Finance & Budget Archive

Your group can't do its great work without strong financial policies and a sound budget. Whether you're the PTO or PTA treasurer or a member concerned about protecting funds, you'll find tons of ideas and help on money management in the articles below. Yes, we even cover PTO and PTA embezzlement. Find more helpful tools and info on the Finance & Budget resources page.

  • Pre-Pay Fundraiser or Post-Pay Fundraiser?

    This is always a big discussion on our message boards and in our PTO Today community, mainly because the differences are so stark.  I recently received an email about this topic from an expert that brought a fundamental new concern into the debate.  I’ll explain below.

  • Parent Group Embezzlements

    Every school year we read about new cases of embezzlement from parent groups. Sadly, in this case it's a principal that is at the center of the alleged theft of PTO funds. Ugh.  Hate to hear these stories, especially when they are preventable.

  • Recession Busters

    The down economy doesn’t have to keep your group from having a great year. Try these tips for success when money and resources are tight.

  • How PTOs Are Adapting to Hard Economic Times

    PTOs everywhere are bracing for lower fundraising returns and tighter budgets at school and at home. We talked to parent group leaders about how they're getting through it.

  • Another parent group theft story, big one

    This time the stealing from the PTA was done by a couple! Ugh. When the parents at Erdenheim Elementary School in Erdenheim, PA, decided to switch from a PTA to PTO an audit was done and numbers just weren't adding up... to the tune of $17,000! Ouch. Unfortunately, this group learned the hard way about the importance of fiscal controls in PTOs and PTAs.

  • Two Fundraising News Updates

    Two quickies that will be of great interest if you're affected and not so much interest if you are not.

  • Higher Fuel Costs Mean Fewer Field Trips

    Rising costs are a problem for most school districts, survey finds.

  • Covering Up a PTO Theft

    Leave it to the local news station to blow this up into some Watergate-level cover-up, but I think this media treatment of a school theft case is great evidence for my argument that groups should address these issues openly (and obviously enact systems changes immediately) if there's a missing money issue.

  • Another Toolbox for Education Success

    Thanks to Lowe's (and the Toolbox for Education grant program in which PTO Today is proud to play a role), a ton of good work is getting done at schools all across the country.

  • Fundraising Auction Results and the Economy

    Jon Carson over at the cMarket blog shares some interesting early-returns data on school auctions this year. The upshot: no big surpirse -- looks like the big, big donations and the big, big bids are down a bit this fall. But thankfully, broad support for the lower-level items seems to be holding steady.

  • Who's Fundraising? PTO or School?

    This Washington Post column brings up an interesting issue -- why are Principals fundraising (especially when they have an active parent group already doing so?

  • Big California Embezzle

    Few details at this point, but former volunteer under arrest in $40,000 theft. Hope these guys have insurance.

  • Big Embezzle in LA

    Wow -- $65k is definitely one of the biggest embezzles we've seen.This one from a middle school PTA treasurer in California.

  • Fundraisers now Sales Tax Exempt in CO

    More good news on the PTO front this week, this time from Colorado. Seems that a group of enterprising high school students successfully lobbied to have sales tax requirements removed from school support efforts. Book fairs, bake sales, concessions and the like all covered.

  • Lowe's Toolbox Grants

    We couldn't be more proud of our affiliation with Lowe's and the Toolbox for Education program or more thankful for Lowe's support of PTOs and PTAs nationwide. It's the only comprehensive grant program focused exclusively on the work of school PTO sand PTAs -- and Lowe's has now given millions to groups through this effort.

  • The Theft Report

    The hits keep coming... and the need for putting common-sense financial controls in place remains as well as the need for the smart investment in parent group insurance.  It's part of our leadership job to protect these funds.  C'mon folks... you can do this.  Don't wait.

  • Buyer Beware -- Count Me In

    Looks like a possibly troubled PTA/PTO vendor -- the Washington-based company called Count Me In.  Reports from Connecticut have several schools and PTAs out significant dollars

  • Theft Happens

    We won't call it our monthly theft update, but sometimes it seems that way.

  • PTOs Filling Budget Gaps

    Arizona feature looks at just how important parent group efforts have become in providing key resources for cash-strapped schools.

  • Lowe's Grant Winner

    Love the smiling faces on these Mississippi PTO leaders, as they celebrate receipt of dollars to complete their playground pavilion.
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