New Teacher Survivor Series
Part #6 - What do I do about fundraisers and handling the finances of the chapter and program.
Introduction:
Money is the root of all evil. At
the least, it can cause you many headaches. Some
include students not turning in all of their sausage money and they graduate or
transfer out of the school district. Students
say they turned the money in but you have no record or receipt.
A student says he gave you more money than you gave him the receipt for.
A student delivers sausage or meat that is spoiled. Your freezer breaks down and your sausage or meat order
ruins.
Others might be: You
order FFA jackets and the student cannot pay for it once it is in; You didn't
get a Purchase Order before you bought show supplies and now the superintendent
chews you out; you ran out of money before the end of the year and you can't get
gas or welding rod for the shop; the list can go on.
It is important that
you dedicate time to the financial end of the program.
This guide will assist you; however, we can never cover all of the items
that might occur. Be organized,
document all transactions, and perform those transactions in the company of the
person you are dealing with.
The areas of
concern:
a.
General fund account - contact person is the superintendent.
Find out how much you can spend each year.
School receives $6420 from the state for your program.
b.
Chapter activity account - you are solely responsible.
Keep a running total yourself. Sometimes
if you have a lot of money in this account, your general fund money goes down.
c.
Purchase orders - You must have a purchase order number before you buy
anything! Find out who and how.
d.
Fund raisers
e.
Budget - You need to prepare a detailed budget each year to submit to the
administration. This will keep your money.
f.
Documentation - Document all cash received.
Don't rely on someone else to keep your books.
Fund Raisers
1.
Determine the type and number of fundraisers your chapter will conduct
before school starts. (Meat or
product sales, labor auctions, pancake suppers, trophy auctions, plant sales,
etc.)
2.
Set dates that each fundraiser will begin and end.
Stick to those dates.
3.
Let your administration approve the fund raisers you schedule before
school starts. Give them a copy of
the schedule.
4.
Don't have fundraisers during your busy times.
5.
Don't have more than 4 chapter fundraisers during the year.
6.
Develop order sheets for each fundraiser.
This way, students don't just tell you how many, they show you.
7.
Keep copies of all order sheets.
8.
Set a specific time after the product has been given to the student for
delivery to have their money in to you.
9.
Suggestion: You can offer incentives to students to participate in the
fundraiser and get their money in on time.
Some might include: Awards for high salesperson; FFA jackets for anyone
who sells 100 sticks of sausage; $.25 rebate on each stick of sausage sold if
all the money is turned in within two weeks; $.15 rebate on each item sold if
money is turned in within three weeks, or free hats for a certain amount sold.
10.
If you are concerned
about a student not turning in money or not taking proper care of the product
before delivery, do not give that student their full order.
Have them take a little at a time.
11.
Arrange a storage
place for the order before it arrives. Check with your cafeteria person. They sometimes let the Ag teacher use the walk in.
12.
Inform the students a couple of days in advance that the order will be
arriving and they need to make arrangements to pick up their order at a specific
time and place.
13.
Always order a little extra. You
will need it or you can use it for teacher appreciation days, etc.
14.
Before you begin collecting money, set up a record keeping procedure.
This should begin with the total order for the chapter with the cost.
15.
A list of the students and their individual orders should be included.
16.
There should be spaces for total order, total picked up, total due and
money turned in to date with a receipt number space.
17.
You will need two receipt books and a moneybag.
18.
Designate a time when students can turn in money.
It might be at the beginning of class or before or after school.
It is up to you.
19.
Always count the money turned in from that student with the student
present. They should agree with the
total you come up with. Do this
with all money received.
20.
Write a receipt for all money received.
21.
Turn the receipt book and the moneybag in for deposit.
This will allow the financial secretary to balance your receipts with
your cash.
General Budget
22.
You should submit a budget for the next school year to your
administration. The budget might
include:
23.
Make your budget equal to the amount of money allocated to you by the
superintendent. If he does not give
you a figure, keep your budget below $4,000.
This will allow him/her to use some of the state money and hopefully keep
you in fuel and a pickup.
24.
Learn and follow the procedures for acquiring a PO to the letter.
25.
When you make out your purchase orders for the use of this money, make a
note on the PO what part of your budget it falls under.
26.
Don't put yourself in the position of having to rush through a PO every
time. Every once in a while you
will have an emergency. Consult
your superintendent or principal on what action you should take.
Let them rush the PO through.
FFA Activity Account
27.
Use this account for FFA items. They
might include: Metal to make show equipment, FFA banquet supplies, show grooming
supplies, show equipment, FFA meeting refreshments, special items for FFA
activities, and FFA awards.
28.
You can also use this account for quick turn-around time.
Sometimes a General Fund PO will take a while.
The activity account fund usually requires fewer approval steps.
29.
Don't always go to the financial secretary with a sob story of how you
need a PO. Be proactive.
That way when you do have an emergency, you will have no problem.
Final Word:
Hopefully, this guide has not totally confused you. However, there have been many an Ag Ed teacher accused of
misusing and even stealing FFA and/or program funds.
It is in your best
interest that you have clear documentation and paper work for all transactions
dealing with money. No one can
dispute proper documentation.
We have said from
the beginning that organization is the key to success for an Ag Ed teacher.
Dealing with money and fundraisers are no exceptions.