Even once you are a certified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, you may still need to pay some taxes.
For example, in Kansas a PTA/PTO can buy and sell goods without collecting or paying sales tax, but we may only buy services tax free. If we sell services, such as a game or moonwalk ticket at the carnival, we must remit sales tax. All of a sudden, it matters if you used those tickets to buy food or to win it in the cakewalk.
I know the feeling. That's why I was in records clear back to the 1940's. Lots of meeting records but no tax records. We did have a tax id number which, after I called the IRS, was not in their records. That's when I decided to start over. Refile for a new tax id, rewrite the bylaws (Did you find bylaws?), incorporate, and then file the appropriate papers with the IRS to become tax exempt. It was a lot of work but that was our goal for the year.
Good luck!
I have a brief case full of useless information! I cannot decifer whether or not we are a 501(c)(3) or not so I guess I will have to start with the IRS on that one. It is very confusing since I don't have any idea even what that code means! Can you give me a hint?? I know last year we had to pay taxes on some of the fundraiser money we earned. That is a shame in my opinion, to get these kids selling stuff and then having to pay taxes on it. No one seems to know if we are a PTA or a PTO or what we are! And everyone is so burned out that it's really tough to get good information. I mean they would tell me if they knew but they just don't know. I guess my first job is to get ORGANIZED! Thanks for the advice! It is helpful.
Talk to others (parents and school staff) about what was done before. There will probably be a lot of suggestions for new things. But the key is get a core list of what types of things happen when. For example (for us):
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July - planning meeting
August - prepare for new year, school starts
* Provide volunteers on first day/week of schools
* Distribute information on PTO, membership, and volunteer info. Take T-shirt orders
September - finish membership contest, start work on school directory. Hold Fall fundraiser.
October - Assist with Track and Field, Distribute Directories
November - Assist with Thanksgiving Feasts, help school with volunteers for Bookfair
December - Breakfast with Santa/Holidays Around the World
Jan - Start planning Spring event (if not before)
February - Work on Spring Event, Provide volunteers in classroom for assessment testing, help school with Spring Fundraiser sale, Science Fair.
March/April - Spring Event, coordinate volunteers for school Bookfair
May - Teacher Appreciation Week
Ongoing - Teacher Appreciation (something small monthly), newsletter, publicity, recruit volunteers for classroom help and events, Family Nights (3-6 per year).
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That's the program side. Get the "big picture", decide what it will take to pull this off, and set your priorities. You don't have to do EVERYTHING!
As far as fundraising, set goals. Don't just raise money to raise money. Decide that you want to help the school with XYZ and then raise the funds to do so.
Meanwhile, on the administrative side, you need to look at where your PTO stands:
** Do you have (good) bylaws?
** Are you incorporated?
** Are you 501(c)(3)?
** Do you use good accounting practices?
** Do you need to recruit more leaders?
My best advice is to layout the big picture, then figure out what's important and start moving forward.
Read your bylaws. That should tell you when/how meetings are ran. Also, I read through old minutes (we actually had minutes clear back to the 1940's when our group was a "community club") which gave me a lot of information and ideas.
Good luck!
Ok, folks! I need help. No one at my son's school was stepping up to fill any of the officer's positions in our school's parent/teacher club so after some thought and arm twisting I allowed myself to be the co-president with another gal. We will work well together and have known one another for years. But there isn't a lot of parental involvement and we aren't even sure where to start. The burn out is fantastic and those who have done it in the past have been the willing few. They have done a great job and now it's our turn. My child will be in the first grade this year and I don't even know a whole lot about how schools operate, or how these groups operate. Though I do have some experience leading volunteers. How do we begin??
Thanks!
