allora - just be very clear when funds are being raised as what the purpose is. If the intent is that everything raised by the PTO will be spent when and as the PTO decides - then fine.

But it might be the expectation that part of the funds are earmarked for XYZ expenses or the principal's discretion. Again - fine, as long as everyone knows up front and agrees. And, as new volunteers become active, make sure they understand how it works at YOUR school.

Our PTO's account is held by the school and it works for us. The school regonizes our account as something that is not really the school's mony to spend and as the bookkeeper has said "TO get five dollars from you requires more paperwork than it's worth!"

I think what needs to be remembered is the accountablity factor. If the school wants to keep your PTO's account, fine, but you need a statement every month, you need to agree to reconsile(sp) each month, and (we have) a meeting with their people and your Treasurer to make sure the books are in order before the new fiscal year can start. We have been off $XXX ONCE! It was a deposit that was put into our account by simple bank error. Easy. Nickle and dime stuff (transposed change amounts) are our biggest mistake. ALso, this has been a great way to audit our books also...free!

I just got the go-ahead from our private school's board to start a PTO. But they put a few contingencies on it. They want us to initially use their 501 (c) (3) status. I actually just posted this question under "legal".I have sent our board prez. a reply letter asking them to spell this out. My fear is that if we go this way they would be able to "dip" into our funds. I am hopiong that we may be able to have a well spelled out document that would state that all money that the PTO raises is to stay in the PTO. And that we can have our seperate bank account. Are there any other items I would need to write into this doc. to avoid future trouble?
Do you have any experiences as to what issues could come up when you do not have your own 501 (c) (3)? and do you know of any other questions that I should ask before I agree to their terms?
Thanks!!

We don't have an annual fund as of yet. We just hired a new headmaster. Fundraising does help keep our tuition down and our lights on, but we are just scraping by. We have also hired a marketing person. With the new magnet schools, it's very hard to get new students where we are when they can go to town and get an education for free.

I've corresponded with a lot of various parent organizations around the country. Private schools are often very different in their approach to fundraising. In order to keep tution low and to allow scholarship students, fundraising is frequently used for saleries, repairs, stuff to "keep the lights on". That's not wrong - but it's important that the purpose and authorities be clearly communicated.

In our public schools we see the schools rountinely doing fundraising as a matter of necessity. Who helps run these? Parents, of course. It's not an "us versus them" situation. We ARE them. And, frankly, other than the really active PTO/PTA leaders, the general population of parents usually doesn't know or care whose bank account the funds are sitting in. The "school" needs help, so there's a fundraiser. Ultimately the kids benefit. That's really all they know or care about.

Yes, a PTO can be set up as a separate legal entity and the school officials/BOD don't have authority over those funds. But they do have authority over the school, anything that happens on its premises, and student fundraisers (if school property or time is involved). So it's very important to establish a cooperative realationship. Come to an agreement (and document it) as to the roles, the fundraisers, and how the money will be used. Communication is the key.

Ouch! That's a bummer to raise $100K and then have to spend it on stuff like salaries and tuition. What does your tuition run? We are a private school also and our principal has made it a goal that the Parents' Club money will be used for "big ticket" items as opposed to nickel and diming us for things that should come out of the school budget(this used to happen all the time). Does your school have an Annual Fund? We raised $150,000 just from that alone and some of that goes into funding budget shortfalls because tuition doesn't cover everything. Atracting new students? That's the million dollar question! The private school here in town that seems to be booming is a marketing machine. We're not though...
Shelly