People can and do sue over anything and everything. Maybe it's because my husband is a lawyer and I live in sue-happy California, but I would never be a volunteer in an organization without insurance. For example, a Little League coach is covered by the league insurance, a Cub Scout leader is covered by BSA insurance, and a PTO volunteer should be covered by PTO insurance.

You would be surprised how many people sue over silly things. We had a parent sue our school last year because her son fell off the monkey bars during recess and broke his arm. She didn't have health insurance and couldn't pay the doctor bill but found a lawyer to take the case so she could get the school district to pay her bills. If he had fallen at our Halloween Carnival she would have sued our group too.

We also have a personal umbrella policy in addition to our homeowner's insurance. A $1 million umbrella policy costs us about $300 per year but worth it in case we get in a car accident and get sued or something. We also have a big dog and you never know.

The Volunteer Protection Act, passed in 1997, is supposed to protect volunteers working for non-profit organizations from personal liablity. As I remember from when I researched this, there are exceptions for negligence, etc, but it should provide some protection. Of course you would have to hire a lawyer to prove your case.

It is really confusing. I had a lawyer and an insurance broker tell me that they would always advise any client who took a leadership position in a volunteer group to get extra personal insurance. (I think it was called an umbrella policy.)

Note - this is completely separate from any group/event insurance.

At the time, I was President of a PTO, so I talked to my own agent. She went round and round with different advice, talking about totals and incomes and assets and basically told me, "no" she wouldn't recommend such a policy for me.

But the bottom line is that the others are right - you could get sued, practically anywhere/anytime. It's sad that we live in such a society.

Our group never did get insurance and we never had a problem. But you have to decide as an individual what risks you are willing to take. Definitely look into incorporation (to reduce personal risk) and insurance. At least you can make an informed decision.

Anybody can be sued. whether valid or not! Take a look at www.ptolaw.com/ I can't speak for the validity of the info, but it certainly raises flags. More info is better than none.

--Ira

Thank you for the info. I will definately look into getting insurance.I can't believe the getting sued thing. I am really shocked that we as volunteers could be sued!! I'm just curious if anyone has ever heard of any officers who actually were sued or is it just something that "could" happen. When my husband heard about this, he was wondering if someone who volunteers as a little league coach could be sued, since he does that. I said probably! Of course no one ever tells you any of this when they're asking for your help!
Anyway, thanks alot and I'll have to talk more with our other members.

There's loads of advice and insight on this board, but I wouldn't call any of it legal advice. For that, you need an attorney. But a little knowledge can get you a long way, so here's a start....

Alot of PTOs incorporate in their state. This is a formal status that must be applied for (usually a small fee) and renewed annually. Incorporation typically provides some level of personal liability protection. In addition to incorporating, many PTO's apply for federal recognition as a non-profit charity, 501c3.

Most PTO's do work that the IRS considers qualified for 501c3 status. There is lots to know about why and how to get 501c3 status, but the basic rule of thumb is:

Is your annual gross (not net) income normally greater than $5,000. If no, then you can do your work without filing for 501c3.

If yes, then the IRS expects you to formalize your group as a 501c3. The application is called form 1023. The one-time fee is either $150 or $500, depending on the finaancial size of your group.

Lots of PTOs operate without incorporating or filing for 501c3, whether or not they "should". As your group gets more informed about this issue, you'll be better equipped to decide what course of action is right for your group. YOu're started the educational journey. Good luck. It's a little daunting, but many many regulary ol' PTO volunteers have learned enough to educate their memebers and get 501c3 status.

One really good source of info is the PTO Today Getting Started Guide. It has a whole lot of advice on setting up and formalizing a PTO. The link to the guide is forms.ptotoday.com/store/store.html