3. has the PTA ever circulated a checklist or timeline for disaffiliation? Some states do. It's a state-level thing.
4. does any one know of the State PTA grabbing assets when all bills have been paid. I've heard it threatened or implied tons of times. I've never once seen it done. The signers on the bank account are from your group. I don't even know how PTA supposes it would get the $$. Not their money.
5. has anyone ever heard of the State PTA going after the new PTO for the transferred assets? No.
6. within the past 2 years are there any former PTAs that became PTOs abiding by the State PTA disaffiliation bylaw provisions? Yes, tons. Buit there is no public database of that. PTA membership and unit count is down by hundreds of units and hundreds of thousands of members in last several years. You're not being radical.
6. Tim, have you ever heard of the state PTA intentionally putting up road blocks (other than an opportunity to present at the general meeting) when they were given notice that a PTA was thinking of disaffiliating? Ever heard of that? Yes, all the time. Drives me crazy. It's a bullying tactic that can sometimes work with a local PTA leader who doesn't take the time to go find out that the threats are hollow.
The key to me is this: have a good solid discussion among your members. Look at pros and cons. Do your research. Have an informal show of hands. That's way more important than any artificially, intentionally-bullyish process described by the people with $$ incentive fo you to stay. If after the research, folks want to stay -- great! If they want to go -- either follow fair steps of PTA or -- if your state's steps or state's leaders are unreasonable -- just let the PTA go dark.
1. we carry a cushion every year so we want to be extra careful--we are not interested in giving our money to state
2. mandatory State bylaw provisions are unclear---
on the one hand they say you can transfer assets to another 501(c)(3) [of course assuming there is enough money left to pay outstanding bills] BUT on the other hand it says the State PTA can come in and grab your assets
3. has the PTA ever circulated a checklist or timeline for disaffiliation?
4. does any one know of the State PTA grabbing assets when all bills have been paid.
5. has anyone ever heard of the State PTA going after the new PTO for the transferred assets?
6. within the past 2 years are there any former PTAs that became PTOs abiding by the State PTA disaffiliation bylaw provisions?
6. Tim, have you ever heard of the state PTA intentionally putting up road blocks (other than an opportunity to present at the general meeting) when they were given notice that a PTA was thinking of disaffiliating?
Anne--Yes, file two returns. If you actually disband the PTA and have a formal date of dissolution/termination of your relationswhip with PTA, you file a final return through that date. If you just let it run its course, you file a return through the end of whatever your fiscal year is. Your PTO return goes from the date of incorporation through the end of its fiscal year. Since the PTA and the PTO can effectively be running at the same time for some period, the dates of when one stops and the other one starts do not need to coincide.
We are inthe process of dissolving our PTA and starting a PTO. We have obtained a new EIN and incorporated with the state, and are about to file the application for non-profit status for the new organization. My question is, since the transition is happening mid-year, will we need to file 2 tax returns for this year?...A final return for the PTA and a separate return for the new PTO? If so, what should be used as the cut-off date - the date the funds are transferred from the PTA accounts to the PTO accounts??
Our district recently have found out that we are not a 5013c and can your school individually become a 5013c or does the district have to do this as a whole? What do we have to do to become a 5013c? We are having trouble at this point getting donations and need this done asap if possible. Whom do we contact to get this going? Thanks
Just to further the point, 95% of the groups I've seen making this transition have wound up with zero dollars in their account before dissolving. So while that "you'll lose all your $$" is a common threat, it's almost never a factor.
For most parent groups it's not hard to spend the dollars down. Most groups don't carry much over from one year to the next and even those that do can fairly easily (on a one-time basis) either pre-pay some expenses or donate to the school or make a major purchase.... all before the official dissolution.
