New PTA Board Member Fundraising Tips: How to Start a Fundraiser in Your First 90 Days

Stepping into a PTA or PTO board role for the first time is exciting, and a little overwhelming. Nobody hands new board members a manual, and most first-year presidents and treasurers learn fundraising on the job, mid-fundraiser, while also juggling a day job and a family calendar. These new PTA board member fundraising tips break the year down into manageable stages, so you know what to focus on first instead of trying to do everything in your first week.

Your First 90 Days

Before you plan a single event, get oriented. Review last year’s budget with your outgoing treasurer so you understand what’s already committed and what’s still available to raise. Meet your fellow officers and agree on how often the board will meet and how decisions get made. If you’re stepping into the presidency, know that your core PTA board fundraising responsibilities usually include setting the year’s fundraising goal, approving vendor contracts, and making sure funds raised are used the way donors expected.

Getting organized early pays off all year. These free PTO templates for meeting agendas, minutes, and task tracking give first-year president and treasurer duos a shared system from day one, instead of everyone keeping their own notes in different formats.

Your First Fundraiser: How to Start a Fundraiser

Here’s how to start a fundraiser without overcomplicating it: pick one clear dollar goal, choose a platform that handles the logistics for you, and build a short timeline your whole team can actually follow. A no-sell, sponsorship-based event like a fun run is a common first choice for new boards, since families give directly instead of your volunteers managing product orders and deliveries.

Boosterthon’s school fundraising platform is built for exactly this: online giving, real-time reporting, and prize fulfillment are handled for you, so a first-time board doesn’t need to reinvent the process. At Our Lady of the Lake, board members Britt Isbell, Ashton Cail, and Kaycee McNeff put it simply: “Boosterthon has been an incredible partner. Together we have raised over $32,000, blowing our original goal of $25,000 out of the water.” That kind of result is realistic even for a board running its very first fundraiser, as long as the goal and timeline are clear from the start.

A Quick Guide for New PTO Treasurers

If you’re the incoming treasurer, your first job isn’t spending money; it’s tracking it. Confirm who has signing authority on the bank account, request last year’s year-end financial report, and set up a simple system for reimbursements before your first fundraiser launches. A short pto treasurer fundraising guide for year one looks like this: know your starting balance, know your fundraising goal, and know exactly how money moves from a donor’s gift to your school’s account. Ask your platform for real-time reporting rather than waiting on a check at the end of the event; it makes budgeting for the rest of the year far less stressful.

Your First Board Meeting

Show up to your first board meeting with a fundraising calendar in hand. Pair it with these year-end planning tips from outgoing leaders, which cover what to wrap up before the year ends and what to hand off to whoever comes next. New to the role? Download our free PTO officer transition checklist to make the handoff even smoother, whether you’re the one receiving it this fall or passing it along next spring.

Your first year on a PTA or PTO board won’t be perfect, and it doesn’t need to be. Start with a clear goal, lean on your templates and your platform, and ask your outgoing officers questions early and often.

New to the role? [Download our free PTO officer transition checklist] to make the handoff even smoother.