Question: Donations through PTO for specific teachers

A parent wants to give money to a teacher but her company will match it if it goes to a non-profit so she wants to give the funds to the PTO and have the PTO give those funds to the teacher. Is this Ok or how do we approach this?


Asked by ericgenny

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Answers:

Community Advice

gjcoram writes:
The PTO shouldn't really give funds to a teacher directly; it should be fundraising on behalf of all the teachers. I'd worry about equity amongst the teachers and setting a bad precedent -- if you're lucky enough to have a rich parent in your class, you'll be rewarded. In fact, that would probably be an end-run around the ethics rules in my state, which limit (to less than $50) and require disclosures of gifts from parents to teachers.
What is the intent of the money -- a gift, or reimbursement of classroom expenses? You could set up a mini-grant program, where that teacher could apply for the funds for a specific purpose; perhaps the parent would be OK if the company's match were used for another purpose at the school.


Community Advice

ParentAtSchool writes:
No thru PTO/PTA. The donor could request it to fund a specific program in the non profit budget (which would have to have approval of executive board and possible general membership) but not to individual teachers or students. You’ll make several teachers upset learning that PTO board is favoring some teachers and not other teachers, you can’t have teachers get more money and other teachers less money. Donor can choose give money to teacher through the school’s account but it will not get matched by her company (the school is a govt entity, not a non profit eligible for corporate matching)

Is the teacher running a program in the classroom that would be beneficial school wide? A corporate match can help advance that. Writing, math, after school etc.


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