Over the past 15 years, our organization had been a PTA then we were an unaffiliated "PTC." After careful consideration of the benefits of PTA vs. PTO, we voted in November 2006 to be a PTO. Since then, we obtained our 501(c) (3) status and became an incorporated, state-registered charitable organization. After having gone through the process, I would recommend the following:

First, if you are an independent group, I would recommend that you become incorporated to avoid volunteer members being subject to individual liability. Of course, general liability insurance coverage (seems you can get a good deal through PTO Today), provides coverage for anyone injured at a PTO sponsored event, but it will not be at the personal expense of a PTO volunteer.

Second, I would recommend obtaining 501(c)(3), tax exempt status because
(1) donations can be deducted but (2) more importantly, your State charitable organization statutes may require you to do so. Check out your State's laws regarding charitable organizations and fundraising. In our state, any organization that fundraises more than $10k per year is required to register as a "charitable organization" and this means you must have 501c3 status. If you have any parents who are attorneys in your school, enlist their support. While I am an attorney, I do not specialize in nonprofit corporations, so I quickly came up to speed! We also have an accountant dad who files our 990EZ form with the IRS.

You can also check out our PTO website at About « Hall-Dale Elementary School PTO as our bylaws are there. Some sections of our Article 4 contain important language for the 501(3)(c) application as well as for the Articles of Incorporation.

In order to assist in our PTO v. PTA debate, I set up a side-by-side comparison regarding yearly and monthly obligations of each. This really helped us to consider what it takes to set up each as well as the annual and monthly obligations to keep in good standing. While I thought the PTA would be easier to keep in good standing, we concluded that obligations of the PTA are more onerous. I would be glad to email anyone our comparison chart, just email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Our PTO (in Michigan) is in the midst of filing for 501c3 also. I found a local attorney willing to help us file our articles of incorporation at no charge. You don't have to file it, but it only cost $20 for the filing fee w/ the state(not sure if Ohio is different). It was a lot easier to have the lawyer help us as their is some legal wording that we could not have come up with on our own. I also found an accountant that was willing to help us (at a very reduced rate) fill out and submit the rest of the paperwork for the IRS. The peace of mind that it is done right the first time was well worth the small expense to our PTO.

The IRS doesn't require incorporation. However, they do require that you submit an organizing document with your 501c3 application. For a corporation, that document is often called the "Articles of Incorporation." If your group is not incorporated, the document might be called a constitution. In either case, it essentially declares your group exists. Different from your bylaws which lists the operating rules and organizational details that make your group run, not just exist. (you submit your bylaws with the 501c3 application, too).

You really might want to recheck the info you need to provide to the IRS for the 501(c)(3) status. We had to be incorporated and to supply them with the incorporation info in our application. We even ended up having to submit it twice. We are in Oregon and I don't know if the requirements/regulations are different in other states.

Does anyone have a short write up outlining pros and cons of becoming a 501c3 organization for a PTO? Including what it means in terms of exec board responsibilities, fundraising etc.

I also wonder why you don't want to incorporate. It provides a level of protection for your officers, and it typically doesn't cost much. You don't have to be incorporated to file for 501c3, but you will still need to create some kind of organizing document (other than your bylaws) first. In my state, the incorporation form is in fact the Articles of Incorporation, so by incorporating, we are creating the organizing document the IRS looks for in the 501c3 application. Incorporation rules are set by the state, so maybe there's something quirky about Ohio. Can you share?