The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) can be challenging, especially for the teachers. On the other side of the fence, we have parents who only want the best for the kids. We have to understand that they are expecting a lot from the school.
In the PTA, the teachers serve as the representatives of the school. The teachers have to work hand-in-hand with the parents who can be demanding at times.
The Problem and The Solution
What’s the main problem that the PTA has? It’s lack of funds. Sure, the PTA needs to tackle a lot of issues but having funds can help make things easier. If you’re a teacher, you need and want to make sure that things are easier. After all, you have a lot of things on your plate already.
What exactly are the things that parents are demanding? Here are just some of them:
- Better teachers (Gulp!)
- Better facilities
- Better programs
Obviously, they just want things to be better. Unfortunately, the school has bigger problems and it’s usually up to the teachers to satisfy the demands of the parents. At the very least, you have to show that something is being done.
Use PTA Fundraising Ideas
Fortunately, there are fundraising ideas that the PTA can take advantage of. These ideas are designed in such a way that even people inexperienced in raising funds (teachers and parents) can use them.
Here are some of the best fundraising ideas that the PTA can use:
Run an annual summer fete.
This is a great idea and you should be running this every year. Basically, you’re going to set aside a whole day to bring together the school officials, teachers, parents, students, and their families. It’s a good way for all of you to just have fun and get away from stress.
Best of all, you can use it to raise funds for the PTA. Set up a mini-tournament and require teams to pay a joining fee. Sell foods and refreshments. Hold a raffle. There are a lot of great ideas that you can put together for this purpose.
Hold a non-uniform day.
Obviously, this works only if the students in your school wear uniform. Basically, students or their parents need to pay a fixed amount so that the students can go to school without wearing their uniform. Let’s say that you charge $2 per student and the school has 500 students. The math is easy enough.
Sell goodies.
This is one of the oldest PTA fundraising ideas out there but it still works. You can sell anything from candy bars to pizza on school grounds. Here’s a good tip – sell ice cream during summer!
What’s Next?
What can the PTA do once they have accumulated the funds? Put the funds to good use! Here are some of the things that you can do:
Give the teachers a well-deserved bonus.
This can help boost morale and in return, the teachers will do a greater job at teaching the kids.
Improve the facilities.
Maybe it’s time to buy several new chairs? How about a new paint job? You can also donate school equipment.
Set up a new program for the kids.
This can help with their development. This also helps make them be more productive.
Use the funds internally.
Obviously, the PTA has a lot of things that they need to do. It’s a good idea to have extra funds.
These PTA fundraising ideas can help the teachers overcome these challenges. Discuss these ideas in your next meeting and plan on implementing them.
About The Author:
Gregg Michaelsen specializes in providing fundraising ideas for schools, churches and non-profit organizations. Check out these PTA fundraising ideas and raise the funds that the PTA badly needs!