I’ll have to admit, the first time I sent this letter out, I was a little uneasy. But if you want to be a successful room mom, you’re going to have to write a letter to parents asking for money at some point.
Writing the letter and collecting money for a teacher gift, doesn’t have to be scary or awkward after all. In fact, most parents will thank you for it. You’re relieving them of having to go out and purchase a gift for the teacher themselves. Let’s take a look at the occasions you will need to ask for money and the best way to do it.
What’s Covered in this Post:
- Why You Should Ask Parents for Money
- When to Ask for Money
- Ways to Collect Money from Parents
- Collecting Cash
- Collecting Money Electronically (Venmo & PayPal tutorials)
- How to Write The Letter to Parents Asking for Money
- Teacher’s Birthday Gift [Template]
- Holiday / Christmas Class Gift [Template]
- Teacher Appreciation Gift [Template]
If you haven’t already, make sure you send out a room mom introduction letter to let all the parents know about your new role. Great communication is so important for room parenting! Also, make sure your parent email list is up to date. Having the wrong email won’t help you collect more donations!
Why You Should Ask Parents for Money
Some room moms choose to take the financial responsibility of providing gifts to the teacher on themselves. I’m definitely not one of them! Here’s why:
- Personal Reasons = Our family has a budget. I would love to buy lavish gifts for the teacher, but it just doesn’t fit into our budget!
- Community Reasons = As the room mom, it’s my job to rally the parents together. I don’t want parents to feel alienated by buying the class gift without their input.
Parents will be THANKFUL you chose to include them in the class gift. It’s a huge bonus for them. They no longer need to worry about purchasing something on their own! Plus, they know they are contributing to an awesome group gift. 🙂
When to Ask for Money
Room mom duties vary from school to school, and many of those responsibilities involve collecting money. Here are a few examples of times you’ll want to reach out to your parents for funding:
- Teacher birthday gift
- Holiday/Christmas gift
- Class party expenses (like Christmas party games or snacks)
- Class projects
- Teacher Appreciation Week gift
There are two methods to choose from on how much money to collect and when:
- Collect an upfront fee at the beginning of the year to cover expenses and gifts throughout the year
- Collect money on a case-by-case basis when the situation of occasion comes up
Personally, I collect on a case-by-case basis. Parents are more incentivized to donate when they know exactly what the money is for.
Plus, collecting a fee for the entire year requires planning out a budget and keeping track of spending in a spreadsheet. That’s just an extra step that I’d like to avoid, but if you don’t mind doing it, this post will walk you through the process, complete with free templates.
Write the BEST money-raising emails and learn how to double your donations in just one day! Get bonus tutorials and templates for Microsoft Word and Pages for Mac in our exclusive Guide!
Ways to Collect Money from Parents
There are a couple of ways to do this. In general, you have 2 options:
- Collect cash from parents
- Collect money electronically through services like PayPal or Venmo
Already have a method of collecting money? Click here to skip down to the templates.
Collecting Cash for Teacher Gifts
This method is tried and true. Parents will send cash in an envelope with your child’s name on it, then the teacher will collect the envelopes and send them home with your child (most likely in their take-home folder).
The only time this method is inconvenient is when you are trying to keep the gift a secret from the teacher to surprise them. It’s pretty much impossible since the teacher is seeing all the envelopes!
Collecting Money Electronically (My Favorite!)
By far, this is the easiest way to collect money from parents. For this, I usually ask parents to include the name of their child in the “Notes” section of their payment so I can easily keep track of what money is coming in for the class. This is totally optional though. Anonymous donations are just fine since you’ll include everyone in the class on the card.
I personally use PayPal and Venmo to collect money from parents. I’ll show you how to use both!
How to Use Venmo to Collect Money for Teacher Gifts
Venmo is a mobile-only app that’s become really popular over the last few years. To collect funds on Venmo, first, you’ll need to download the app on your phone if you don’t already have it.
Next, you’ll set up an account using your name and email. Once your account is set up, you’ll need to verify your bank account number to start sending and receiving funds.
To collect money with Venmo, you’ll need to share your username. Your username starts with an @ and can be found (and changed) in your account settings.
Using PayPal to Collect Money for Teacher Gifts
I use PayPal to collect money from parents by setting up a paypal.me link. If you have a PayPal account, setting up a paypal.me link is super easy. Here’s how:
Access PayPal Account Settings
If you don’t have a PayPal account yet, you can create one for free at PayPal.com. Follow the instructions to link your bank account so that you’ll be able to deposit money from PayPal directly into your bank account.
Log in to your PayPal account, and select the gear-shaped symbol at the top right to access your Settings page.
Locate PayPal.Me Link in Your Account Settings
Right next to your profile photo, you will see a link that says “Get PayPal.Me.” Click the link to set up your personalized link.
The link will lead you to the screen shown below. Go ahead and click the button to create your PayPal.me profile.
Add a Photo to Your Profile
This step is optional, but it’s a good idea to add a picture of yourself so that parents will recognize you and be assured their money is going to the correct person.
You did it!
Now you have your very own paypal.me link! You can share this link directly with parents in your emails asking for money.
Next, click on the Manage Profile button to view your profile and to see your personalized link.
Record Your PayPal.me Link from Your Profile
With your profile open, copy your personalized link to your clipboard and/or write it down in a safe place.
Check to See if Your Link is Working
To test your link, log out of your PayPal account. Next, paste your link from your clipboard or type it into the URL space of your browser. Your profile photo (if you added one) and your name should be shown like the page below.
Parents can now send money straight to your PayPal account online! Yay!
How to Write The Letter to Parents
Now that you are ready to receive funds from parents, it’s time to write the actual email asking for money.
The easiest way to contact parents is by email. If you do not have a list of parent emails or need to update your list, please read this post on how to do it.
UPDATE: The following templates are letters asking parents to donate teacher gifts for different occasions. If you are looking for a letter asking for donations to put towards a class project, class party, or towards your class budget, please check out this post.
Here’s a sample letter asking for money:
Hi First Grade Parents!
Mrs. Smith’s birthday is on October 11th. I’m going to put together a gift for her from the class and would love for you to join me! Let’s show her how much we appreciate all she does for our kids on her special day!!
If you would like to join in on getting the class gift, please send your contribution to school in an envelope labeled “To: Sydney” and “From: (your child’s name)”. If you’d rather send your donation electronically, you can send payment to my Venmo account (username @_________) OR use my PayPal link below. Please put your child’s name in the “notes” box so I know who it’s from!
paypal.me/amysfakepaypal123
Thanks so much! 🙂
– Amy
!! IMPORTANT – Don’t Skip this Step !!
With each template, I’ve also included a “Last Reminder Email” template to send out to parents 1 day before your deadline for collecting all the donations. Let’s face it, as parents, we get distracted, and although many parents planned on contributing when they saw your first email, they got busy with life and forgot.
For me, the “Last Reminder Email” usually brings in double the amount of contributions versus the initial email!! Don’t skip this step! 👈
1. Teacher’s Birthday Class Gift
You can find out if the teacher’s birthday falls during the school year by referencing your completed Teacher Questionnaire (or this fillable PDF Favorite Things Survey). If you haven’t sent out a questionnaire yet or if you’re in a pinch, use this email template to find out his/her favorites.
Now, it’s time to customize your email by using the template below. You can also access this Google Docs template inside the Resource Library. (P.S. There is a bonus template for teacher’s aides in the Google Doc!)
Hi ___(GRADE LEVEL HERE)___ Grade Parents!
Mrs. ___(TEACHER’S NAME)___’s birthday is on ___(DATE)___. I’m going to put together a gift for her from the class and would love for you to join me! Let’s show her how much we appreciate all she does for our kids on her special day!!
If you would like to join in on getting the class gift, please send your contribution to school in an envelope labeled “To: ___(YOUR CHILD’S NAME HERE)___” and “From: your child’s name”. Or you can send payment online to my PayPal link below. Please put your child’s name in the “notes” box so I know who it’s from!
paypal.me/YOURPAYPALHERE
Thanks so much! 🙂
– YOUR NAME HERE
Last Reminder Email
Here’s a template for writing your Last Reminder Email. Remember to send this letter out the day before your deadline for collecting money from parents.
Hey Parents!
Just a reminder, tomorrow is the last day to send in money for the class gift. Since we are so close to the deadline, please send money electronically to the PayPal link below. Don’t forget to put your child’s name in the “notes” box so I know who it’s from!
paypal.me/YOURPAYPALHERE
Thanks so much!
– YOUR NAME HERE
2. Holiday / Christmas Class Gift
The winter holidays are the most exciting for Room Moms at our school. We get to throw a class Christmas party, help with the school’s Christmas show, plus spoil the teacher a little before winter break.
To know exactly what to get the teacher this holiday, check your Teacher Questionnaire. If you haven’t sent out a questionnaire yet, don’t fret! Check out our collection of printables and email templates in the Resource Library to find out the teacher’s faves in a jiffy.
Use the template below to write your own letter to parent asking for donations for the teacher’s Christmas gift.
Hi ___(GRADE LEVEL HERE)___ Grade Parents!
I’m putting together a Christmas gift for Mrs. ___(TEACHER’S NAME)___ from the class! I would love for you to join in so we can all show her how much we appreciate everything she does!
If you would like to join in on getting the class gift, please send your contribution to school in an envelope labeled “To: ___(YOUR CHILD’S NAME HERE)___” and “From: your child’s name”. Or you can send payment online to my PayPal link below. Please put your child’s name in the “notes” box so I know who it’s from!
paypal.me/YOURPAYPALHERE
Thanks so much! 🙂
– YOUR NAME HERE
Last Reminder Email
Send out this Last Reminder Email the day before your deadline for collecting money from parents. Customize this template:
Hey Parents!
Just a reminder, tomorrow is the last day to send in money for the class Christmas gift for Mrs. ___(TEACHER’S NAME)___. Since we are so close to the deadline, please send money electronically to the PayPal link below. Don’t forget to put your child’s name in the “notes” box so I know who it’s from!
paypal.me/YOURPAYPALHERE
Thanks so much!
– YOUR NAME HERE
3. Teacher Appreciation Class Gift
Teacher Appreciation Week will fall towards the end of the school year. Depending on what your school typically plans for the teachers during this fun week, edit the template to suit your needs.
Room Moms are sometimes asked to reach our to parents in their class to see if they can volunteer time, snacks or donations for the week.
Again, check your Teacher Questionnaire to find out what gifts would be best to give the teacher. One gift that is always a hit are these custom teacher stamps. You can personalize a stamp to look exactly like the teacher!
Customize your room parent letter asking for money by using the template below. You can also access the Google Doc for this template in the Resource Library.
Hi ___(GRADE LEVEL HERE)___ Grade Parents!!
Teacher Appreciation Week is ___(DATES HERE)___! Room parents and volunteers will be doing special things for our teachers all week, so if you are available to help or would like to contribute, please let me know!
I’m going to start collecting money for Mrs. ___(TEACHER’S NAME)___’s class gift this week. I’m thinking gift cards to a couple of her favorite places, but if you have any other ideas please let me know!!
If you would like to join in on the class Teacher Appreciation gift, please send your contribution to school in an envelope labeled “To: ___(YOUR CHILD’S NAME HERE)___, From: (your child’s name)” OR you can send a payment online to my PayPal at the link below. Please put your child’s name in the “notes” box so I know who it’s from!
paypal.me/YOURPAYPALHERE
Thanks so much!
– YOUR NAME HERE
Last Reminder Email
Here’s a template for writing your Last Reminder Email. Remember to send this letter out the day before your deadline for collecting money from parents.
Hey Parents!
Just a reminder, tomorrow is the last day to send in money for the Teacher Appreciation class gift! Since we are so close to the deadline, please send money electronically to the PayPal link below! Don’t forget to put your child’s name in the “notes” box so I know who it’s from!
paypal.me/YOURPAYPALHERE
Thanks so much!
– YOUR NAME HERE
Related Articles
- How to Request Money for a Class Party, Project or Class Budget
- Use this room mom volunteer letter to get more help at class projects and classroom parties.
- How to Help a Teacher WITHOUT Volunteering in Person
- Top 10 Most Repinned Teacher Gifts
- Impress the Teacher with a Custom Look-a-Like Stamp (yes, really!)
Letter Asking for Money: Conclusion
There ya have it! You are all set to write room mom letter to parents asking for money. You now know why you should ask parents for money, how to collect that money, and how to write the letters/emails.
If this was helpful for you in your Room Mom journey, please let me know in the comments or send me an email at info@roommomrescue.com. I would love to hear from you!
Keep up the good work, room mom!
-Amy
Want all these templates (and more) for Word and iOS Pages? Get them now in our exclusive Guide!
Resources for Room Moms
- New to Room Parenting? Get access to the Room Mom Resource Library filled with tons of free templates & printables to help you throughout the year!
- 7 Room Mom Duties You Need to Know About
- Plan Your Entire Year as Room Mom with this Calendar Cheat Sheet
This is so incredibly helpful! I can not express my appreciation enough for putting this website together!
Thank you, Jessica! You really made my day!! I’m so glad this site has helped you! 🙂
Hi Amy,
Can you please provide a suggestion on asking for money for the class holiday parties? Like a class contribution email. Thanks so much for your help.
Yes, I’m working on a template for this! I will email you when it’s live. 🙂
Silly question…
What is the best SUBJECT line for this kind of email?
“We need your money?” 🙂 Or is that too forward?!
🤣 “We need your money” could totally work, but I usually just use the occasion as the subject line.
For example: “Mrs. _____’s Birthday”
Or: “Mrs. _____’s Class Gift”
Don’t forget to send that last reminder email. It’s gold!