GUILDERLAND — A local PTA lost thousands of dollars when a fund-raising company abruptly shut its doors last month.
"We really need to let parents and the community know," said Denise Eisele, president of the Parent-Teacher Association at Farnsworth Middle School. "We’re not just worried about the money. Kids went out in good faith. What we feel most sorry about is they sold to neighbors, to grandparents — it cascades down."

The Farnsworth PTA had a contract with IPI Fundraising Inc., a company based in Newark, Del. About 316 Farnsworth students sold about $28,000 worth of merchandise — including chocolates, candles, wrapping paper, and ribbon, Eisele said.

The money was collected from customers in advance. The goods were to be mailed directly to them from IPI.

By contract, half the money, or about $14,000 was sent to IPI; the other half — the profit — was to be used by the PTA for a variety of school projects and programs.

But on Dec. 14, IPI sent an e-mail, Eisele reported to The Enterprise this week, saying that it had closed its door and was unable to fill orders or refund customers’ money.

Eisele said her PTA had used the same company last year for its annual fund-raiser and had no problems.
"We had no control over what happened," she said. "We want to let people know we’re working as hard as we can."

IPI founders

IPI Fundraising Inc. was founded in 1988, according to a report from the Better Business Bureau of Delaware; its president is Justin DiNorscia.
Calling the company’s phone number results in a message that it is out of service; going to the listed website results only in the message, "No web site is configured at this address." DeNorscia’s phone number is not listed in Newark, Del.

Christine Sauers, president of the Better Business Bureau of Delaware, told The Enterprise this week that IPI had "been in business a number of years and resolved complaints in the past."

The bureau’s report notes that it processed a total of 12 complaints about IPI in 36 months, the bureau’s typical reporting period. All 12 of the complaints were in the last year, it says.
Nine complaints involved "delivery issues" that were all "unpursuable," it says. One complaint, involving a "service issue" was resolved. And, of two "refund or exchange issues," one was resolved and one had no response, the report says.
"During the holiday season, we started to notice a spike in complaints," said Sauers. "They had some unanswered. We tried to act quickly."

Most of IPI’s customers, she said, are schools or clubs.

Sauers suspended IPI’s bureau membership on Dec. 15 because of the unresolved complaints.
Asked about the amounts of money that were lost, she said, "It varies."
She said the bureau contacted the local press and sent a notice to school districts in the state of Delaware. "Anybody in the nation can contact us," she said about IPI because it is based in Delaware.
Sauers concluded, "We do recommend everyone contact the police. If a company is filing for bankruptcy, perhaps they can become a debtor to try to get their money back...I don’t know how long that would take."

Laurie Sitler, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Justice, told The Enterprise Tuesday that the state’s attorney general is "not involved yet" in the IPI case. The Delaware State Police are investigating the matter, she said.

Sauers referred The Enterprise to Detective Pauline Waibel with the Delaware State Police. Waibel declined comment, saying only, "My investigation is ongoing."

Unfolding events

Groundwork for the fund-raiser at Farnsworth was laid with the opening of school, said Eisele. Notices were sent home so parents could discuss with students whether or not they wanted to participate.

Students who chose to sell merchandise had packets illustrating the goods, which ranged in price from a few dollars on up.

Although the merchandise was not religious, Eisele said, many people bought it for holiday giving.
Some parents called, Eisele said, upset when merchandise hadn’t arrived. "They notified us there were delays in delivery," she said of IPI.
"Then some people started receiving the things and we thought, ‘Great, it’s late but it will be in time for Christmas.’"
But then deliveries stopped again. "By December 12, we really started to realize things were going bad," said Eisele. "Then our rep got an e-mail saying everyone is laid off, our doors are closed, no one is getting a refund."

This was on Dec. 14, just before the school holiday break.

A phone chain was set up to inform people of the situation, Eisele said.

The PTA met this past Thursday and set three dates during which it will refund half of each customer’s money.
"That’s all we have," said Eisele.

The refund sessions will be held at Farnsworth Middle School on Jan. 23 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.; on Jan. 30 from 6:30 to 7 p.m.; and on Feb. 13 from 7 to 8 p.m.

Eisele stressed how concerned the PTA is about the loss to people, especially those who could ill afford it.
"I expected people to be very angry," Eisele said. "People brought these [sales packets] into their places of work and over to their neighbors.
"For the most part, people have been very understanding," she concluded. "I’ve just been amazed at the support from parents."

Programs to be cut
"This is our only fund-raiser," said Eisele.

The money goes for a wide variety of school projects and programs.

Grants are given to teachers that have funded such things as the school’s butterfly garden or a poetry jam where students recite their work.

The Farnsworth PTA also funds celebrations for students both entering and leaving the school. There’s a sixth-grade ice-cream social so elementary students coming into the school can get to know each other and there is an eighth-grade moving-up program as students prepare to leave for the high school.
"We help with the dance; we decorate the gym. It’s like a graduation celebration," said Eisele.
Asked what the PTA will do now without its funds, Eisele said, "We had a board meeting to look at each of the programs...We may not be able to do the grants. We’re definitely committed to Moving Up Day; we’ll put together something that will not cost a lot."

Eisele said that contributions from anyone who wants to help make up for the fund-raising loss are welcome.
"Anyone who wants to help can contact me," she said, giving her phone number — 453-6155 — and her e-mail address — [email protected].
Asked if the Farnsworth PTA is considering legal action, Eisele said, "According the New York State PTA representative, other PTA’s in the state are in the same situation. The attorney is waiting until all the information is gathered."

JoAnn Incalcatera, treasurer with the New York State PTA, told The Enterprise that, in her 20 years of PTA involvement, "This is probably the biggest impact I’ve seen."

Occasionally, she said, over the years, there has been an isolated incident or two of a PTA getting bilked, but nothing on this scale.

She says she knows, so far, of a half-dozen different PTA’s hurt by IPI. The state has 1,500 units and word has been sent out in a newsletter to try to gather more information, she said.
Asked about legal action the state organization might take on behalf of the local PTA’s, Incalcatera said, "It becomes very difficult because each unit enters into contracts individually."

The state organization does put out a resource guide with a section on finances, she said, detailing what PTA’s should look for when signing contracts.

Future tips, learned from the IPI experience, Incalcatera said, will include not paying in full for a product until it is received.
"An IPI hook or selling point," she said, "was the materials were mailed directly to the homes so the PTA wouldn’t have to deal with distribution." Most fund-raising companies, she said, send materials to the PTA, which then sends payment.

Another tip, she said, would be to continuously check on a company’s status, even it had been solid before and used successfully before.
"Unfortunately," said Incalcatera, "when things do go bad, they go bad quickly."

James Martinez, a spokesman for the National PTA, headquartered in Chicago, said he was unaware of any complaints about IPI until hearing from The Enterprise.
"We rely on state PTA’s to provide information on relevant issues," he said. "No one has raised it."
He did say the national organization has guidelines — "tips for choosing companies" when putting on fund-raisers.
"It’s not a policy," he said. "Local PTA’s are free to make their own choices. They’re responsible for running their own finances."
He added, "We encourage PTA’s to take out insurance; that’s not just for an instance like this."

Support appreciated
"It was a very unforeseen event," said Farnsworth Principal Mary Summermatter, who is new to Guilderland this school year. "We’ve had many successful fund-raisers in the past," she said, based on what she has learned about the school. "We truly are extremely saddened by this event....We support the PTA 100 percent."

Eisele lauded Summermatter and her secretary, Donna Meister, for being very supportive — fielding phone calls and sending out letters to parents.
Asked if the current crisis will change school policies on fund-raising, Summermatter said, "We always look carefully at companies. We are very careful and will continue to scrutinize companies."
Asked what the school will do about events and programs that, in the past, have been paid for with PTA funds, Summermatter said, "We’ll try to do as much as we possibly can. They add so much more," she said of the PTA "It’s a terrible loss."

Asked if children at the school were feeling betrayed or angry by IPI’s reneging on its contract, Summermatter said that she meets weekly with the school’s counselors and she hasn’t heard of any such problems.
"They’re our first line of defense," she said.
She has taken calls from parents, Summermatter said, concluding, "We appreciate the community’s support in every way, shape, and form."