When we hear requests, we ask for the number of students who will benefit. We make a ratio of $/students or staff. We use a benchmark of our total budget/total students as a guide. That shows us if a request is excessive.
For example, a $25K budget with 1000 students means we should be spending on average $25 per student on the year. Try and keep payouts in line with that.
You can't have people 'volunteering' their time in exchange for disbursement. That is unethical.
You could, I suppose, set some minimum requirement for a member to be eligible for a certain benefit, but that's tough, too, if you are already collecting dues.
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We do offer some "sponsorships" to our own programs for children than cannot afford the money. But the principal is the one that screens the requirement and then forwards to us. I don't want to know who it is etc...but certainly if a child doesn't have the money to buy a book for the bookclub then we'll get them in. I cannot say that I'd be at all receptive to granting that same sponsorship for an activity outside of school. We turned down funding a team of our students to the Worlds for "odyssey of the mind" for the reasons sited above (money should benefit the majority of folks not the minority). Where does it end...what if a child is a great mechanic (like my friend CC above) and gets selected to attend the National Soap Box Derby...do you fund that as well as the National Honor Society requests...
I agree that individual requests should not be granted. That the request is coming from the principal rather than the parent should have no impact on your decision. If your team has a general policy about this then it should be followed regardless of the source of the request.
I wonder if the principal is aware of all of the extra parent phone calls he'd get if the parents found out that their requests are denied but his are not????
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Our groups always try to put the money in the places it will benefit the most students and have turned down individual requests for funding for similar programs. The elementary group does have an established scholarship program for gifted students who want to attend a summer program at the college but can't afford it. However, they just budget enough money to cover up to 2 scholarships and the teacher for the gifted program and the principal make the contacts and recommendations. We pay the college directly and don't even know who the students are unless their parents send a thank you.
That is what we always say too when asked for a donation-it has to benefit the whole student body, not a small segment. Either they need to find funding elsewhere, or we devise a way to spend the same amount on something different for the rest of the students. For example:
One grade requested we pay for a storyteller only for that grade. Rather than saying no, when we give each grade $ at the end of the year for their picnics we give each grade the same amount and that particular grade uses it for a storyteller instead. Our PTA doesn't fund any person individually, but the school does have a program to help parents who may need it.
I don't think, if you are a PTA, that you can put stipulations on what you do; besides, how would you enforce them? Once you've paid for those students, if the parents don't follow up by putting in the hours what recourse will you have?
I would call either state or county PTA and speak to them, then tell the principal we're sorry but we're not allowed to fund individuals, if you'd like more info you can speak to this person, and pass on the name of who I'd spoken to.
