In the past that information wasn't shared at all. But this year as President I share almost everything with those at the meeting and its also put in the newsletter. After every fundraiser (even pizza nights or boxtops) we state it at the meeting and its posted monthly in the newsletter. In the past many people never knew where the money they raised went. Not everyone can come to the meetings, so this year we decided to put it in the newsletter, people seem to really like that. They now know what our budget is for the year (and what we pay for) so they know monthly how close we are getting to be able to pay for everything. I definitely think its something everyone should know. They are the ones who are putting all their time and money into it they should see how it turns out in the end.

Not only is a financial report given every meeting with all the details of expenditures, we also give reports of any fundraisers (one-time or ongoing) for that month. This year's carnival was scaled down and we had less kids in the school so many were curious as to the outcome...we actually made more which surprised even myself (the pres and the chair for this event.) I think one of the PTO's main functions is fundraising, so wouldn't it then be in the group's best interest to share that $$ information at each meeting? :cool:

We are pretty much in the same situation. My opinion as the ptc president is that the money was earned by the children and whoever wants to know how much money we have or how a particular event went. We should freely tell them. I was also informed that the financial records were public records and that a treasure report was routinely done at all meetings. If your current board feels that it's no ones business then maybe they need to be reminded that they are in those positions as volunteers who were voted in by the parents or peers of the children they are suppose to be representing and supporting. Our treasure just quit and we know have a new one so maybe we will be able to release more information as our meetings also. good luck :eek:

When you have an event (a moneymaker), do you give a report on it to the general membership or is it enough to just say it went well and that's it?
I've run events that ended a few days before our general meeting and yet I've always tried to work up some numbers or at least say these are preliminary numbers and then give a more detailed report at the next meeting. I don't mean every detail, but the final profit, how it compares to the same event last year, if applicable, even figuring out the percentage of the gain or loss.
However this year's board seems to feel it's enough to simply say the event was a success and that's the end of it.
We recently had an event that we've held for the past few years and I know for a fact that there was a lot less planning put into this year's event than in the past, so I was curious to hear how well it had done. When we had our general meeting all that was said was that it went well and that was the end of it.
It bothers me that I as a board member have no idea how this year's event did compared to last year's, nor do I even know what our profit turned out to be. I have had people who have been at the school long enough to know to ask approach me and ask how it did in a friendly way and I just told them that since I wasn't involved in this particular event they needed to ask the people who ran it. (Of course none of the people who asked me were at the meeting.)
Am I just being anal in expecting a certain amount of information to be made public regarding our events, or is it better to keep it simple and only go into detail if someone asks? We are a PTA, if that makes a difference.