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.

  • Fun Services Still Kickin'

    On the business side of the PTO world, a couple of us from PTO Today had a great meeting last week with the folks from Rhode Island Novelty and Fun Services.   Nice guys, and very interesting company.  We got a tour of a ha-uge (very huge) warehouse filled with every kind of carnival prize and plastic snake and stuffed animal you can imagine.  My kids = very jealous.

  • National PTA Stats Updated

    The annual national PTA convention, which ends today in Florida, is always a good marker for tracking financial performance of the well-known national non-profit for past year.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • The Economy and Fundraising

    How's your fall fundraiser going?This Lancaster (PA) feature takes a critical look at some early-return fundraising struggles for area schools. My take on the current situation included in the piece.

  • PTOs and PTAs Relied on for Even More

    Wall Street Journal takes a look at how school budget pressures are trickling down to parent groups. Not a completely new story (we've been writing on this for a decade now, at least), but the pressure seems to be increasing with the state of the economy.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Keep Your Money

    In a man-bites-dog story, this Minnesota school is telling the very successful school foundation to keep its money. And it's a big chunk of change, too (hundreds of thousands in past few years).  The issue:  continued disputes over the influence and voice the foundation should have in how school uses the funds.

  • Joe Rice -- Our Hero

    Let's see a state legislator who understands the value of PTOs and PTAs and proposes legislation making their lives easier???  Yeah, we like that guy.  A lot.

  • 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.

  • Money Talk: Deciding how to spend parent group funds

    In the January issue of PTO Today magazine we ask how you would handle this situation...
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