Question: Transferring PTO from one school to another school

Hello! Last year I was involved with establishing a brand-new PTO for our charter school (it's a home-based/online learning curriculum charter - which offered a once a week "school" day). I was the vice president of the PTO - however, after the president essentially abandoned her position I ended up assuming responsibility for the PTO through the remainder of year. This year, the overwhelming majority of the families (I would say about 95%) who were apart of the charter school last year have changed to a new/different charter school this. Since all of us who were active with the PTO last year are with the new school - we would like to explore the option of transferring ownership of the former PTO to our new school (especially since we spent a great deal of time fundraising for our PTO and went through the troublesome process of setting up the 501c3). The administrator (who also switched to the new school) had mentioned that another location was able to switch everything over (and a few of the parents indicated it's possible - as they've done it with the Girl Scouts). Is this possible? If so, how do we do it? I figured there would be logistics involving a name change, etc... I'm just a little at a loss as to where to begin. :) Thank you, in advance, for your time and consideration.

Asked by serenamichelle

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
We certainly have heard of other groups doing this. You would need to file with the IRS your name change and address change, update your bylaws and mission statement to reflect the new school, and check with the state to see whether it affects your incorporation (if you're incorporated) or your nonprofit status. The IRS changes can be included on your form 990EZ filing, or if you file form 990N, the postcard, you can simply mail or fax the changes to the IRS. Here's an IRS link with a bit of information:

http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Reporting-Changes-to-IRS

Good luck!