The Money Mom: The challenge of spending

Posted by Jennifer Freeman at 10:33 AM

It’s nearly halfway through the year. Have you spent at least half the money that your PTA has raised?

Raising money is not easy, but spending money well can be at least as big a challenge. You have to decide and then research exactly what you want to buy, work with teachers and principals to choose the purchases that work for them --whether new white boards or science books-- and then actually make the purchase. Sometimes you even have to lay out your own money and save the receipts to get reimbursed later. Spending takes follow-through and commitment. It's sometimes especially challenging, to get spending all the way into the classroom to improve a child’s learning experience. This money, whether spent on grow lights and plants, digital cameras, visiting poets, or field trips, is the most important money parents can raise.

Do you have a solid budget, a spending plan, or a spending committee to help with the legwork? Does your PTA have a working process for deciding how to spend your money? One source for ideas on how to spend money (and how to raise it) is PTO Today, a national organization that supports parent organizations in schools.

When you do spend money, document it. Tell parents in a newsletter what the PTA has accomplished. Post a photo of on your school's website, for example, of kids performing in a holiday show wearing PTA-funded costumes, and write a caption letting the community know who funded the show. There is a direct connection between spending money well and being able to raise more money. Donors --whether they are parents contributing to an annual fund or foundations supporting a special arts program-- will be impressed to know that you’ve been able to spend money in ways that really made a difference for your kids.

The Money Mom: The holiday spirit of giving

Posted by Jennifer Freeman at 1:35 PM

Next Thursday my child will play the trumpet in his winter holiday concert. After the music and singing, the class will gather for cider and cheese and crackers, to share a time together and give the teacher a little token of appreciation. The mom who arranged the gathering also asked parents to bring donations of food, if possible, for the nearby Yorkville Common Pantry, where, as in all food pantries in the country these days, food shortages threaten.

'Tis the season for kids to experience the joy of giving. For much of the year we put on fundraisers to supplement our kids’ classroom and programming needs, but at this season we can bring a sense of holiday spirit to school by reaching out to others. Whether it’s a bake sale to benefit the Heifer Project, which provides live animals to supplement the livelihoods of families around the world, or food for a local food pantry, or a spare change collection for a local charity, school kids can learn from working together on a benefit that lets them reach out and give to others, bringing a real sense of meaning to the holiday season.

The Money Mom: The search for grants

Posted by Jennifer Freeman at 11:59 AM

The search for grants can be broken into four basic parts: needs assessment, funder research, grant writing, and implementation or spending the money. In this post, I'll explain the first component, needs assessment.

Needs assessment means deciding what are the biggest problems at your school that can be helped by grants. In some schools, this might be science kits or refurbishing a community room. In my school the principal was going deaf because the lunch room has no sound insulation, so we applied for money to install acoustic panels. Also, kids seemed to never go out on field trips, so we asked for money to send them on field trips to orchards and symphony halls. Some grants are for special programs like visiting artists or conflict resolution training.

One thing I have learned about program grants is they need to fit in a busy teacher’s day, so it’s best if they support the existing curriculum, or else bring in special experiences that will free up teachers’ time to work with small groups of kids. For instance, if children leave the classroom for a piano lesson a half-class at a time, the remaining half can be given their math lesson with more personal attention.

The four parts of the grant search can be delegated to different people working on the grants team: one can canvass parents and teachers for grant ideas, and others can do the internet research for grants. That job is good for people who can only do work on their own time, late at night when the kids have gone to bed.

The Money Mom: School need money? Ask local electeds

Posted by Jennifer Freeman at 11:38 AM

I was recently elected to my local Community Education Council, but before that my usual role in my kid's schools for the past seven years has been grant writing. Insideschools thought that both grant writing and Community Education Councils would interest parents, so I will contribute entries on both subjects to this blog.

Some time over the summer, the New York State Department of Education sends out letters announcing special legislative grants. These grants are the means--usually a few thousand dollars or more--with which our state assembly members help schools to buy goods and services that are never easy to afford in a school budget of any size--science kits and field trips, extra music and art programs, murals, nonfiction books for classroom libraries.

City Council members and borough presidents sometimes have even bigger pieces of money to share, such as tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade your classroom’s computer system.

What does it take to get funds for your school from local electeds? Make a list of concrete things you could buy that would directly benefit a large number of children at your school. Your school principal should know about and support your request. Send a simple letter describing how you would spend the money you seek, and who it would benefit. The process may take a while: letters sent to state assembly members in January are funded with the state budget in the summer.

You’re even more likely to get your request funded if you get to know your elected officials personally. Invite them to speak at a PTA meeting or to attend school events such as pot luck dinners or fall fairs. Talk to them about issues that concern you and your school. Don’t be afraid: most local electeds are friendly people who enjoy getting to know their constituents, and public school parents are a good group to know.