It's okay if the officers write the bylaws. Just remember that the group must approve them. There should also be a provision for amending the bylaws when necessary. You could sell this to the officers simply by telling them that the rules they make now may not be workable and they will want to be able to change them if need be. Tell them it is for their own good as well as the good of the group.
Hi Beth,
Since you are a 501c3 it's a non-issue. According to the guidelines, it states in the first paragraph that "none of the earnings of the organization may inure to any private shareholder or individual"
You can get the entire description from the IRS at www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96099,00.html
If the rules aren't followed, you can be hit with penalties and the person who receives the gift may also be assessed a penalty.
You've also got other problems if your President is operating "behind closed doors" so to speak. Makes me suspicious!
[ 01-13-2004, 07:44 PM: Message edited by: Michelle B ]
Our PTO could be facing the same type of situation soon. Our Principal called an information meeting to restart a PTO at our school. Approximately good number of people showed up, but only a handful would run for office. We later had elections for the offices. Instead of having a general meeting, the officers along with principal have been meeting. The Principal is convincing them that they are the ones that should be rewriting the bylaws and no members of the general membership should be involved(which gives the general membership little or no protection from a dictator board). Our bylaws make no mention of making amendments or money controls except to say two people must sign checks.
Thank you, I think this issue is over for the moment as this issue has been dropped due to the pushback. However, I believe we have a long term issue of PTO Board not understanding the rules that we must follow (as we do have non-profit status). I will do some research and bring to my next board meeting.
Thank you all for your advice.
In my opinion, Julier is correct in both processes mentioned, and there are other systems to control finances out there.
The idea behind controlling the finances is to prevent abuse or misuse. I can not off hand think of a state that does not require an annual report of a corporation to this very end. As a business, a PTO is subject to the state laws regarding reporting of financial and business status, especially those companies formed for or on behalf of the public good. A PTO would qualify as the later even if not incorporated.
If your PTO is a federally registered 501(c)(3) organization, you can't give away that much money as a gift to individuals. The IRS says your money must be spent in accordance with your stated mission. And, in order to be accepted as 501(c)(3), your mission must be to better the school or something similar. If you give away cash or gift certificates, especially to places where the teachers could buy something other than classroom supplies, you have no control over whether the money is spent in accordance with your mission. We stopped giving supplies checks up front and now provide a $90 credit to each teacher - but they must submit receipts for our files to get their reimbursement checks.
Even if your PTO is not already a 501c3, maybe this is an arguement which will help you make your case.
By the way, our Bylaws say the Board can make unbudgeted spending decisions up to $100 without member approval. With 30 teachers on staff, no way we could spend another $100 per teacher without seeking member approval--that's even assuming we had that much unbudgeted money.
How bold for your president to suggest the only way parents can get involved is to join the board. How many officers do you have?!
