Ann Arbor PTO Council fundraiser aims to close equity gap for schools serving low-income families
The Ann Arbor PTO Council is seeking donations of $30 or more for a fundraiser benefiting Ann Arbor’s Title I schools, or those that receive federal funding to support low-income students.
The Ann Arbor PTO Council is seeking donations of $30 or more for a fundraiser benefiting Ann Arbor’s Title I schools, or those that receive federal funding to support low-income students.
“In 2022, we started wondering about disparities among parent-teacher organizations (PTOs) and saw a huge range between the highest-funded PTOs and lowest-funded PTOs. As a community, we are thinking about systemic change, but in the meantime, once we saw this inequity, we brought people together to think about it and wanted to do something,” says Susannah Keller, Ann Arbor PTO council equity committee coordinator.
PTOs typically supplement gaps in school funding, but because of wealth and resource inequities among public schools, not all PTOs are able to raise equal amounts of money. Recent data show that PTO income varies across Ann Arbor Public Schools’ elementary schools, from $87 to $245 per student per year.
“PTOs fill in a tremendously diverse range of needs that vary from school to school,” Keller says. Some schools may focus more on family needs, such as addressing food insecurity, while others concentrate on classroom and other necessities.
In 2025, this fundraiser — along with proceeds from the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop that provided matching funds — brought in approximately $60,000 that was distributed to Title I schools. This year’s goal remains the same.
“We welcome donations from anyone. We want it to feel like it’s accessible because we want more people to participate,” Keller says. This includes alumni who are now adults and feel a connection to their former school community.
“One of my biggest personal motivators is that a student’s school experience shouldn’t depend on the resources of the community,” Keller says. “Every child deserves a full, rich experience. We currently are in a system where that isn’t the case. All these things we do are strands that bring pieces of our community together.”
The fundraiser runs through May 16.
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