Evaluating Your Elementary School PTA / PTO Activities

Hi!  Jay here.  I want to let you quickly know that right before school is back in session is the best time to re-evaluate your PTA or PTO activities!

Principals - meet with your PTA or PTO and go over their comprehensive plan for the Fall activities and fundraisers!  If you're allowed to, see if you can help them run some numbers and determine if the fundraisers they are holding will earn money and if they are too intrusive into the demands of teaching.  Don't let the PTA or PTO host fundraisers that are risky and help them ensure against theft!

PTA and PTO members - get together with the expressed purpose of finalizing your schedule.  Make sure you have everything in place to present yourselves and the school with conviction and professionalism.  Don't hesitate.  Make sure that when the school year hits, so does  the PTA or PTO!  In your meeting discuss if you have any risky or particular needy areas that present concern.  Can you simplify things?

Remember, less is more!  So if you can strip away things you're not putting time into, before school starts would be the time to decide what it is you will do well, and what you don't need to do!

Ok, until next time!

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School fundraisers

Embezzlement Happens - Resources and Articles for PTA PTO parent groups - Prevent PTA Theft!

Most likely, every school across the country as well as PTA's and PTO's will be handling large amounts of cash and will certainly have checkbooks and bank accounts.  Anything from a band concert, concession stand, school carnival or product fundraiser to writing checks for supplies or paying vendors is an opportunity.

With all this fiscal 'stuff' comes exposure to theft and embezzlement - an opportunity for a criminal act to occur.  Every school needs stringent rules and procedures when it comes to handling money and bank accounts in order to minimize risk.

Here are a few resources that can help you, your PTA or PTO and entire school limit risk of theft and embezzlement.  So, the next time that you host a car wash, fundraising carnival, fun run, rummage sale, school dance, safety fair or any other event that involves money or making or receiving payments, you'll be better equipped to keep everyone and funds safe!

Preventing Theft: Why It's Crucial

PREVENTING THEFT IN YOUR PTA

TIPS TO PREVENT THEFT IN YOUR PTA

Hopefully you enjoy the content found here and share what you've found with other PTA and PTO members as well as administrators and principals alike. There's a lot to gain from safe, smart fiscal management and money handling. Thanks for taking a look!
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Although, that last paragraph really ends this blog post, I have one more article to pass on. I didn't include it in with the list above because it doesn't really have schools in mind. The info is good and important though so, if you have a minute, give it a look...

Embezzlement Happens. It’s What Charities Do Next That Matters

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Jay Moneta is the Vice President of Believe Kids a school fundraising company supplying school fundraising catalogs to elementary schools nationwide. I love comments on my blog so please leave a comment good or bad below or follow Believe Kids at twitter.com/believekids or facebook.com/believekidsfundraising

Thanks for looking and if you get a chance, tell someone about this blog - believejay.blogspot.com

School Hints: Create a System of "Checks and Balances" for PTO / PTA

Schools need systems and in particular, systems of "checks and balances".  A system of "checks and balances" means that no one person is in charge to the exclusion of others.

If you run a school PTO or PTA or other parent group, you need to have systems in place.  Systems will protect the reputation of the group and the school and prevent problems and issues in their tracks.  I'll explain exactly how in just a minute.

If you are a principal or school administrator, taking the time to ensure that groups within your school have systems in place will help you and your reputation, not to mention keeping the school safer.  I'll explain...

By way of ridiculous example, let's say you have a cookie.  That cookie is supposed to be eaten by you and you are looking forward to it.  You leave it unattended and when you return, it's gone. You are sad.

Now, let's say you have a cookie.  You tell everyone that you will be eating that cookie after your lunch.  You return to find the cookie is still eaten.  Apparently, someone walked in afterwards that did not know and yeah... they ate it.

Finally, let's say you have a cookie.  You ask another person to hold on to your cookie for you instructing them not to let anyone else eat your cookie.  You confirm that they are not going anywhere or leaving it unattended.

Happily, when you return, the cookie has not been eaten.  Yum!

Now, I've just told the lamest story ever. And, if I were you reading this, I'd be just about to get really mad at the crazy author.  But, alas!  I've run into perhaps a lamer story and this one is real. 

Police: Teacher stole money from dances, school fundraiser

According to this article and, of course, this is alledged, this teacher had control of product, pricing, inventory, cash, cash drawers and making payments - all without any accounting or double-checks.  It most likely seems rediculous looking back at it now but the school was not operating responsibly.  There just was no system, no 'checks and balances', no accountability.  In the end, there was theft.


Here are a few helpful hints:


If you are throwing an event, two main organizers would be helpful.  They can control issuing cash drawers and tallying drawers.  Other jobs could be spread amongst other teams with systems in place to insure proper product ordering, inventories and accounting. If multiple people are funneling information into one place, risk is minimized.

• Make payments to vendors via check after invoice
• Count out cash drawers ahead of time
• Use multiple-person teams to create accountability
• Inventories checked before and after every event
• Have a policy on money handling and holding
• No students responsible for cash
• Deposit funds immediately into bank

I'm sure there are a number of improvements that can be made to just about any event to improve safety and security.  I'm not really getting into everything here, it's just a few things that I came up with after reading the article.  In the end, here is the simplest grading system you can place on your events:

No communication -FAIL

Tell everyone personally what is going on - FAIL

Have two-person teams following specific rules - PASS!


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PTA Theft: How to Keep Funds Safe

It's something parent groups never should have to worry about . Theft is one of the biggest threats to your organization, but also one of the least discussed. There have been several instances where PTA, PTO, or PTSA groups have been victims of fraud, embezzlement, and theft.

Any company or group that deals with money needs to take steps to prevent theft, no matter how small the group. It is much easier to create policies to prevent theft beforehand than it is to explain to children that the money they worked hard on raising is gone.

But rest assured, there are simple steps you can take to help safe guard your group.

Never appoint just one volunteer to handle the money alone.
If you have more than one set of eyes keeping track of the books, you will greatly reduce the risk of fraud because there will be a sense of accountability. Create a system that requires multiple people to check the balances and sign their name to it, and then give it to the president for final approval. When people know their work will be checked multiple times, they will be less tempted to do something wrong.

Implement a rule that requires two signatures on every check.
At least two people should be responsible for signing parent group checks. Make it a rule that a check must be signed by the treasurer and the PTA, PTO, or PTSA president. This will ensure accountability between the two people responsible for the checks, and both people will know where the money is going.

Apply rules to handling cash.
Make sure cash is placed in a locked cash box and not just stored in an unlocked container. Don't leave the cash in the school overnight, and don't let members take the cash home. If the only option is to leave the cash at the school, make sure it is stored in a secured location, preferably with video surveillance so it will always be monitored. Another thing to keep in mind is not to let just one person handle the money at cash events. Always have two people in charge of the money, from handling it to counting it. Create a "cash received" document and require every member that counts the money at the end of the event, to sign their name to how much cash they counted.

Write the rules down.
Make a list clearly stating every rule. Print the list and hand it out to every group member at the first meeting of the year. If the rules are clearly stated and given to every member at the start of the school year, then members and volunteers will know what is acceptable from the very beginning.