As V.P., I am going to be using email as a way of increasing communication this year...instead of always playing "phone tag" with folks...especially among the other officers and for soliciting volunteers...We are going to be looking into putting a community together on the net...a sort of e-gathering...but probably not until next year when we have a better understanding of how our membership drives will do.
We feel like we are starting over because for the last few years, things have been let go and participation was down to a skeleton crew of parents only. My feeling is that for even parents who work, email and an e-community will help them stay in touch and involved. Still looking for suggestions, though.
Our PTO used email for our summer school supply pac sale and it worked well. Of course we use it amongst ourselves as the Exec Board. But what about voting via email for specific items that would not require a discussion? Has anyone used that method and is it a legal vote? or would we have to document/print the votes?
Thanks-
What a wonderful way to keep the lines of communication open! This may sound like a silly question - can you tell me how you set up your e-mail group? I already have a directory data base that includes several of our families e-mail addresses, but it has never been utilized.
Thanks
MBPTO
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I am starting an email group for our PTO this year. I think that it will be a great additional way to get the news out for those that can't make it to the meetings and for reminders, etc.
I would like to ask those that already have a list going if they are using a list server like Yahoogroups or if they are just sending out a bulk email? I was thinking about using Yahoogroups because we really need to increase feedback and participation and I thought it would be a good way to take care of both. Let me know of any pros/cons.
We also ask for email addresses on our volunteer form. About 10% of our forms have an email address. However, as President last year, I found it a very valuable tool to communicate with my other Officers. We were doing a major reorganization and it allowed me to communicate questions and information to everyone at the same time in the same way. So much time was saved for me.
I use email for everything and it saves a lot of time. Last year we only sent emails to parents requesting volunteers. This year I'm going to try to also do meeting notes and surverys. I hope our turn out can be as good as yours.