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WHY & HOW
Does PTO Fundraise?
By Jennifer Batta,
CSE PTO Vice President of Fundraising August 2016 |
THIS ARTICLE STARTED TO BE EDITED for 2016-2017 BUT WAS NEVER COMPLETED.
Tighter state and district school budgets mean parent groups are asked to fund more and more items that used to be paid for by the administration. As a result, many school teachers nationwide spend their own money to purchase supplies, programing, and other activities for their classrooms. It is our goal at Clear Sky to reduce their spending as much as possible by providing grants to support classroom activities and Project-Based Learning. In 2016-2017, PTO will also help provide intervention support for our students. We are able to do this by fundraising throughout the year.
Have you ever wondered how the PTO decides to fundraise for the year? It is not a decision that is made lightly, and lots of behind-the-scene research goes on throughout the year in choosing a fundraiser that is just right for our school. We know you, your family, and your friends work hard for your money, and we want to make sure your dollars are spent wisely for our school.
This is the third year we have asked Boosterthon to help us with our Fun Run. The Fun Runs have proven to be an excellent alternative to
As you know, the upcoming Boosterthon Fun Run on May 20 is a fundraiser, and it is the first time we’ve used an outside company for a run. Normally we wouldn’t have two large fundraisers in the same school year; however, with no way of knowing how successful this run was going to be, we decided to try it at the end of the year instead of having it completely replace the catalog fundraiser -- in case it didn’t go well.
With that in mind, our catalog fundraisers have been very successful the past seven years, which is why we’ve continued to use them as our main fundraiser. We start researching the companies a year ahead of the actual fundraiser. To make the most money for the school, we sign the contracts a year in advance as well. Fundraising companies will give us incentives (e.g., better price breaks, signing bonuses, etc.) if we do this. This can make it tricky when we want to change the way we fundraise.
We work hard to support our teachers and students and want to make our fundraisers fun, successful, and easy. I hope this helps explain how and why we decide on the fundraisers we do. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions you may have. If you are interested in getting involved, we’d love to have you!
Tighter state and district school budgets mean parent groups are asked to fund more and more items that used to be paid for by the administration. As a result, many school teachers nationwide spend their own money to purchase supplies, programing, and other activities for their classrooms. It is our goal at Clear Sky to reduce their spending as much as possible by providing grants to support classroom activities and Project-Based Learning. In 2016-2017, PTO will also help provide intervention support for our students. We are able to do this by fundraising throughout the year.
Have you ever wondered how the PTO decides to fundraise for the year? It is not a decision that is made lightly, and lots of behind-the-scene research goes on throughout the year in choosing a fundraiser that is just right for our school. We know you, your family, and your friends work hard for your money, and we want to make sure your dollars are spent wisely for our school.
This is the third year we have asked Boosterthon to help us with our Fun Run. The Fun Runs have proven to be an excellent alternative to
As you know, the upcoming Boosterthon Fun Run on May 20 is a fundraiser, and it is the first time we’ve used an outside company for a run. Normally we wouldn’t have two large fundraisers in the same school year; however, with no way of knowing how successful this run was going to be, we decided to try it at the end of the year instead of having it completely replace the catalog fundraiser -- in case it didn’t go well.
With that in mind, our catalog fundraisers have been very successful the past seven years, which is why we’ve continued to use them as our main fundraiser. We start researching the companies a year ahead of the actual fundraiser. To make the most money for the school, we sign the contracts a year in advance as well. Fundraising companies will give us incentives (e.g., better price breaks, signing bonuses, etc.) if we do this. This can make it tricky when we want to change the way we fundraise.
We work hard to support our teachers and students and want to make our fundraisers fun, successful, and easy. I hope this helps explain how and why we decide on the fundraisers we do. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions you may have. If you are interested in getting involved, we’d love to have you!
