Lately our PTO seems to be focusing on fundraising as well. I think this is a product of a couple of things. The first being poor fundraising efforts earlier in the year that didn't produce what it should have and now in order to provide all that we've promised we need to raise more funds. The fundraiser this year was late getting out and it's the same old crap as all the other schools so that was a huge part of the problem.
The second reason is that it's easier to hand out a booklet (to the kids for fundraising) and worry about it later than actually put on and plan a family event. So far this year we've had a Christmas dinner that yielded 40 people (not families, people) and a Movie night. Movie night was planned by a parent who was not on the board and was sick of everyone complaining that we never do anything or saying that we should plan something and it never coming to fruition. It was the most successful event we've had this year and everyone was telling the PTO that they didn't even realize we had a PTO.
Thank you for your reply. I was hoping there was more to the PTO than just fundraising. I didn't know where to begin checking at school for the info I needed. At my children's school the PTO seems to always be raising funds but we never told for what project nor do we see an end result. The remaining 10% of the meeting I attended was notification that the school had exceded their budget on operating supplies ie. copier paper, banner paper, copier toner, and the like. They were planning another fundraiser to cover those materials.
That's not a fair description of our PTO, and I'd venture to say it's not a fair description of most PTOs. We focus on building parent involvement, enriching the educational experience, hosting family events, and supplementing the classes with resources both time and money. In order to do most of those things, we need money. But we don't build our whole organization around fundraising. We have one major fundraiser a year and then go off and do good work.
If your PTO is only stressing the fundraising activities, I'd politely suggest they are missing the boat. Go ahead and join and make a difference at your school. Come back here often to learn TONS about how other PTOs serve their school and parent community. Get your hands on the PTOToday magazine that is sent to your school and read about how other groups operate. Encourage new ideas. You might have to be persistent, but there's so much more to PTO than just making money. I'm sure you're not alone in your concern. Good luck!
I am considering joining the PTO of my children's school, but I don't really know what the basic funtion of a PTO is. I sat in on one meeting so far and it seemed to be 90% fundraising. Is that a fair estimate of what PTO is or is there more to it?
