Fundraising for Individuals, Families, and Charities

There have been numerous situations in which school members (students and teachers) wish to do fundraising and/or collect donations for individuals/families in need. Fundraisers or donations for the benefit of specific individuals or families are not allowed to be deposited into a District account.

Money deposited into a District account is considered public school funds. The District’s use of public funds to financially support individuals or families is outside the scope of our tax exemption, which is education and education related activities. What this means is the donor may receive an income tax deduction for contributions to the District; however using contributions for purposes other than education and education related activities violates our tax exempt status and may impact the financial viability of the District.

If monies are collected from the school community to assist individuals/families, the donations should NOT be deposited into the District accounts. The donation or fundraiser should clearly stipulate funds will NOT be used for District needs and will be used to support a specific individual/family. Any checks should be written directly to the individual/family and any cash collected would be handed to the individual/family. The District will not provide a gift letter or receipt for any money donated for this purpose. These contributions are not tax deductible donations to the District.

Fundraising for Charities

Student clubs MAY raise money through a fund raiser or donations to support another nonprofit and tax exempt organization such as the American Heart Association. Checks from donors should be made payable directly to the benefiting organization. Record of all donations should be kept at the school.

The organization must provide the student club proof of tax-exempt status (Form W-9) and an acknowledgement letter confirming the club’s donation. Documentation should be obtained from the student club authorizing the donation (e.g. Student Council meeting notes or Email from team captain following team meeting.)

Other

Please remember a District employee may not receive cash or cash equivalents (gift cards) with District funds because it is considered compensation.

It is all of our responsibility to protect the District’s tax exempt status. Please call Financial Services at 303-682-7332 with any questions.