Originally posted by Numbermom: We are making a change from PTA to PTO. The PTO has received our new EIN and we have filed our 501(c)(3) forms as well. In California, however, the waiting time to receive the 501(c)(3) is 12-18 months. We understand that our status will be retroactive, but we are concerned about transfering funds from our current organization to a 501(c)(3) that is still in pending status. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience in this matter?
Hi, Numbermom~
We are also making the transition, hopefully at the end of this year and the transfer of funds is our primary concern at this point, too. I have contacted our state PTA a few times over the past 6 months regarding financial issues in preparation for this transition and have been told that any funds remaining in our organization will be held for 2 years. I was wondering if you had heard anything different (we're in the same area). Good Luck!!
Originally posted by rocket:
Whether you change your name to PTO or leave it PTA is not going to make a difference to parents at your school. YOU and your board will make the difference; your attitudes, your enthusiasm, your communication, your ability to welcome and engage parents.
Rocket -- you make a good point (quoted above), and I agree. Thing is, though, if your point is true, then one name (PTA) costs about $1,000 per year and the other (PTO) is free (or at least a lot less than $1,000 per year). That's exactly why so many groups have gone PTO.
Our school experiences everything that you mentioned everytime that a new group "board members" take over. Sometimes you get lucky and you get a group of dynamic parents that are welcoming, positive and proactive. Other times you get a board of parents that want no input, don't follow procedures and mostly "turn-off" parents that want to get involved. It's truly the flip of a coin. Most parent groups have to beg people to take the officer positions any time that a position opens up. It's ashame, but true.
Whether you change your name to PTO or leave it PTA is not going to make a difference to parents at your school. YOU and your board will make the difference; your attitudes, your enthusiasm, your communication, your ability to welcome and engage parents.
Changing the name won't fix the problem; only changing how things were handled will fix the problem; I guarantee you that people will notice the difference if your group is welcoming and working to better the school, the children's experience at school and family events after school. Good luck...it sounds like your group is on the right track!
We switched from a PTA to a PTO many years ago. But I think you need to work within the PTA organization to fix the problems you have before you switch. Too many changes at once will alienate even more parents. We are a new board this year, and we had many problems that needed fixing when we came in. Communication is the greatest thing there is. We collected emails during membership and opened a free hotamil account to use. Many people cannot attend meetings but when we send out a request via email, we get tons of replies. Sometimes I send emails just to thank the parents or to let them know what's going on. It's the best thing we've done this year. If you turn the organization around, then start thinking about switching. it's not the name the parents are having problems with, it's the people.
We are making a change from PTA to PTO. The PTO has received our new EIN and we have filed our 501(c)(3) forms as well. In California, however, the waiting time to receive the 501(c)(3) is 12-18 months. We understand that our status will be retroactive, but we are concerned about transfering funds from our current organization to a 501(c)(3) that is still in pending status. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience in this matter?
We too changed from a PTA to a PTO several years ago for several reasons. We did not have any extra expense and the transition was relatively smooth. We did however ask our members to make the decision to switch.
I think that all of the "wants" you mentioned would be great for a brochure or flyer. I dont know that you can do much more to repair the damage -you may just want to let it go with only the smallest of mentions. Just state what you want to accomplish (either as a PTA or a PTO though I think the change in name may be more beneficial) , how you want to do it and keep the attitude you display here. Good luck!!
