James, you should ask whoever told you that to provide you with a tax code reference to back it up. There is no rule that says nonprofits can't sell personal property.

We have 26 church pews 13 ft, padded seat that we need to get rid of. I wanted to put out notice for sell but I was told that I couldn't do that because we are non profit organization. what can I do to get a donation for them.

We do "start-up" funds for our teachers at the beginning of each year. In the past we wrote checks to each teacher and handled all the receipts coming back from the teacher. This year, we streamlined that process and gave the principal the total amount and he divided it up among the teachers. One check for us and no receipts to gather/track.

That is great. Our teachers were really upset this year at being asked to submit receipts and I was trying to find a way around it.

thanks for the advice. boosting up teacher appreciation might be the way to go

In the past, we've restocked the classroom supplies or given small ($10) gift cards for local coffee shop or book store. This year we're giving each teacher a 3-hole punch and some sharpies - sounds a little strange, but that's the stuff they can really use, even at the end of the year. We also did a continental breakfast and coffee cart a couple of times during the year and two big meals as part of our formal staff appreciation program.

Next week (end of year), we'll give potted flowers to our secretaries and a couple other support people who really help the PTO behind the scenes. Nothing that costs more than about $20 each.

Every year, we allocate $100 per teacher (including custodial, paras, secretaries, and specials) of PTO reimbursement money. The teacher must submit receipts to prove (should the IRS ever ask us) that the money has been spent in accordance with the PTO's mission, and then we cut them a check. Some teachers turn in their receipts right at the beginning of the year, others wait until the end, and some never even bother to do it at all (which I simply can't understand!). That's not exactly the same as giving an outright thank you gift, but it is a form of staff appreciation.

Well funny you ask that. For a while that seemed to be the impression but we straightened that one out. We are a very literal PTO so it takes us time to work through these issues.
What kind of token gifts do you give. I would love to make that suggestion.

Thanks for the feed back any other ideas?