PTO Today

Hi all, I am new to all this. First time PTA treasurer and I had no idea so much was involved. We are a primarily low income school in NYC, not much parent involvment but a great school staff. We really want to get this this up and running. I attended a seminar this past weekend and was overwhelmed with what some schools do and what is needed to do it. However I cannot get find all the necessary info I need on the web. Do I need a 501(c)3 certificate before I can start asking for donations/sponsorships from stores? (I am still having trouble finding out how to get one of those too) NYS has info available but they said we have to go by NYC rules and we have no idea what they are. I could also use ideas for fundraisers on the cheap. Thanks.

Hi Sherry and welcome. PTO/PTA can certainly be overwhelming so I completely understand.
I can't help you with how to go about getting a 501(c)3 certificate but I know that most companies that donate like you to be offically tax free. Not all companies are that way but I have found that most are.
As for cheap money making ideas, our best one was Movie Night. We charged $2 admission and supplied a bag of popcorn (small) and a drink as well as the movie for that amount. We paid for the licensing as well as the snacks and STILL made over $400 for a relativly easy night. Parents were excited because it was a cheap night and an easy way to spend time with the kids without having to buy a new movie or take their kids to the theater.

Check out the PTA vs PTO sections there's lots on Incorporating a nonprofit and gettting 501c3 status thru the IRS.. I'm not on my computer that has info on that or I'd <cut&paste> some stuff.

The bonus toolkit and stuff section has some good info too

[ 11-17-2006, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: Shawn ]

The getting started kit that's available on this site is a HUGE help, especially with the 501(c)3 stuff. I believe it's about $30, but our treasurer thinks it's the best $30 spent so far. It helps you with your fictitious name (if you don't already have one), articles of incorporation, and with the 501(c)3 stuff including websites for your state to get specific information.

If you are a PTA not PTO, doesn't the association help with that? I thought that was part of the reason for the fees. Just a thought.

Thanks for all the help. This will definitely help me get started and I am going to look into getting that starter kit.

Our school is currently having what seems to be a rare problem but, nonetheless a problem. Our teachers want events earlier, so they can go home at a decent time and our parents want events later, so they can make it home from work without speeding. Our district does not require the teacher to live where they teach so we have teachers out of the area and we are a smaller community that have parents driving long distances to and from work. What do we do?

We've had this situation also. Out of 100 teachers in our district, only 25% live in district. With a rare exception, our teachers do not participate in any events we hold anyway, so we make the times for our families. If you have teachers who actually attend your functions, I can see why they would want them to be scheduled earlier. But, if these functions are for the school families, the students, you have to schedule what is convenient for them, the majority.
We are a rural area, 26 miles from the hub of schools to most of the outer edges of our district in any direction. Anything before 5 pm in our area would be too early for parents to have even gotten off work, let alone gone home and picked up their kids and come back into town. We try to start anything around 5, serve dinner (pizza and a beverage) and then get everyone out the door by 7 or 7:30 at the very latest.

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Debbie
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. Change begins with you."