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Maintain Organizational Health with Fiscal Responsibility

PTA Treasurers play a crucial role in maintaining the health of the organization. This guide shares best practices for budgeting, banking and conducting a PTA audit, with specialized information on contracts, incorporation, insurance and federal tax requirements.

•  Did You Know?
–    All monies deposited into a PTA account will be considered PTA funds by the IRS. 
       -  A PTA should never deposit school or school-related money into its account.
                                                - PTA’s do not share their EIN number with their school or sales tax                                                                       exemption, they are completely separate.

 Budgets:
- A budget shows a plan for how your PTA will raise money and spend money to implement the PTA mission.
 - A budget does not dictate what your PTA must do. It simply represents what your PTA intends to do.
 - A finance or budget committee usually has the responsibility of developing a budget for the PTA.
* This committee may be elected or appointed according to the PTA bylaws and usually consists of three or five members, one of whom is the treasurer, who may act as chair.
* This is important because it doesn’t allow the officers to dictate the budget.
Banking:
 - Have bank statements sent to the school.
 - Have a non-signer go over the bank statements and initial (now a requirement for most insurance).
– Principal is a smart choice.
 - Two signatures on all checks.
 - Always present a Treasurers Report at every monthly PTA meeting.  
 - Bring bank statements to monthly meetings so PTA members can review if necessary.
 - Reconcile bank statements every month to make sure all financial transactions are documented.
 - Maintain all financial records in a binder with electronic back-up.

Fundraising:

As PTAs work to move their mission forward and serve the children in our schools, they often find that dues are not sufficient to achieve their mission to make every child's potential a reality.

Fundraising is a necessary component to provide the means, yet it can be challenging.

Key points to remember:

  • All PTA fundraising should support PTA's mission, in both how the funds are raised and how they are spent.
  • Adults should raise PTA funds. PTAs are strongly encouraged to avoid activities that require children to sell to strangers.
  • Transparency is key. The ways in which funds are raised and spent should be communicated clearly to members and the school community as a whole.
  • All funds generated by a PTA, including the local portion of dues, should be budgeted for purposes that advance PTA work, such as enhancing student success or improving the school.
  • Fundraising activities themselves should be conducted in alignment with the PTA mission.


Begin each year with specific, mission-driven goals in mind.

Identify strategies for reaching those goals before determining the dollar amount needed from fundraising events. They should raise only the funds necessary to meet the needs of the year's activities and projects, as outlined in the PTA's budget. In keeping with our mission, National PTA encourages local PTAs to utilize fundraisers in which only adults, not children, are active as fundraisers.

Know the laws.

Your PTA must follow federal and state laws to maintain your tax-exempt status with the IRS. Review the legal implications of fundraising. For example, your PTA should not provide financial assistance to an individual or family in the case of a catastrophic event, such as a fire or other disaster. While these efforts are well-intentioned, it could result in losing your PTA's tax-exempt status.

Transparency is key.

The ways in which funds are raised and spent should be communicated clearly to members and the school community as a whole regularly and in multiple ways.

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