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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Questions for you - what specifically are you fundraising for? Pizza at school events? Food and childcare at PTO meetings? Enrichment activities/field trips? That may help tailor the responses. [/quote]

Thank you. Great question. At this point, we are just hoping to help support the school in whatever way the principal/assistant principal and teachers ask. This year, for instance, we helped fund the annual picnic and a teacher appreciation lunch, helped a staffer attend a virtual conference for professional development, and gave out smallish Amazon gift certificates - $100 I think - for every teacher to buy classroom supplies.

I've heard that schools with wealthier demographics than ours are able to do big things like provide every teacher with an aide, fund a mindfulness coach...all sort of wonderful things.

Our school has significant needs and we would love to be able to offer that kind of support some day. For instance, teachers tell us the school could use more mental health counselors since many students have experienced trauma.

But for now, something like bringing in new staff is totally pie in the sky. We are thinking small - money to help with events and celebrations, fill in resource gaps for teachers, that sort of thing. [/quote]

If you're able to do that many $100 gift cards, you're actually doing pretty well. Where is that money coming from?[/quote]

Well, that's good to hear! It's a very small school so it wasn't that many gift cards.

For now, money is mostly coming from parents like me who have some disposal income and are planning to stay at the school long-term. There are maybe 10 or so of us who made significant donations ($100 or more). [/quote]

Honestly you'll never get a ton of money from parents of young kids. They just have too many other expenses.

Form a tiny grants committee (like two people) and set a goal of applying to one grant each. It gets a lot easier after the first few, because you can recycle a lot of the text. You can ask the teachers for suggestions, sparing them the work of doing the applications themselves. Do not neglect in-kind grants such as Kennedy Center's Get On The Bus. You can estimate a value and include it in your year-end PTO report to the school.

Consider getting insurance for the PTO, it isn't that expensive. Fraud happens all too often!

Congrats on your transition from baby PTO to a growing organization!

[/quote]

Thank you!

I love this idea! Constructive and doable! Is there a clearinghouse or resource for local (or not local?) grants someone can point me to? 
[/quote]

Grantsforteachers.com

I think if you make an effort to befriend other Title I PTO parents you can find one. Try reaching out to Langley, they've recently made this transition and they're a very warm and active PTO.

https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/partnerships/performance-access-programs/
https://www.grantsforteachers.com/corporate-grants/Target_Store_Field_Trip_Grants_/grantdetails_184.aspx
https://www.aad.org/public/public-health/shade-structure-grants

Be thinking not "How can I get money", but "How can I add value". You can do in-kind drives amongst your membership. For example for outgrown books, outgrown uniforms, winter coats. But you don't want to be dumping a bunch of shabby old stuff on the school staff-- a parent has to step up and handle it, cull it, and make sure everything donated is wanted and dispose of what's not needed. You can involve the older elementary students as a community service project.

Another worthwhile thing is having parents scout and network for free field trips, classroom visitors, and other enrichments. We've had things like visiting a restaurant for a tour of the kitchen, a parent's chamber music group came to demonstrate instruments, and a college athletic team came to "coach PE" and the kids really loved it. Remember that high school students in DC need to accrue community service hours-- if you're located near a high school, see if they will partner with you on something.

I believe that all of us have a contribution to make, it's just a matter of finding out what it is. Some people are great chaperones. Others are excellent at DCRA nonprofit paperwork. One of our parents knows how to repair bedraggled library books. Others can operate a grill. There is plenty to do, people just need you to see the connections.[/quote]

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