Lori,
I used JHB's posting as a guide and succeeded in gaining our determination letter with no problems. It is a good guide. Plus, don't hesitate to ask specific questions here or with the IRS (who are really helpful).
Have you looked into joining the National PTO Network (from this site)? As a member, you'll get a resource kit providing detailed examples/instructions of the paperwork.
Meanwhile I posted our entry a couple years ago as a forum message. I'm not an accountant or claiming what we did was THE way, but ours was accepted. So it might serve as an example for you. You can find the old message at:
I'm so happy I found this site. Our PTO was seperated from our school earlier this year and we are in the process of filing all of those fun documents with the state and IRS.
Can anyone give me examples of what the put in the description of activities for IRS forn 1023?
I use to work for a non-profit but we had accountants and attorneys to handle all of this stuff. I was elected to do this because I'm more familiar with these documents than our other board members. All help is appreciated.