Chesterfield schools audit finds $31K in untracked online fundraisers
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Chesterfield County doesn't know what happened to more than $31,000 raised by school staff through online fundraising platforms like GoFundMe, a newly released county audit found.
Why it matters: It's one of several findings showing that district rules for school fundraising aren't being enforced.
State of play: In May, Chesterfield conducted a routine audit of its schools' fundraising practices.
- Auditors found that much of the district wasn't adhering to county fundraising policies and that school staffers broadly lacked training on what they are.
Context: County policy requires each school to keep detailed records of its money-raising events for things like book fairs, booster clubs and PTA-sponsored activities.
- It also requires that school staff use only approved platforms when soliciting money to ensure the district can track the funds and how they're used. Crowdsourcing sites like GoFundMe aren't allowed.
Among the audit's key findings:
- Of 41 active school fundraisers online in May, none had documentation of cash receipts.
- 98% weren't listed in official records and/or weren't approved by the school principal.
- 37% of those were on prohibited platforms, chiefly GoFundMe.
- Those unauthorized, online fundraisers brought in $36,954.
- Auditors could not determine what happened to $31,809, noting that GoFundMe allows "the fundraiser to withdraw funds at any time" and money could have been withdrawn for "personal use."
Stunning stat: Of the 387 fundraisers school principals reported to auditors for fiscal year 2025, just 151 — or 39% — were recorded in the county's online financial system, where officials can track the funds.
Chesterfield school officials didn't immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
What's next: The district plans to update its fundraising policies with clearer, more rigorous standards for school fundraising and provide more staff training on them, per the audit.