it more of a community effort, not school or PTO. One of our PTO moms sent out the word that she was collecting money for Wal-Mart gift cards and kids clothing. She encouraged us all to send out requests on our email contacts and elsewhere. All funds and items collected were collected specifically for this family and the PTO was never identified as sponsoring the collection. The only problem with this kind of compassion seems to be where do you draw the line, who do you help and how do you keep your PTO from becoming sidetracked by collecting for others too many times?
The parents who participated in PTO fundraisers have done so with the understanding that the money they gave would be used to improve the educational opportunities at their child's school. As sympathetic as the board is to this family's situation, using PTO money to assist them is a violation of the trust that the parents placed in the organization. And, it is unlikely to match the stated mission/purpose of your group to use the money for non-school related expenditures.
I honestly wouldn't recommend it. There are some dark gray areas there IRS-wise, and it has the tendency to be a slippery slope. This mom sounds truly needy and a great cause, but the next cause may be 10% less clear and the next 10% again. Then you're in a wicket.
That said, the same people could definitely put on an event or take up a collection for this person and her family. Just wouldn't do it under the PTO umbrella.
We are a small community in Tn. The kind where everyone knows everyone.
We have a mom from our school (daughter in 4th grade) who is going through a rough time at the moment. Just diagnosed with cancer and going through treatments and still trying to keep daughter focused on school.
They are having some hard times paying the bills and the PTO was asked if maybe we could help out by paying some. Of course, everyone on the committee wants to help. We are just not sure if we are allowed to.
