I’m not a tightwad when it comes to philanthropy. Granted, I don’t have gobs of cash to give away, but when we do our taxes each year, the DIY software error-checker always prompts: “Are you sure this Charitable Gifts amount is correct? It is above the national average.” Wow, then the national average sucks.

All that is to say: getting me to fork over $6 for PTA membership should not be a tough sell. I actually meant to do it earlier, but the fact is that I have had so much crap paperwork to fill out for all five boys that I honestly couldn’t remember if I had joined or not.

I had to skim through the check registry to see if I had sent in payment. I remembered that I joined the parent-teacher group at the little ones’ private school, because it’s a nonprofit organization, I know that the funds are needed and I actually remember writing that check (I don’t write very many nowadays, since our bill paying is online). Turns out, I forgot to return the PTA forms for the older two who are in public school.

So, there we were, sitting in the 5th grade Parent Orientation tonight and waiting to be dismissed to “class,” when the bubbly PTA lady beamed that $2 of the $6 dues stays at the school. I looked at my husband, paused a moment as I double-checked the math in my head, and mouthed silently: “One-third??” Hmm – since when is 66% overhead considered a good deal for nonprofit giving?!

I went to the Texas PTA website when we got home, and sure enough – the third bullet point in the organization’s purpose says “To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth.” Don’t get me wrong – I have few qualms about lobbying; I think advocacy is important. What frustrates me is how PTA is marketed at the local level. Why not be upfront and explain that only 1/3 of your dues actually goes to school projects, while 2/3 supports state and federal “advocacy” efforts? I might have still paid the $6, but at least I’d know where my money was going.

I have always paid the dues because I felt like it was important to the school. I don’t have a lot of free time to volunteer, so it seemed like a way that I could help out. This year, however, I don’t think I will. If they need money for new stage curtains or field trips or whatever, then I will send some money as a donation to that project. The same goes with fundraisers – if the school is only going to get a small percentage of the sales, then why bother? So my kid can “earn” some crappy toy that I could have bought at the dollar store for him?! I can just give a donation. I don’t need five “A+ Cards” and two gallons of cookie dough, anyway.

Perhaps this sounds jaded, coming from someone who works as a professional fundraiser. The difference is that gift funds received by the university go directly to the designated project/scholarship. (Research grants, etc., may have overhead expenses, but outright gifts do not.)

I think what it boils down to is that I don’t like the feeling of being duped. If I’d known that only a third of the dues went to the school, then I could have made an informed choice early on. Now that I know, I will make an informed choice now … not to join.