Thanks JHB. I suppose we can define in the bylaws what the board can decide on its own and what we need to bring to a vote with the general membership, correct? Do you have any experience with the rules for an incorporated 501C3 in terms of posting agendas and minutes and other such procedural things? If we incorporate I want to have "the system" run like a well oiled machine in these required procedural matters. I know there are "Robert's Rules", but is this all required for incorporated PTOs? No one in our current board is familiar with these and we just run the meetings very casually, rather lax in terms of these formalities. Is it all required by law as a corporation? Thanks so much!
The ones I have worked with all had a members structure, so I'm not familiar with the other. Personally, I'd go with that. To me (just guessing), a non-members type structure would be more suited to an organization serving the public at large versus a defined population.
As far as who decides what; board vs general membership - you still have a lot of leeway there. There are groups that hold general meetings every month where members vote on everything. And there are groups that hold general membership meetings only once or twice a year, primarily to approve the annual budget (fall) and to elect officers (spring). Other than that, they vest authority for decision-making in the Board.
Let me be clear that I haven't really had experience with your specific question, so I'm merely voicing an opinion.
Hi JHB. In doing research on the incorporation of our group, the decision of having the LEGAL designation of members (as opposed to associates, benefactors etc.) or not has to be decided during the incorporation process. The legal term of "member" grants certain voting rights to the members as opposed to the board making the decisions without having to turm to the members. I thought some groups may have opted for a "non membership" corporate structure and was wondering how different PTOs have handled that question for the incorporation process.
In reading about incorporation of a PTO, the topic of "member" vs. "nonmember" arises. Could anyone comment on which route your group took? Our group has about 200 families that pay optional dues to belong, but only perhaps 5 of these parents actually attend our meetings to voice an opinion. They are happy to support us, but prefer to be passive in the decision making process. This is fine with the board, but we are not sure whether to go with the legal "member" or "nonmember" organization for incorporation. Any comments would be helpful!
