FAQs
Q.
Can you describe the changes the Copper Ridge PTO is making this year?”
A.
Our Kids, Our School, Our PTO
The Copper Ridge Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) belongs to all families for the benefit of all students. Our mission is simple ~ to enhance the quality of education that our kids receive at Copper Ridge. We do that by supplementing the school with educational programs and support staff. We are now offering families the opportunity to directly sponsor the PTO. To help you understand where we are investing in Copper Ridge School, the PTO is going to do a better job of sharing this information so you can see how we are accomplishing our mission (you can find more information in the “About Us” section.)
Copper Ridge PTO Financial Success
Over the past 8 years, the Copper Ridge PTO has actively used its volunteer base for fundraising activities. As the economy changed over the past year, achieving our financial goals required more volunteer hours for less money raised. Looking for better options, we have made the decision to modify our fundraising mindset toward passive fundraising. There are two parts to our financial success: a traditional Sponsorship Drive and to engage in Passive Fund Raising. Our sponsorship drive will allow you to pay in advance for items that you have been purchasing all year for our various social events. This will include such items as wrist bracelets for Fall Festival, Spring Arts raffle tickets, even yearbooks, to name a few.
Passive or “free” fundraising occurs when we align our spending with companies who donate a percentage of the sale to our PTO. The great news is that these companies are stores we all use on a regular basis ~ Fry’s, Safeway, Starbucks, etc (click here for more information on how passive fundraising works).
Tools Required
Since we changed our fundraising strategy, we needed different methods to
accomplish our financial goals. In addition to using hundreds of volunteer hours, our fundraising events cost a considerable amount of money (hosting a golf tournament/auction costs around $25,000; years ago we raised over $125,000, this past year we raised only $45,000). By eliminating these active fundraising events, we will eliminate expenses and free up our volunteer time. In its place, we are creating a website that will support the passive fundraising efforts we are employing. This means we are now able to significantly increase the percentage of funds raised going directly to the PTO to benefit the Copper Ridge School.