I was just told that the school, and the district would like our PTO to move the money from the schools account to our own account. How do I start doing this? We are a PTO, I'm just not sure where to begin.

Are you a 501c3 non-profit registered with the IRS?

You probably need to start by requesting an EIN (employer identification number) from the IRS; you can do this over the phone. Then, you'll probably need to start learning about the joys of applying for 501(c)(3) status, using Form 1023. Search the forum; lots of us have been through it.

An EIN is the minimum your bank will want to let you open an account. DO NOT use your own personal SSN.

Thank you! I think all of our stuff has lapsed from what I've found on the internet so far; the Incorporation, the 501c3, not sure about ever having an EIN. I'm guessing that since we had the other 2 at one point someone filed for an EIN... I have a full filing cabinet to search through next week... Thanks for the direction! Hopefully this will be smoother that I first thought.

Hi Supermom-
Looks like have have some good info from jcoram!

Just in case you haven't read this article yet, the 9 Things You Need to Know at the bottom of the article would also prove helpful.

PTO Today Articles

Good luck,
Lisa

Thanks Lisa! That will help a lot! I found a few things online about our school, but still have a small workload in front of me. It doesn't seem like it will be too hard, just time comsuming at first. Then waiting...

Does anyone know... Just because we keep our money separate; do we have to become a PTA?

It doesn't have to be PTA, could be PTO, or even something else, but generally, if you want a bank account, you need an EIN. You probably want to be incorporated for liability reasons (so no one tries to sue you individually). Once you've started down this road, you want to review the 501c3 rules, because probably you'll end up filing for it, and you want to have your by-laws and incorporation documents fit the IRS requirements.

If you think you were incorporated at some point, you might check with your state -- we were delinquent on our filings, but were able to reinstate ourselves. The IRS non-profits division is generally friendly & helpful; if you have an organization name, they can look you up (they did for us, and found that we already had an EIN -- but, alas, no one had ever filed any tax returns, never mind Form 1023).