Usually it’s the local papers where a guest columnist comes up with the annual screed against fundraising. Today, though, a guest colunist for the esteemed Wall Street Journal chimes in with a severely one-sided look at school fundraising.

Couple of thoughts:

1. You’d think a column in the use-your-bootstraps WSJ, of all places, would at least spend a bit of time recognizing that most often the folks behind a particular fundraiser are passionately trying to do good work/provide great things on their own. The Journal is not exactly known for a let’s raise taxes to pay for everything bent.

2. This is a good time to re-link to an old column of mine called The Fundraising Myth. Think it captures this column prety well.

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.

Here’s just one great Lowe’s giving story from Lynn, MA. These guys built wooden easels for all their teachers thanks to their grant.

Similarly, I was lucky enough to attend a ribbon-cutting for a local playground recently. Lowe’s generously contributed nearly half the funds needed for the build. So great to see a couple of hundred little faces as they surged toward their new school backyard. Very cool.

Today is National Teacher Day.

Don’t worry if the holiday snuck up on you. The NEA has some cool electronic greeting cards your kids can email to their teachers. As an added bonus, the teacher’s name will be included on what’s being called the nation’s largest teacher thank-you card. (You can snail mail your own cards to be incorporated into the giant card, too.)

Today’s also a good time to think about ways your parent group can appreciate teachers all year long. Be sure to check out our article on this topic, Teacher Appreciation Done Right, which has great ideas on how to do just that.

You might recall that earlier this year we redesigned our website and added a bunch of new features and tools. Since then we’ve been ‘finetuning’ and adding smaller enhancements and tweaking things every couple of weeks.

This week I’m particularly excited about a change we made to how search works. Yes, an odd thing to be excited about, but I really think our new search page will make it MUCH easier to find exactly what you’re looking for.

In the old search, you entered your search term and got a whole bunch of results from all over our site. Now, it’s broken down into categories: Articles & Programs, Message Boards, and File Exchange.

Looking for sample PTO bylaws? Search the File Exchange.

Need some advice about bylaws? Search the Message Boards.

Want to read everything our experts have written about parent group bylaws? Search Articles & Programs.

You might not be as excited about this new feature as I am, but I hope you find it useful. Enter any search term in the box in the top right corner of our site and take our new site search for a spin!

(and of course if there is something you can’t find on our site email me directly at klagden@ptotoday.com)

One of the biggest players in the fundraising business — Kathryn Beich (formerly the fundraising division of Nestle) – has been sold to Great American Opportunities.  Kathryn Beich’s corporate offices in Illinois will be shut down, though most Beich reps will be continuing on with GAO.  The combined company will be one of the largest in the fundraising industry.

I don’t know if Ana Markowski has been reading PTO Today and our parent involvement pages, but — man-oh-man — does she ever get this stuff! I just loved reading this comprehensive piece in Minneapolis Star-Trib detailing how Markowski and her PTO have involved more and more parents by getting creative, being fun, and *serving* parents — those are the key ingredients for every group.

This one’s well worth the read for all leaders. Have you (or can you?) been instituting any of these habits at your school?

Here’s a new twist (and I bet it will be the first of many of these). Talented volunteer puts together a video selling the importance of volunteering at school. Professional editing and a soundtrack make it really slick. Love it! I feel like I’m watching Oprah:

We’ve always said that if announcing: “Meeting next Tuesday at 7PM” is your main involvement-building strategy, then you’re in trouble. These guys clearly get that.

This California (where else?) school and its PTA put together a great, comprehensive all-school event around the environment and healthy habits and fun.   Check out their Eco-Extravaganza here. 

Especially neat, in my opinion, because these guys really went all-out.  Goes with a column I wrote a year or two back saying Go Big or Don’t Go at All.  Basically, I think PTOs and PTAs do far better when they do fewer things in a big way than a lot of things in a so-so way. You agree?

I just got the heads up that our editorial team posted 2 new articles…just in time for elections & transition season!

What Every Secretary Should Know

What Does a Vice President Do

A few other sections that are useful for new board members (and those you’re encouraging to join the board!)

Officers & Board

President

Secretary

Treasurer

Vice President

Just a little link to a calendar item about a school hosting a Get Movin’ Night this weekend. I’ve been to a couple of these, and they’re a great mix of fun and physical activity (even if your school doesn’t have its own pool!). You can check out our Get Movin’ Night here and all of our School Family Nights here .