Online Dues Payments Never Reached PTAs
The Greenwich (Conn.) PTA Council has joined other school and athletic groups from across the country in seeking funds due from Count Me In, a Bellevue, Wash.-based company that collects online registrations and donations for nonprofits.
March 2009
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Five PTAs that are members of the council used Count Me In to collect membership dues and registration fees for after-school activities. The company processed payments online, kept a set fee, and forwarded the remaining funds to customers. The council used the service for about two years before Count Me In quit making regular payments last fall.
The company has yet to pay $75,000 in fees owed to the five schools, according to PTA council president Julie Faryniarz. The council has filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of Connecticut and Washington.
Count Me In CEO Terry Drayton issued a statement in January saying the company is seeking investors or buyers to enable it to repay the $5 million it owes to 220 customers.
Calls to Count Me In and its parent company, the Arena Group, were not answered and messages left were not returned.
