Tim Sullivan

Tim Sullivan is the founder and publisher of PTO Today. He writes a regular column for PTO Today magazine, offers weekly tips in the Leader Lowdown email newsletter, and shares his thoughts on the blog. You can also find Tim in the ptotoday.com Community and follow Tim on Twitter.

• The Fundraising Salesperson and Your PTO
  Fundraising reps have a lot of expertise in their field; take advantage of it to maximize your profits.

• Developing New PTO and PTA Leaders
  It takes ongoing effort to cultivate the parents who will run the group after you retire.

• Your PTO Doesn't Have To Be Perfect
  Feeling burned out? Your parent group’s struggles are common—and your efforts do make a difference.

• School Parent Groups Build Community
  Parent groups create an atmosphere that allows the school’s teachers to do their best work.

• Three Types of Parent Groups: Which One Are You?
  Some reflection about your parent group’s current status will help you plan for the future.

• Adjusting to Middle School: 3 Keys for PTOs
  To succeed as a middle school PTO or PTA leader, get out of the grade school mind-set, revisit your group's goals, and involve students in event planning.

• PTO Fundraising Takes Customer Service
  Forget guilt; finding the right product, then selling it the right way, will raise more and make a better impression.

• Put Parent Involvement Before Fundraising
  Too much fundraising talk can take the focus off your primary goals.

• PTO Events Strengthen Schools
  The relationships formed at PTO and PTA family nights strengthen the school-home connection and empower parents.

• Better PTO Communications With Tech Tools
  Email and social networking have opened up a whole new world for parent groups; is yours taking full advantage?

• They Can’t All Be Like Us
  How do you feel about people who don't get involved?

• Help for Your School Food Drive
  Introducing the National School Food Drive resources and website.

• Make Your PTO Fun (video)
  8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #8: Have fun—it makes a difference!

• We Connect To Vent and Serve (video)
  8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #7: Build a support network for leaders.

• Welcoming New School Parents (video)
  8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #6: Be a resource for new parents.

• School Family Events and Traditions (video)
  8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #5: Create long-term traditions that build the school-family connection.

• School Fundraising (video)
  8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #4: Take the emphasis away from fundraising.

• PTO and PTA Meetings (video)
  8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #3: Make meetings less important.

• The Parent Involvement Ladder, Part II (video)
  Keys to success for PTOs and PTAs through the 8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #2, Part II: Moving parents up the ladder.

• The Parent Involvement Ladder, Part I (video)
  Keys to success for PTOs and PTAs through the 8 habits for effective school parent groups, from PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan. Habit #2, Part I: Getting parents onto the involvement ladder.

• Focus on Involvement for PTOs and PTAs (video)
  PTO Today founder Tim Sullivan shares the 8 habits of highly effective school parent groups. Habit #1: Make parent involvement the focus.

• What Principals Fear From Parent Groups
  Your principal has to carry many responsibilities. Are you adding to them?

• Is Your PTO Fun Enough?
  PTOs and PTAs that aren't fun and welcoming will struggle more in their involvement efforts; working to change that might be the most important thing a parent leader can do.

• Making Smart Decisions as PTO Leaders
  Fear of controversy often nudges parent leaders toward the status quo when questions come up. But you can make good decisions for your PTO or PTA without alienating members.

• Pep Up Your Parent Group
  Is your parent group in a rut? Here's how to get out of it.

• Defining the Role of a PTO
  What role should your PTO play? That answer will change as the needs of your school community change.

• Are You Planting Roots?
  Success has a life cycle; make yours last by nurturing new leaders.

• Get Out and Smell the Coffee
  You can build a support system through a little bit of cafe life and a whole lot of networking.

• Stop the PTO Drama
  Drama seems like a fact of PTO life—but it doesn’t have to be.

• What I Know About Fundraising
  Getting a few important basics right will make the biggest difference for the success of your parent group’s fundraising efforts.

• Good Fundraising Is More Than Just Profit
  Don't choose a fundraiser for your group based on profit percentage alone.

• Unpaper Your PTO
  Cutting back on how much paper your group uses will mean less time copying—and more money saved.

• Dads Are Different
  For more participation from dads, meet them on their level.

• A Tale of Two Volunteers
  Bridging the newbie-veteran gap.

• We've Got You Covered
  Our goal: creating solutions to deal with all of the challenges your parent group might face.

• Confront the Fear of Quitting
  Concerns about how they'll be treated if they stop volunteering makes some parents avoid getting involved at all.

• Measuring Meetings
  There are much better ways to gauge the success of your parent group than counting how many seats get filled to go through a monthly agenda.

• Easy Money Comes at a Price
  If it looks like easy money, it'll probably cost your parent group.

• Just Say No to Dues
  Dropping dues from your budget can pay off in higher involvement and more willing volunteers.

• Involvement Step by Step
  Getting new parents to participate means finding out where they are on the involvement ladder, then creating opportunities that match.

• Think Big, Get Big
  Launching an ambitious project can rally support for your group and enhance your image.

• It Pays To Go Slow
  Building support for your group takes time. Often a patient approach will get you to your goal faster than a sprint.

• Where Involvement Begins
  Parent groups play a key role in making schools better. Unfortunately, the role often goes unappreciated.

• Let Teachers Teach
  What do you really want, and what should you expect, from the T in PTO?

• How's Your Q Score?
  When parents think about your PTO, what kind of feeling do they get? Marketers call that a Q score; here's why it matters.

• 10 Truths About Parent Groups
  The best PTOs and PTAs share certain characteristics that make them successful.

• Open Doors, Lots of Them
  It's important to make it as easy as possible for parents to get involved. Are you doing all you can?

• Quit Being So Nice!
  Sometimes doing what’s best for your group and school means stepping on toes.

• The Fundraising Myth
  "Fundraising fatigue" isn't a national trend that you can't fight. It's a problem that can be addressed by rethinking the way you conduct fundraisers.

• Escaping the Guilt Trap
  There's a better way to get parents involved than guilting them into it.

• Do You Really Want Help?
  Often it's easier to just do things yourself. But for the long-term health of your group, your time can be better spent.

• Put Meetings in Perspective
  Parents have limited time to devote to volunteering. Should you ask them to spend it attending meetings?

• Make Peace With the Principal
  Even if you're at odds over certain issues, it's important to find common ground with the principal.

• Fundraising Makes It Happen
  Fundraising shouldn't be your group's main focus. But fundraising the right way can make a significant difference in how well you're able to fulfill your mission.

• It's Always Sharing Season
  Almost a decade of connecting parent group leaders has shown the ever-present interest in learning from each other.

• The One-Hour Pledge
  You'll get a lot more people to volunteer if they know there's a limit to their commitment.

• No PTO Left Behind
  While education fads come and go, parent groups still concentrate on the time-tested elements that enhance learning and community.

• Rating the Clip-and-Save Fundraisers
  PTO Today's scorecard of the best and worst label and box-top collection programs.

• The Truth About Cliques
  If people say your group is a clique, it is. In this case, perception matters.

• School Security Can Go Too Far
  When safety measures prevent parents from getting involved, it's time to reassess.

• "Just a PTO"? Say It Isn't So!
  Don't downplay the work you do. Parent groups play an important role in helping students and teachers succeed.

• 7 Steps To Grow Involvement
  Use the approach to parent involvement taken by the most successful parent groups. These resolutions will change how you think about attracting members and volunteers.

• National Winner: After Tornado, PTO Stronger Than Ever
  A unified response to a community disaster strengthened this PTO and gave them renewed focus. Now, they are PTO Today's 2002 Parent Group of the Year.

• Sales Fundraisers: The Basics
  While new fundraising options get the publicity, product sales are still the backbone for parent groups. Here’s what you should know before you begin.

• PTO vs. PTA: What's the Difference?
  The vast majority of parent-teacher groups are actually independents rather than formally affiliated PTAs.

• The Small-Budget PTO
  You can accomplish great things without raising big money.