Have some money burning a hole in your Parent Teacher Organization’s (PTA/PTO) pocket that you’d like to spend?
But you’ve heard that there are some big no-nos about what your groups can pay for in terms of keeping your 501(c)(3) non-profit status and you don’t want to make the IRS mad.
Or potentially lose your 501(c)(3) status.
This post is going to give you clarity on this topic and you’ll walk away knowing what you should (and should not be) laying out funds for!
Items Your PTO Should Definitely Fund
PTO Operations
It takes a some money to run the PTO, so don’t be afraid to spend in this area.
There are many things that are needed to run the PTO, and they’re at the top of the okay to pay for list.
Open the PTO wallet to pay for things like:
- Office supplies
- Supplies to run events (decorations, food, etc.)
- Copying of newsletters, flyers and PTO program brochures
- Guides on how to run your PTA/PTO like the President’s Success Kit and Parent Involvement Success Kit.
- Postage stamps
- Envelopes
- Software to manage your PTO, like the Treasurer’s Finance Manager
- Form templates
It’s even ok to cover the cost of printer ink if an officer (think: PTO President) is making a lot of copies at home.
Reimbursement for one black cartridge is sufficient, even if the printing’s being done in color as well.
Sometimes volunteers may have access to a stash of supplies to save the PTO from needing to pay for items.
If not, it’s ok for the PTO to cover these types of costs.
Membership dues (if you’re a PTA) also falls under an operational need since your group will be out of compliance with standards if dues aren’t paid to the State PTA.
If your school district has a PTA Council, there may be separate dues owed to that organization as well, so check in with your PTA Council President and Treasurer for the details.
Leadership Development and Conferences
Your PTO should feel comfortable paying for leadership training for volunteers, especially since the materials can be shared with other volunteers.
Likewise, paying for PTO volunteers to attend leadership training gets the green light.
It’s also ok for the PTO to send interested volunteers and staff to the State or National PTA Convention.
And it’s okay to pay for related registration, parking, travel, meals and lodging.
Training of volunteers can boost volunteer retention and makes your group stronger because volunteers will gain confidence and better know how to run the PTO.
This will inevitably decrease the drama and lead to an overall healthier group!
Student / Family Events and Programs
Anything for the benefit of students and families pretty much goes as far as PTO spending.
Freely fund events like:
And any other event for students and families!
Providing activities and programming for students (and their families) is at the heart of what school parent groups do.
So it only makes sense to spend PTO money to make the activities and programs happen!
School / Family Enrichment Programs
Bring in a traveling planetarium, museum or dance troupe to expose students to something new to enhance students’ education.
Or subsidize a school field trip or transportation to make the program happen.
Costs for parent education programs on topics relating to parenting or education (bullying, social media safety, testing updates, and more) are also ok to financially support.
Spending the PTO’s financial resources for school and family enrichment programs is totally inline with the mission of your school parent group.
Family Nights
Costs for supplies, rental of equipment, performer fees, etc. for events and programs for family involvement and participation can be covered with no problem.
Boosting family engagement is a core part of your group’s reason for being.
Meetings
Paying for the honorarium of a speaker at a PTO meeting is a legitimate use of PTO funds, as is providing refreshments for meetings.
Educating members about current topics about parents, education and the like is an important benefit your PTO’s offers.
It’s ok to bring in outside expertise to give your members the very best information and resources.
Fundraisers
It takes money to raise money, so don’t hesitate to lay out some money to make it happen!
Common fundraising expenses include:
Need additional help learning how to run an effective fundraiser?
That’s ok to pay for too!
Costs Associated with Getting or Retaining Members
Designing, printing and shipping of PTO promotional materials, fliers is an acceptable PTO expense.
So are cookies to draw parents over to the membership table.
Just like Fundraising, getting more members usually takes a little bit of money to make happen.
Legislative Activities
Participating in and supporting Local, State, and National PTA-related legislative activity is encouraged and funds may be used.
It’s also okay is to pay for for volunteers to attend meetings, hearings and conferences on the topic of:
- School budget and funding changes (levies);
- Health / welfare of children and youth;
- State and federal levels, legislation dealing with health and/or welfare of children and youth; and
- Legislation changes on the local, state and federal level dealing with education, among others.
Any legislative activity associated fee, transportation cost, parking fees, and meals is okay to pay with PTO funds.
Supporting PTO members interested in the legislative activities is a good investment for your group since the parent can keep your group up to date with potential changes on the horizon.
Keeping your members informed about legislative changes is a valuable benefit you can provide to parents who may not otherwise have time to track the changes on their own.
Another benefit to keeping an eye on government legislation is that you can collectively act in support of (or opposition) to any proposed laws or regulations.
Memorials
Memorializing students, staff, teachers, administrators and volunteers by planting of trees, shrubs, or perennial flower beds, establishing a buddy bench, etc., is something your PTO should not be afraid to pay for.
You’ll need to check in with your Principal before purchasing anything permanent for the school grounds.
The Board of Education may need to formally accept the gift since they’ll likely be responsible for maintenance going forward.
Teacher and Volunteer Appreciation and Awards
Don’t worry about costs relating to recognizing deserving students, teachers, parents, volunteers, school administrators and staff or members of the community.
Costs associated with giving a physical award, such as the frame, certificates, pins, etc. are fine to pay for with PTO money.
Same with teacher appreciation decorations, food and beverages to put on a lovely appreciation event for staff and PTO volunteers.
Recognizing student and staff is a different animal from celebrating PTO volunteers, so keep reading for how to treat those type of expenses.
Student Scholarships
Providing monetary scholarships for students is a fabulous use of PTO funds!
Your group can establish a scholarship fund for high school seniors looking to continue their education or for students attending field trips to the state or national capitol.
Items Your PTO Should Not Pay For
PTO and PTAs exist for the betterment of students and families.
But they’re not a support organization for the school itself.
There are quite a few things your PTO should not pay for, ever, such as:
Teacher and Staff Salaries or Continuing Education
Did the school district cut art in an effort to balance the budget?
Parents might be upset, but the place of the PTO isn’t to step up when the school can’t.
A better response from the PTO would be to advocate for the reinstatement of the art program, then plan special art nights to give students exposure to art until that happens.
Likewise, the PTO should not be paying for programs to educate the educators.
That’s simply not the place of the PTO since the training is necessary for the teachers to do their jobs.
Training funding needs to come from the school, with no help from the PTO.
Can your PTO provide snacks and drinks during the professional development days?
Yes, since that can be categorized under teacher appreciation.
School Maintenance and Supplies
The very basic items required for the students and school are the responsibility of the school and aren’t items that PTOs should pay for.
The basics include things like:
- Text books
- Smart boards
- Computers
- Printers
- Copiers
- Janitorial supplies
- Landscaping costs (grass cutting, snow plowing)
If your PTO is using the school’s printers or copies, then you can pay for paper or bring in your own reams of paper to run off copies for PTO flyers and newsletters.
Can PTO Money Purchase Playground Equipment?
PTOs absolutely can pay for playground equipment, either individual components or the whole thing!
Playgrounds aren’t strictly necessary to education, so that’s why this expenditure gets the green light.
Donations to Other Associations
Your tax exempt non-profit status is at risk with any donation to non-charitable organizations, no matter how worthy the cause.
And this reason for this makes sense when you understand that money raised by a 501(c)(3) organization should go towards organizing with a similar mission.
Donors to your school parent group want their money to be spent on children and the school because that’s who they gave the money to.
The donors would probably be surprised (and probably upset) if your group donated money to help rebuild the rainforest at the local zoo.
Although the zoo’s mission is a good one to support, it’s just too different from your PTO’s mission to support children and education.
Donors would’ve given separately to the zoo fundraiser is that’s how they wished to use their money.
So that’s why the IRS doesn’t look kindly on 501(c)(3) organizations giving money to non-501(c)(3) groups.
What about PTO’s Shutting Down?
If your group is has 501(c)(3) status, know that there are specific rules about what can be done with your group’s money. It’s can’t be given to just anyone or any type of organization.
Read the IRS rules about dissolution here.
More on PTO Spending Rules
Watch this video to learn more about what PTA/PTO school parent groups can and can’t pay for:
Deciding the Best Use for Your PTO’s Money
Now that you have a general guideline for what your PTO can and can’t buy, you’re probably wondering how you make the decision on what to spend money on.
Instead of adding random items to your online shopping cart, make a plan.
Create an Annual Budget
The process of figuring out what to spend your PTO’s hard earned money on begins by creating an annual budget.
This way, your PTO has more than just a vague concept of how the money will be used.
The budget entails spelling out how much your group is going to bring in through fundraising and donations, and how much you’re going to spend and where you’ll specifically spend it.
And if you happen to have a windfall year where you have a whole lot of money, then you can look to what some of your school needs are and use some money to fill those needs.
Ask Teachers, Staff and Administrators
One of the easiest ways to figure out what you should be spending money on or to get ideas for possibilities is to ask, the people who are in the schools all the time, like your school’s staff, teachers, and administrators.
A really quick way to make this happen is just to send them a link to a SurveyMonkey or Google Form with open-ended responses questions like:
- What would make your job easier?
- What would make the school more awesome?
- How can the PTO support you better?
Ask for a wish list of items.
Don’t put a financial cap on it because you may actually be able to fulfill requests that are currently outside of your group’s budget.
For example, maybe one of the wishlist items is a teacher lounge makeover, complete with new furniture.
That sounds like and totally is a big ticket wishlist item, but you could make it happen using some of your PTO’s Staff Appreciation Budget, and fill in the rest with donations.
But if you’d set a dollar limit cap on the wishlist items, maybe you never would’ve know that this is something the staff and teachers would like and the project never would’ve happened.
So keep the sky as the limit and let everyone dream big to start with.
Also, you’ll get a better variety of answers, and it’ll just be really interesting to hear what people say.
You’ll probably find that the survey answers will clue you into things that you weren’t aware of and also things that will make the teacher and staff’s lives easier!
And you might realize that it’s pretty easy to fulfill the wishlist, which will make everyone feel really good, especially the PTO since you’re doing something so impactful and desired.
At the end of the day, happier teachers lead to happier kids, which lead to happier parents.
So, it serves us as PTO leaders to listen closely to what the teachers and school’s staff want and make that happen for them whenever possible.
Ask Parents
The other way to figure out what to earmark PTO money and resources is to get school parents together and figure out what they have to say.
Maybe even meet at the school and walk around the building as a group to look for possible improvements.
Is the recess equipment kind of shabby?
Is the playground equipment falling apart?
Are the water fountains are kind of old and gross, and a water bottle fillers would be more ideal?
Replacing any of these items is a worthy investment of PTO money.
The bottom line is that there are so many options that could be good uses of your PTO’s time, energy and money that would improve the school experience.
And you might not know about them unless you ask and tap into the power of the hive mind.
Ask Students
Finally, don’t forget to survey the school’s students too.
It’s a great way for kids to learn to advocate for themselves and learn how to express their needs and wants.
You’ll probably be surprised by the suggestions from the students about programs, events and school improvements.
Does the PTO “Have to” Pay for Anything?
The question about whether or not a PTO “has to” pay for anything pops up every once in a while, usually when a PTO and Principal aren’t on the same page and there’s a conflict.
Generally, the answer is no.
Your PTO doesn’t have to pay for anything unless the members wish to pay for it.
Nothing is owed to the school and the school (and by extension, Principal) doesn’t have a right to 50% of the PTO’s fundraising profits, for example.
Your group’s bylaws and standing rules should outline your relationship with your school and provide an overview of the types of things the PTO wishes to fund.
That’s where your groups mission statement Lancôme into play.
Your annual budget likely has details about different programs and items your PTO typically pays for, so you can look at past budgets to see what was funded if there are questions.
Conflicts about how and where to spend money is one of the reason why I recommend establishing a mini-grant program for your PTO.
The grant program provides an avenue for financial support requests to come in from teachers, administrators and staff and gives your PTO the ability to evaluate the requests without feeling like they’re the school’s piggy bank.
More on Deciding How to Spend PTO Money
Watch this video for more on how to decide what to spend PTO money on:
Over to you!
And now you have the guidelines for how to use your PTO/PTA’s money and how to decide what to use group money on.
The overall theme of the guidance is this: if it fits within the mission of your group (benefitting the students and staff of the school), it goes.
An expense core to the functioning of the school and educating the students is probably not something your school parent group to should pay for.
The school has a clear mission and so does your PTO, so the spending decision follow suit.
In order to make the most of your PTO’s money, don’t guess about how or where to spend it.
Ask the stakeholders (students, staff, teachers, parents) directly.
Start within your own school community because you’ll be able to meet the actual needs.
More Resources for PTA/PTO Money Management
If you’re not using these tools to help manage your PTO / PTA’s finances, then you’re missing out!
Think you have to buy an expensive system to track your group’s finances?
Think again!
As a PTO/PTA or Booster Club Treasurer, you’ve got enough on your plate and don’t need another full time job.
Stop spending precious volunteer hours battling confusing spreadsheets and struggling to make sense of your group’s finances.
The Treasurer’s Finance Manager is your all-in-one solution, designed with your unique needs in mind.
Imagine: auto-magically generated reports, budgets that update themselves, and complete financial transparency without having to do any math.
Finally, a user-friendly tool that saves you time, reduces stress, and delivers exactly what you need to easily manage your group’s money.
No fluff or confusing features, it’s all been distilled down to a streamlined, low learning curve experience that anyone can do.
Purchase once, use forever!
Empower Your Role as Treasurer. Effective financial management shouldn’t be stressful. Instead of piecing together systems on the fly, imagine having a proven framework at your fingertips.
The Treasurer’s Success Kit provides that framework. This expertly designed system empowers you to manage your group’s finances with confidence and ease, saving you valuable time and eliminating unnecessary stress.
Experience the difference:
- Certainty and Peace of Mind: Know you’re covering all your bases, every time.
- Clear, Actionable Roadmaps: Follow a simple monthly plan for consistent success.
- Streamlined Organization: Enjoy a perfectly organized system that keeps everything in its place.
- Increased Confidence: Feel in control and prepared for any financial task.
- Simplified Record Keeping: Effortlessly manage past and present records.
- Instant Organization: Get set up and running in minutes.
Transform your treasurer experience!
