Last night at our PTO meeting, we had the band director approach us asking for a donation. He did not want any set amount. The band has not gotten new uniforms since 1993. All the money the band gets is from what the students in the band raise. They don't get much help from the school. The uniforms are for the high school band, & are very expensive. Currently they do not have enough uniforms for both the Jr High & High School. There was much discussion on whether we should be giving money to the high school. However in our by-laws it states that we are an organization raising money for the school district, not specifically to the grade school, which is PreK-6th grades.
Discussion was brought up that parents, & people in the community may not be happy knowing that some of the money raised by the elementary went to the high school. However, we have a 6th grade band that will benefit from the uniforms once they get into the high school. We will be having our fall fundraiser next month. However, we had money left over from last year, so it was voted on to give them a portion of that. They did however leave it open for the band to come back at a later date to ask for more money if they were still in need of it.
I realize that that the PTO needs to be careful how their money is spent, & should use it to benefit the best interest of the school. So can I get some opinions? We currently do not have any goals of major purchase for the school for the present school year. We have had money requests, but none of which add up to a whole lot of money. Should the PTO give money to organizations if it is within the school district or only those things that benefit the grade school kids??

I don't think I could/would want to sell this one to the group of parents who are raising money to support their children in elementary school. Even the oldest grade will get to the school when those uniforms are 3 or 4 years old so I'd tell the HS that you'd be happy to provide support with manpower at one of their fundraisers, or distro a flier through the school for one of their fundraisers (with the principal's approval etcetera) to support their effort but I think I'd keep the money I raise in the school the kids raising it are attending.

Maybe consider having a cake sale or a donating one day of your profits on something else where you've preadvertised what the effort is for...but if parents think their raising money for their children's benefit then I think that any deviation from that would be a bit difficult to "brief".

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I would hate to be a PTO board member at your school once word gets out to the parents that their money was actually spent on students at a different school. It would seem to be a violation of your PTO's fudiciary responsibility, regardless of that unfortunate word (i.e. "district") in your by-laws.

I understand the band's predicament, but they need to find a way to raise the money other than hitting up PTO's of feeder schools.

Money raised at the elementary school level should stay in that school. The high school can come up their own fundraising to raise the money themselves.

I wouldn't be quite so quick to say "no". If you support this or to what level depends on many factors.

Our local high schools ask all the PTOs to contribute to the Project Graduation lock-in celebration for graduating seniors. The PTO's do and it may be anything from $25 to $250.

• Our high school students volunteer at many elementary/middle school events to gain service hours. They often mentor kids or at least serve as role models.


• Kids of all ages are inspired by the high schoolers - watching the band play, athletes may visit the middle school to talk about leadership and trying hard, etc.


• These are YOUR kids, YOUR families. Many of those families still support the younger grades' fundraisers even when they no longer have a child at that school. When your students knock on doors in the neighborhood, they don't expect to be turned away just because the person no longer has a student at that school.


• With bigger districts and growing populations it's hard to maintain that sense of belonging throughout the 13-year school "career". We need to foster a sense of belonging at the district level and not this disjointed school-by-school insular role. Your school should be part of the larger community and support that community, even though - of course - your focus in mostly on your specific school.

I'd consider these issues and your financial situation before deciding.

One year we were fortunate to have twice as much money as ever before. Then, it was easy to support some extra programs. Others years, we might have only been able to give a lessor amount.

It's much harder and more competitve to raise money at the high school level. My thought would be you would want to support them in some way. Even if you only give $25 or if you bring the issue to parents and "pass the hat" for personal donations.

You might even ask the band director about scheduling a special performance for your school in return for a donation.

> You might even ask the band director about scheduling a
> special performance for your school in return for a donation.

I like JHB's suggestion. Our PTO made a donation for just such a concert this past year. We have a regular Halloween event that is staffed in part by former students who are now in the HS drama program, and we make a donation to the HS drama club.