It is really call of your own it is something I brought at the table at the last meeting. Why do we charge dues who made that decision do we just do it because it was done before I do not feel the need to charge someone $5.00 to vote on something that is effecting their child. We do not need the money and more than 50% of the people who pay the money never come to a meeting.
One more thing, in our elementary PTO, volunteer coordination was one of our key roles. It didn't matter if it was a PTO event, a school event, or whatever - if volunteers were needed, we usually organized them.
For instance, the school owned the big fundraisers (cookie dough, gift wrap, etc.), but the PTO still coordinated all the volunteers for distribution and money counting. The librarian owned Book Fair, but we recruited all the volunteer shifts.
I like that role in a PTO because it provides a definite service, offers continuity, and establishes high visibility for the PTO. Like Critter said, a successful partnership with the school is critical.
Ours charges a couple of dollars and I am very, low incomed and prefer to give the money to a mom in the classes that can't afford the school clothing.
Our elementary PTO's bylaws stipulate that the Exec Board sets the dues. For the past 5 years, it's been set to zero, effectively eliminating the requirement to pay dues in order to be considered a member of our PTO. We, too, are a 501c3 and use the name "PTO". There are no official rules for independent parent groups because there is no official oversight organization (contrast to National PTA). Your bylaws should reflect what's best for your gruop.
I can't say for sure that eliminating dues had any impact on volunteerism. We've always been lucky to have huge amounts of help. We got rid of dues in order to avoid the confusion over who "could" help with new volunteer-dependent enrichment activities that are primarily sponsored by our principal. We didnt' want it to become a conflict between the PTO "members" and "other parents". This way, parents are encouraged to volunteer in all activities, both those coordinated strictly by PTO leadership, and those coordinated by our principal. We work as partners now, not competitors.
Whether or not you charge dues is totally up to your organization. Often the bylaws are written to give you some leeway. I think ours says something like. "Membership Dues, if any, will be set by the Executive Board at the first meeting." But if not, you'll need to follow them or change them.
I've been in both types - one that did have them and one that doesn't. In the elementary school, we had small dues, something like $5 per family.
It was never an obstacle for involvement. Not everyone chose to join, but anyone could attend meetings, volunteer, and participate. True, they technically couldn't vote. But honestly - everything that went far enough to get to a general membership vote was unanimous. On the other hand, the membership drive was a good marketing opportunity and having folks fill out that membership form was one step closer to committing (volunteering, being involved). So we found benefit in the process.
In our middle school, we don't have dues. It also works, but I have definitely not seen any direct correlation to no dues = more participation.
The good news is - you can do whatever is best for you group.
My group has a nomenclature of "PTO", is non-profit, is a 501(C)3 and we do not charge dues.
Personally I like the idea of not charging dues. By doing so I can promote that "All parents and guardians of children attend the school, as well as all staff members, are automatically a member of the PTO" and as such are encouraged to get involved in any way that they can.
