School Fundraisers - A blessing or a curse?

Last fall, there was some fundraiser, and it was right in the middle of the health crisis my Mom was having, I was out of town, DH was swamped at work. If it could go wrong, it did................I had to tell DS that we just couldn't do the fund raiser, and that the day all the other kids got their "prizes" I would take him to Walmart and get him his own. He was satisfied with that, and we did. Sometimes you just can't do them! I get REAL tired of being guilted about it. They are especially tough for those of us who don't have relatives around to hit up and don't work with many people or aren't allowed to bring them to work. I do the best I can with them, and that's all I can do. Just let me write a check and be done with the danged fundraisers!

 

Someone posted Westview's budget for the PTA. I am rather confused and was wondering if there were further explanations for the expenses. For example:

Hospitality-- what does this entail. $3500 seems like a lot. The PTA organizes a breakfast or lunch every month for the teachers & staff (currently 106 people), PTA pays for all refreshments for the 5th grade graduation (over 550 people attended last year), PTA holds welcome back breakfast at the beginning of the year...too much to list

Teacher appreciation-- what does this include See above and the PTA purchases $5 gift cards for all the teachers & staff during teacher appreciation week, PTA gives birthday cards to every staff member usually with chocolates attached

Box tops--why is this an "expense" as I thought the kids collected and send them in. Why would we have to pay $300 to send the box tops in? I'm assuming postage but that seems rather high for box tops. I ship stuff all the time overseas and cross country. Just seemed high to me. This includes shipping of larger items that we get through campbells soup labels & Tyson's labels also ie, tables, cash register, books etc etc. The PTA pays for the shipping of all equipment ordered from their catalogs with our "points."

Insurance--$200 what are you insured for? Why would the PTA need insurance? The PTA is incorporated so the officers are not personally liable for anything that occurs at PTA events. The insurance kicks in due to the sue happy people that want money for falling over a leaf in the parking lot and scraping their knee during a PTA event (ok, so it's a little exaggerated, but you get the point). You would be very surprised at the complaints and request we get when "things happen" at PTA hosted events.

Copies--$2000. I know the PTA sends out papers but that is ALOT of paper and toner for $2000. Would email cut down on the copy expense perhaps? This includes all copying, paper, toner etc for 915 students and 106 teachers & staff members. Email would be GREAT, but unfortunately we cannot assume that all have access to a computer. We are currently trying to register as many parents as we can for email notification, but this is proving to be bigger task than we expected

Membership--$700. Is this for membership at the national level? This is for the fees that we have to pay to be apart of the state and national associations. Most of this expense is offset by the income we get when parents pay the $5.00 to join the PTA. We only make a mere $1.25 per person to keep and use for the kids and school improvements.

Yes, it does need landscaping but I'm sure if you sent out a request to bring in flowers and donate time, some people would gladly go to lowes, pick up $10 worth and bring their gardening tools. I know I would.We currently have a posting on our website for volunteers (wanna come join us?) and we are also in the process of asking area landscaping businesses to donate their "end of the season leftovers" that they usually throw away. The PTA tries whenever possible (and usually succeeds) in getting freebies and donations to curve expenses whenever possible so the money goes to needed items at the school

I'm sure these are all justified expenses, I just was wondering WHAT they were for exactly. So no one jump down my throat, I'm honestly just trying to figure out where exactly the money is going to. As a parent, it's nice to know where the money is going to that you send in.They are all justified with receipts to show....

The PTA at West View is always open for questions, suggestions, feedback, comments, complaints.....you name it, we want it. We also have posted on the website monthly calendar pages that list all upcoming events, general PTA meetings and board of director meetings. We welcome anyone who would like to attend and/or become involved.

Last year was my first year being involved in the PTA and it was a great experience. I was amazed at all the PTA actually did for the school and I was a little saddened by low volunteer participation for some events, but we have a lot of parents that go above and beyond with their time. I would LOVE to see more "T" in the PTA, but we have some teachers that are absolute blessings.

Fundraising is part of the game. It wouldn't be if there was more free flowing money from state, federal or maybe even this "education" lottery, but the sad fact is there IS NOT enough. If it were not for the fundraisers last year 60 computers would not have been purchased for the classrooms, national PE awards (patches) would not have been purchased for the students who earned them, the 5th graders would not have been able to experience the symphony, $2,000.00 in books would not have been purchased for K-2, the students would not have been able to participate in the A/R reading program, and no teachers would have received gifts of appreciation or received supplement payments for items they purchased with their own money for their students. This is only naming a few.....

We heard the complaints of the Innisbrook fundraising effort so we sent out a survey to ask the parents what they wanted. Out of 854 surveys sent home only 112 were returned with suggestions, comments and of course complaints. Seems much more would have been returned if a change was really needed.

Please don't be jaded towards the PTA as we do much more than just send your kids home with those annoying packets and bombard you with requests for your time. And remember it's all for the benefit of the KIDS...your kids, my kids, the kids that will one day be business owners, leaders, mothers, fathers etc. If you would like to see first hand COME ON OUT and JOIN in on all the fun that we really do have.

Signed - a dedicated PTA participant who also works a 40 - 50 hour a week full time job, has kids of their own, soccer, house, hubby...etc etc ...Just as ALL of the PTA does.

 

My kids sell only to close friends and relatives, we don't knock on neighbors doors and ask, because the majority of folks don't appreciate that. I do buy the majority of things, and if there is nothing I like I usually write a check to the PTA, that way they are getting a contribution from my children and I and it's more than if they had gotten a tiny percentage from the items sold.

 

I can vouch for what mnredsky says. I have helped with a few PTA hospitality hosted events, and they do a lot more than anyone can see! They had an end of year bbq last year for staff, they did the 5th grade graduation (which was a lot more involved than i would have thought!) and they do the monthly staff appreciation. They are always looking for donations/volunteers, and I know they do get a lot of things donated. There really is a lot that goes into all this, behind the scenes stuff...the woman in charge now is trying to "prep" me for my turn to take over this department, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a big "job", since I have 3 kids of my own. But we'll see...

 

It's so great that others notice....it really mean more than any thank you could ever do. THANK YOU for being involved and thank you for helping us!! With "the woman in charge" prepping you ......You will not fail as she is AWESOME!!

 

MNREDSKY...don't get too excited, I haven't agreed to anything!! I think it might take a lot of convincing my husband to lose me for that amount of time, but I might consider it. And yes, I agree she does do a great job, it would be hard to follow her, especially since I've never done anything like that before!

 

DMJmom, what are you getting yourself into now????:lol:

 

I have been on the hospitality committee for 3 years, and the woman who runs it will be moving up to middle school next year (I think it's next year) and she's been hinting to me (not very subtly I might add) that she's going to be handing it over to me. I think there are a lot more people capable than me, she must just think I'd be the easiest to convince? Anyway, we'll see what happens. I like helping out, it's just hard when I've got 2 in preschool and 1 in school, and I'm going to try to help hubby in his office this year, so I'm not promising anything!

 

Actually the woman who is Hospitality committee chair is there for another 3 years (child is in 3rd grade)......and no, she is not subtle about anything :lol: ...like most of us on the board

 

If I pay school taxes then why do they need more money from fundraisers?

 

I use to think the same until I got involved and was educated about all the things that out taxes DO NOT pay for in our schools. It was also an eye opener how little each school is allotted every year for basic needs such as paper towels, hand soap, books, paper, copy toner, even library books. The state makes sure you have the BARE MINIMUM to pass state regulations and unless you are a title 51 school (low income, minority etc) you might get what's left at the bottom of the piggy bank from federal. If you're a parent who wants more than the required state minimum for your child(ren) then you'll see the need for funds to come from alternate sources.

Case in point: West View had to add a mobile this year for a 5th grade class. County / State paid for mobile, chairs, desks, books. No computer(s) for reading lab or technology education, no charts, no teacher supplies.....

I support raising money as long as the money goes to the right places. In the case of West View PTA there are a trail of receipts 2 miles long or longer to show that all the funds are to help the kids in the school.

 

I agree with everything you've said. Like everyone else, I wish the taxes paid for more. As little as I like some fundraisers ... my child is worth it. Luckily the PTA at West View does a great job seeking parent input - like the survey they sent out to every parent last year - so West View fundraisers seem better than most. I've peaked through what Jaxco has to offer and there are definitely a few items I will be purchasing this year. In addition, my family always has a great time at the Spirit Nights held throughout the year at the various eateries in the area. This type of fundraiser helps the businesses in our community, raises money for the school and provides an evening of family fun. I really enjoyed last years auction & Holiday Bazaar also. I'm sure this year the events will be even better. The school also collects ink cartridges, labels, recyclable cans & box tops. These are all things I used to throw in the trash ... but every penny helps so now I try to save them for the school. If you collected labels & boxtops for educations from everyone you knew who didn't have children enrolled in a participating school there's no telling how much could be collected throughout the year. Just yesterday I cut 4 box tops off the diapers I bought, two from the Hamburger Helper we had for dinner, one from the dinner rolls, and one from the plastic wrap on the toilet paper. When purchasing these items Food Lion spit out a coupon for 20 box tops. In all, items I used yesterday netted $2.80 for the school. That doesn't sound like much ... but with 800+ kids & 106 staff members ... if everyone did the same ... that could collect more than $2537 just for what many may throw out in the trash in a single day. I'd be glad to write a check, help with the PTA, and yes ... even support the fundraisers if that's what it takes to make sure my child and the school has the necessary supplies. As I said before, I am amazed by how much work goes on behind the scenes at the PTA and how much they have managed to accomplish. I am sooo lucky my child goes to a school that has volunteers like the ones at West View who work soooo hard to make sure the kids and staff has what they need. Those folks constantly amaze me.