The first thing we do is get the board members together and put together goals and plan for the next year. When creating the budget we include our fundraiser and program people. We figure out what we want to do and how much it may cost and the fundraisers need to adjust their goals to accomodate expected expenditures then the budget begins development. It is great if you have "Annual Reports" available from the last several years so you can compare expenditures. It is very convenient to put as many expected expenditures in there as possible so that you are not continually going back to your membership to vote on expenditures. Once approved at your first meeting anything budgeted does not need another vote. There is a sample budget and goal writing tips at www.myschoolonline.com/oh/lakewoodptacouncil
Go to Help for Units budget is under treasurer and goal writing is under Presidents. There is also a mock meeting there that gives the dialogue for adopting a budget. Best wishes
The president, vice president, treasurer and secretary create our budget. The secretary should take minutes at every official meeting to be presented to the board. Our board then votes and approves the budget for the year. The treasurer/ officers then follow the budget, minutes and by-laws for expenses. Our books are audited by a committee at the end of the year. This works well for us.
I also am looking for help in setting up a budget. We have never had one and I would like to see some formats. The suggestions I have seen here are great for a start. You can e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
I am treasurer this year, too. Our PTO has been diligent about creating an annual budget that is approved at the first meeting of the year. Without a previous budget, you may need to rely only on the checkbook. I would recommend defining a few categories -- some for income like your dues and fundraising and some for expenses like assemblies. Then go thru the checkbook for last school year and list every check and deposit against one of the categories. That way, you will be able to identify where the money came/went. Then use that information and "tweek" it for this year. As treasurer, I find it very reassuring to know that I am not responsible for approving requests willy-nilly -- it's already spelled out in the budget. If you would like a copy of our budget, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Look back at the last year or two, see what you spent money on and how much. Combine any similar topic/programs and have this as your budget. We need to do this every year and present it to the PTO for approval. Some items that we have are field trips, performances, field day, fun night, scholarship, supplies, etc.
Once a budget is set then we gear our fund raising to meet the budget.
