Overview

School fundraising is any activity allowed under a school board’s policy to raise money or other resources for a school. Fundraising may take place on or off school property.

School fundraising must be approved by the school principal, in consultation with the school council or school fundraising organization operating in the name of the school.

The school provides the administrative processes for collecting funds. 

This guideline supports:

  • school boards in developing board-wide fundraising policies
  • schools on how to effectively plan and administer fundraising activities, including how to report on these activities to the school community

Parents: Find helpful information and best practices for parent involvement committees and school councils.

How to use this guideline

School boards can use this guideline to:

  • identify guiding principles and best practices
  • develop or update existing guidelines, policies and procedures
  • protect staff and fundraising volunteers when managing fundraising money

While most fundraising takes place at the school level, school boards set board-wide fundraising policies and are responsible for the reporting and safekeeping of all school-generated funds.

Schools can use this guideline to:

  • plan fundraising activities
  • administer fundraising activities
  • report on these activities to the school community

Why schools fundraise

Parents and communities can support their schools through fundraising activities. These activities can enrich the student experience and help build a broader sense of community outside school hours.

Parents and communities can raise funds for a particular school or the school board.

Notes about this guideline

School boards should rely on the advice of their legal counsel for legal questions relating to the subjects in this guideline.

The best practices and examples provided in this guideline are not intended to be a comprehensive list. School boards may identify other examples and best practices that reflect their geographic, demographic and community circumstances.

School-generated funds

School-generated funds is a broad category which includes:

  • fundraising for school purposes
  • funds collected and paid out through school accounts to support programs (for example, charity payments, tour operators or hot lunch programs)

School councils or other school or parent groups work in the name of the school to raise and collect school-generated funds in the school or broader community. The school principal manages these funds which are raised or collected from sources other than the school board’s operating and capital budgets.

Funds raised by the Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations (OFHSA) are not school-generated funds. This guideline does not apply OFHSA’s fundraising activities. However, schools should refer to this guideline and their boards’ policies on fundraising when accepting donations or the fundraising proceeds from OFHSA or its units.

School community

The school community refers to:

  • students
  • parents and guardians
  • school councils
  • trustees
  • school administrators
  • staff
  • community members and partners
  • others who support the local school and student achievement

Guiding principles

Fundraising should reflect the values and expectations of the school community, including those of parents, students, staff and school board trustees.

When schools fundraise, they should consider the purposes and principles of public education, including diversity, accessibility and inclusivity.

The school principal guides fundraising activities in accordance with school board policies and with input from the school community. Fundraising should have a designated purpose and the proceeds should be used as intended.

Funds raised for school purposes should not:

  • replace public funding for education
  • support items funded through provincial grants (see list of acceptable and unacceptable uses below)

A board-wide fundraising policy ensures consistent and transparent fund collection and distribution. It should reflect the following principles:

Complement to public education

Funds raised for school purposes are to complement and not replace, public education funding.

The purposes for which the funds are collected are consistent with the school board’s mission and values.

The fundraising activities should support student achievement and not detract from the learning environment.

Voluntary participation

Participation in fundraising activities is voluntary. It should not feel like an obligation and there should be no penalties for not participating.

The school community can join fundraising activities. These activities should reflect the diversity, values and priorities of the local school community.

Safety

All fundraising activities should ensure student safety at all times where students are supervised, and activities are age appropriate.

Schools should be using clear safeguards for collecting, depositing, recording and using funds.

Accountability and transparency

To ensure accountability and transparency over fundraising activities, schools should:

  • develop and organize fundraising activities with advice and assistance from the school community
  • follow the school board’s policy for fundraising that addresses the use of fundraising proceeds and accounting for school-generated funds
  • ensure that nobody, including school board staff or volunteers, benefit materially or financially from the fundraising activity
  • designate a purpose for fundraising and use the proceeds for that purpose
  • respect privacy (the personal information of staff, students or other individuals is not shared for the purposes of fundraising without prior consent. The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act governs the use of personal information by school boards)
  • provide transparent financial reports to the school community – both on the plan to use the funds and the actual usage of the funds

Fundraising activities must be compliant with:

Fundraising activities

Examples of activities that are acceptable and unacceptable uses of fundraising proceeds include:

Acceptable uses of fundraising proceeds

  • assistance fund for students in need (for example, help to cover the cost of a field trip for students who cannot afford it)
  • supplies, equipment or services which complement provincial grants (for example, extracurricular band equipment, audio-visual equipment)
  • field trips or other excursions
  • guest speakers or presentations
  • ceremonies, awards, plaques, trophies or prizes for students
  • scholarships or bursaries
  • school-related extracurricular activities and events (for example, sports competitions, team uniforms or clubs)
  • school yard improvement projects (for example, playground equipment, shade structures, gardens or outdoor skating rinks)
  • upgrades to sporting facilities (for example, running tracks, artificial turf or scoreboards)
  • support for activities that are unique to the denominational or cultural character of the school (for example, student retreats)

Unacceptable uses of fundraising proceeds

  • items funded through provincial grants (for example, classroom learning materials and textbooks)
  • facility renewal, maintenance, or upgrades funded through provincial grants (for example, structural repairs, sanitation, emergency repairs or replacing flooring due to wear and tear)
  • infrastructure improvements which increase the student capacity of a school or which provincial grants should fund (for example, classrooms, additions, gyms, labs)
  • goods or services for employees that violate the Education Act or a school council’s by-laws
  • professional development including support for teacher attendance at professional development activities
  • administrative expenses not associated with fundraising activities.
  • support for partisan political activity, groups or candidates

Best practices

Fundraising activities can benefit schools and their communities. They foster stronger community and school partnerships, increase student and community engagement and provide support for student or charitable organizations.

School board fundraising policies should:

  • support schools in the development of fundraising plans
  • limit the number and extent of fundraising activities in each school
  • coordinate activities across schools and community organizations
  • limit the impact on classroom time for staff and students
  • limit the administrative time for school principals and support staff
  • support donations to board-level funds, or matching programs among schools and school councils (for example, allocate a percentage of every dollar raised to a central equity fund or board-wide programs)
  • address shortages, overages and cancellations (students should not be held responsible for any losses)
  • require fundraising revenue deposits to school accounts to mitigate risk
  • minimize administrative expenses associated with fundraising

Transparency

School board should be open and transparent when school fundraising proceeds support board-level funding. School boards should consider making this information available on their website.

Capital projects

When planning and selecting capital projects supported by fundraising, schools should:

  • require a viability review to ensure alignment with the planning processes, school improvement plan and ministry and school board priorities
  • analyze future maintenance and repair costs
  • follow conflict of interest and procurement policies

Accountability

Schools

Each school should prepare an annual report on school-generated funds that meets the public’s expectations and demonstrates stewardship for public dollars.

The school community must know how the school uses proceeds from fundraising, fees and corporate donations. Schools should communicate the intent of the donations to contributors to ensure proper recording and to address any accounting issues.

Schools can choose the best way to communicate with their local school community such as through newsletters or the school website.

School boards

School boards may also choose to report to the school community in an annual report, which may include:

  • an overview of school-level fundraising across the school board
  • board-level donations
  • corporate partnerships

Financial reporting

Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) standards require all school boards to consolidate funds generated at the school level with the annual financial statements of the school board.

All funds collected through school or school council fundraising are subject to the school board’s regular audit and accountability requirements.

School council fundraising

Since school councils are advisory bodies and not corporate entities, the school board must report funds collected through the school council.

School council fundraising must:

  • follow school board policies
  • be for a purpose approved by the school board or authorized by school board policy

School councils must report their fundraising activities annually to the principal and to the school board.

School board procedures

School boards should train school administrative staff on how to collect, disburse and account for school-generated funds.  These procedures should ensure the safeguarding and accurate financial reporting of these funds.

School board procedures should address:

  • the establishment of school bank accounts, issuing receipts, authority to pay disbursements, recording donations, investments, bank reconciliations, records retention, financial reporting, financial responsibility for shortages and overages generated by the fundraising activity, financial review/audit and a chart of accounts
  • roles, responsibilities and required approvals at the school board and school level, for all activities related to school-generated funds
  • compliance with school board policies and municipal, provincial and federal laws and regulations