Ask your question here.

My tip this week is based on some common advice we give in answering those questions: Read your bylaws. Bylaws are a key organizing document of a PTO, and every PTO should have them. They state, in writing, the most basic rules of the group: what the officer positions are and what the duties of each office are, when elections are held, etc.

Your group should also have a second set of written rules called policies. These are things that are important to the way you do business but aren’t as basic as bylaws. For instance, your bylaws might say you must hold a general meeting once a month. Your policies might say that meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

There are two important reasons to have written bylaws and policies: to have a ready answer to questions-especially when disputes arise-and to record a basic set of best practices so that future leaders can use them as a guide.

If you haven’t done so recently, take the time to review your group’s bylaws and policies. Make sure they fit the current needs of your group, and if they don’t, revise them. If your group doesn’t have bylaws and policies, this is a good time to get started on putting some in writing. We have lots of resources to help:

• Bylaws and nonprofit topic page on ptotoday.com
• Sample bylaws and other resources on the File Exchange
• “How To Write PTO Bylaws” article

For too many groups, the plan is a nice Open House speech followed by a sign-up sheet that winds up in the back of a file somewhere. Two months later, the leaders of those groups are frustrated by a lack of volunteers and a whole bunch of parents are wondering why the cliquey PTO doesn’t call. Ugh.

With that in mind, here are two tips this week — both regarding getting and keeping lots of new volunteers.

1. Do you have a well-done volunteer interest sheet for your parents? More than just “can you help,” a well-done survey asks about interest areas and best times. We have a sample volunteer interest form in our File Exchange area that you’re free to use as is or customize.
2. Have you looked at our PTO Manager volunteer software service for keeping track of all your parents, managing volunteers for events, and communicating with parents? It really does make a difference for those groups that take advantage.

Many parents will help if the opportunity and timing and commitment are all right. You have to ask — sometimes several times, and always nicely — and you need a system for keeping track of the interest. It’s not as hard as it sounds, and it’s well worth the effort.

The best form combines practicality with a bit of cheerleading and is very careful not to intimidate. Remember, parents are a bit afraid of volunteering (like if they volunteer once, they’ll be sucked in to a major commitment), so you need to make it clear that flexible opportunities are available and limited help is still very much appreciated.

While including specific opportunities is great, I also highly recommend including at least one check box that says something like: “I’d love to find some way to help this year, but my schedule is crazy and I’m not sure what can work.” You can then reach out to those who check that box and see whether there’s something you can work out together.

If you’re in volunteer-getting mode, I also recommend this feature story on connecting with more volunteers. Good luck!

Will you make it clear that their questions are tiresome? Will you hastily dismiss their “new” ideas (that you’ve had in the past) and discourage them?

I hope not, but that’s what a lot of us PTO and PTA old-timers tend to do (often unknowingly) when we first deal with these new parents. It’s a great way to turn off the fresh, enthusiastic volunteers you most need.

I tried to capture this dynamic — and also some of the mistakes that new parents make in jumping in too aggressively — in a column I wrote last year called “A Tale of Two Volunteers“. I think this is a great time of year to bring it back out. I hope you’ll share it with your fellow leaders as a reminder of the mistakes we should try to avoid this summer and next fall.

We’ve tracked many of these over the years. Here’s a link to our search results on “PTO PTA” and here’s our PTO v PTA homepage.

Also find this quick diary/blog interesting from a brand new PTOer, attending her first meeting at a new school. Good to hear what the new eyes see. Love the observation about just how much trash can be turned into school cash (and the fact that she’s diving through the home trash to recover school treasure).

Parents from five elementary schools in West Springfield, Mass. have formed a new group that “transcends school boundaries,” The Republican newspaper reports. As one of the leaders explained, each school PTO will continue its own work, but by coming together they “can do a lot of great things.”