PTA Membership Planning Workshop

1. PTA MEMBERSHIP
PLANNER
ABC COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP TEAM

2. Agenda
• Membership resources
• CA PTA & National PTA websites
• Locate tools, flyers, brochures
• Videos
• Council website overview – For PTA Units
• Resources, Gallery, Portal login
• Portal Features
• Exhibit
• Tablecloth with Council Logo – Get it from Keeley
• PTA store – promotional items idea
• T-Shirts for board members
• Volunteer stickers
• Q&A

3. CA PTA Website – Membership Area
• Bookmark the following link
• Has everything you need for membership planning
• http://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-pta/building-membership/
• Details to follow – next slides….
• Sit back, Relax and Enjoy during next one Hr
• Get to work starting tomorrow and get ready for next
school year
• Talk to your principal to get support for membership drive

4. PTA promotional items
• PTA store at Orange
• Kustom Imprints
1661 N. Glassell Street
Orange, CA. 92867 1-(800) 683-5854 Ext. 107
• https://stores.shoppta.com/index.lasso?host=CAPTA

5. HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR PTA
MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN
• Organizing and running a PTA membership campaign can
be fun — and easy!
• Watch the video below for easy steps to building your PTA
membership.
• https://player.vimeo.com/video/104757892

6. MEMBERSHIP VIDEOS
• HELP SPREAD THE WORD
• Show a PTA membership video or public service announcement at
back-to-school night
• Embed the videos right on your PTA website.
• View the following videos
• Available at http://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-pta/building-
membership/
• https://player.vimeo.com/video/104757892
• Be an important part of the school
• Encourage meaningful education
• Do something that going to help children
• Focus on all the kids
• Feel connected to a bigger mission
• Join your PTA today – a message from college student Joey Abram

7. PTA Value
• The work PTA does must be relevant to its community.
• People will join your PTA if they find value in what you do.
• In addition, the same people who join because of value will be the
people who renew membership when that value is delivered.
• Define and list all the features and benefits of your PTA membership.
• Identify your most valuable and engaged PTA members and ask them
what they value.
• Understand the needs of all groups in your member community.
• Think from the member’s perspective and not your own.
• Know your competitor. What does an unaffiliated parent group offer
and how does PTA do it better?
• Advocacy, Networking and Engagement, Information and Knowledge
collection and distribution, and Volunteer opportunities

8. PTA MEMBERSHIP MARKETING TOOL
• PTA and PTSA versions, English and Spanish, with
standard or custom pictures!
• Check them out -> http://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-
pta/building-membership/
• Customize it NOW – Practice with units
• Fill in the blanks on the template
• Add a few photos and quotes, and save it to your computer.
• Your customized membership flier can be emailed, or
copied and distributed at PTA or community events.
• Schedule pickup day – for Middle/High school units
• Send with back pack for elementary units
• Print out the flier in color or black and white, attach a PTA
membership envelope, and your membership campaign is
on its way!

9. MARKETING YOUR PTA
• Parents want their PTA to be local and personal, serving
and supporting their children and the programs at their
school.
• Download a quick “Messaging That Works” reference
sheet for a few message points when communicating with
parents about the importance of joining PTA.
• http://downloads.capta.org/mem/MarketingYourPTA_Messaging.pdf

10. Membership Cards
• Units get from Council in July
• Based on last year paid membership
• Distribute to units
• Give 85% of members reported last year
• Give to members register/renew at point-of-sale during
schedule pick up
• Back to school night and other events
• Can be mailed or sent home to the member with their
child.
• eCard options
• Remind your members to create a “PTA Profile”

11. 2015-16 Cards Allocation
UNITS 2014-15 #students Percentage #Cards
ALOHA ELEM 125 368 34 106
ARTESIA HIGH SCHOOL 28 1480 2 23
BENITO JUAREZ ELEM 25 388 6 21
BURBANK ELEM 88 559 16 74
CARMENITA MIDDLE SCHOOL 300 663 45 255
CECIL B. STOWERS ELEM 360 555 65 306
CERRITOS ELEM 530 645 82 450
CERRITOS HIGH SCHOOL 141 2126 7 119
CHARLES J. CARVER ELEM 302 603 50 256
FAYE ROSS MIDDLE SCHOOL 19 675 3 16
FEDDE MAGNET MIDDLE SCHOOL 30 25
FRANK C. LEAL ELEM 691 696 99 587
HASKELL MIDDLE SCHOOL 58 588 10 49
HELEN WITTMANN ELEM 242 515 47 205
JOHN F. KENNEDY ELEM 200 451 44 170
JOHN NIEMES ELEM 80 667 12 68
MARTIN B. TETZLAFF MIDDLE 316 608 52 268
MARY E. BRAGG ELEM 325 642 51 276
MELBOURNE ELEM. 200 589 34 170
NIXON ACADEMY 540 668 81 459
PALMS ELEM 86 593 15 73
RICHARD GAHR HIGH 234 2070 11 198
WHITNEY HIGH 174 1023 17 147
WILLIAM F. ELLIOTT ELEM 132 461 29 112
WILLOW ELEM 60 482 12 51

12. CA PTA Rules
• The California State PTA membership year is July 1 to June 30.
• Membership cards in California expire on October 31, allowing a grace
period (from July 1 to October 31) for our members to renew their
membership.
• During this grace period, members are entitled to their full membership rights,
including approval of the PTA budget and program at the summer or fall association
meetings.
• A portion of the membership dues (known as per capita) is sent
through channels to the council, district, state and National PTA.
• These pass through monies are used to support those levels of PTA who, in
return, support the unit with leadership, training, advocacy and other needed
services.
• The dues portion not belonging to the unit must be forwarded through
channels at least monthly.
• As each PTA is a separate and individual association, members
having children in more than one school may pay dues to support the
PTA in each child’s school.
• http://toolkit.capta.org/membership/membership-basics/
• http://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-pta/building-membership/

13. Membership Dues
• Include the national, state, district, council and local
portions
• An individual who pays dues to a local PTA also becomes
a member of the national and state PTAs, as well as their
district and council PTAs.
• The portion of national, state, district and council dues is
classified as “Dues Not Belonging to the Unit.”
• The local treasurer works with the membership chair to
forward the following items to the appropriate recipient:
• Dues not belonging to the unit
• The number of members
• Names and addresses of members
• Identification of the local PTA

14. Membership Roles and Duties
• Membership chair and the membership committee are charged
with developing recruitment and retention strategies
• Membership is the responsibility of the entire board. Without
members, there is no PTA, and without the support of the entire
board, membership plans and committees will not succeed.
• The entire board should play an active role in implementing
membership recruitment and retention strategies.
• To build an ideal membership committee, look to recruit
individuals who:
• Have experience in marketing, public relations, sales, recruitment, or
statistics.
• Are excited about PTA and willing to share their excitement.
• May be past unit officers who know your unit’s history and successes.
• May be new members who are enthusiastic about the work your PTA
does.

15. Membership Chair
• Responsible for facilitating the work of the membership
committee and ensuring timely, accurate communication with
other PTA committees and officers.
• Membership chairs are often tasked with:
• Building the membership committee.
• Collecting and tracking membership dues.
• Distributing membership cards and encouraging online PTA profile
sign-up.
• Providing membership reports.
• Committees work best when each member knows what he or
she must do, has a timeline for the work, has the information
needed to get the job done, and is trained and mentored.
• Review the membership materials available on PTA.org
• Take PTA e-learning courses or participate in state and national
conferences to take advantage of all leadership and
membership training opportunities.

16. Why to create Profile with National PTA?
• http://www.pta.org/members/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3688
• Provides all levels of PTA with contact information for individual
members.
• This information is vital for communicating our messages across the nation,
uniting and mobilizing members around education issues.
• Provides members with access to valuable PTA member benefit
discounts on products and services.
• These savings have a value that in many cases pays for the cost of joining
PTA.
• Provides members the awareness that they are part of a local, state
and national network that stretches far beyond their local PTA.
• Provides National PTA with member information to help secure more
programs, grants, and funding to support the PTA mission.
• Statistical and demographic information help NPTA define the population of our
member base and increase our ability to make an impact in federal legislation
and other advocacy efforts.

17. Member Perks
• People join PTA to support children and their schools.
• PTA member perks can help make joining PTA an even
greater value.
• Download and share the latest Member Perks flier with
your members!
• http://downloads.capta.org/mem/PerksFlier.pdf

19. MEMBERSHIP TOOLBOX
• NEW IDEAS TO BUILD MEMBERSHIP
• Engage students or teachers in PTA
• Check out these great ideas and resources:
• Membership Monday eBlasts
• Membership timeline
• http://downloads.capta.org/mem/MembershipTimeline.pdf
• Membership theme ideas
• http://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-pta/building-membership/ways-to-
increase-pta-membership/membership-theme-ideas/
• Ways to increase PTA membership
• Ways to encourage teachers to join PTA
• Ideas to build student membership and involvement
• Membership incentives and awards

20. MEMBERSHIP MONDAY EBLASTS
• Attention Units & Membership chairs!
• Each Monday from mid-July through mid-October, be on
the lookout for “Membership Monday.”
• This special newsletter will be sent to all unit, council and
district membership chairs, communications officers and
presidents.
• http://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-pta/building-
membership/ways-to-increase-pta-
membership/membership-monday-eblasts/

21. Membership Monday emails – 2015
• July 27 — Start your PTA year off right!
• August 3 — Building a community of engagement
• August 10 — Engaging teachers in PTA
• August 17 — Healthy families, healthy PTA’s
• August 24 — Messaging that works
• August 31 — Keeping families engaged and informed
• September 8 — Resources, marketing and Member Perks
• September 14 — Three things you can do to build
membership this week
• September 21 — Don’t forget dads and dudes
• September 28 — Showcasing the power of PTA

22. • Review this and
start planning
early!
• Don’t wait till
August/Sept.

23. MEMBERSHIP THEME IDEAS
Food/Ice Cream
Get the Scoop (ice cream)
Sports/Teamwork
Join the Team (baseball)
Don’t Strike Out
Hit a Home Run with PTA
Be Part of the Team
Grow/Garden
Watch Us Grow (each class has its own
vegetable for a display board)
Help Us Grow (tree in school lobby is
filled with apples representing
membership)
Be a Part of the Bunch (grapes)
Reap the Rewards (Harvest Theme)
Invest
Invest in Children (piggy bank)
Invite, Involve, Invest
Olympics/ Go for the Gold
Winter Olympics
Olympics
Go for the Gold (Olympic or
rainbow)
Pot of Gold
Build
Building a Better Community
Lend a Hand
Help Build a Strong Foundation
Treasure/Pirate
Pirate Treasure
Our Children-Our Treasure
(Pirate Chest)
Every Child a Treasure
ARRR You Ready to Join?
(Pirate Theme)

24. MEMBERSHIP THEME IDEAS
Space
Space/Flight/Balloons
Soaring with Eagles
Up, Up and Away (balloons)
Blast Off to a New Year (space)
Come Blast Off With Us
Blast Off to Learning
Reach for the Stars
Marvin the Martian
PTA is Out of this World
May the Membership be with you… (Star
Wars Theme)
Animals/Insects
Wagging Your Way Through PTA
Bee a Part of PTA
Millie the Millipede
Be Part of the Wolf Pack
WHOOO can Join PTA? (Owl Theme)
Race/Cars/Trains/Busses
Zoom to Success (race cars)
Route 66
Hop on Board the Membership Train/Bus
Dragon Dash
Race to the Finish
Showbiz/Adventure/Circus
PTA Rocks (using gold and platinum
records)
Hollywood Stars
Starzy (Hollywood/Oscar campaign)
Roll Out the Red Carpet
It’s Showtime! And You’re the STARS of
the Show!
Survivor
Come Join the Big Top (circus)
Be Part of the Adventure (Adventure
Theme)
Want More? Check out following site and pick yours TODAY!
http://capta.org/pta-leaders/run-your-pta/building-membership/ways-to-
increase-pta-membership/membership-theme-ideas/

25. WAYS TO INCREASE PTA
MEMBERSHIP
• Community Members:
• Write letters to city council, elected officials, and school board
members encouraging them to join
• Attend Rotary, Optimist, Kiwanis Club meetings and recruit their
members
• Host a PTA table at any/every community event
• Invite senior citizens to activities such as school plays
• Incorporate local community organizations and businesses into
your activities and programs. Ask for donations to be used as
giveaways and thank them publicly for their support
• Provide your board members with membership envelopes and
encourage them to take them to all community functions, events
and businesses.

26. Engage Males
• For ideas on how to engage fathers and other male role
models refer to:
• Father Involvement How-To Guide: Designed to help promote male
involvement.
• 10 Ways to Get Men More Involved in PTA: A checklist of proven
methods for increasing male involvement.
• The ABCs of Male Involvement: A step-by-step method for
encouraging men to join PTA and be involved in their children’s
school activities.
• PTA MORE (Men Organized to Raise Engagement) Partners:
Providing you information about organizations and programs that
get men more involved with their children.

27. PTA MORE Alliance
• Look for dads, uncles, grandfathers, male teachers and male mentors
to join PTA and play a larger leadership role.
• Seek male leaders who can help you recruit other men to join PTA’s
efforts.
• PTA MORE® (Men Organized to Raise Engagement)
• A coalition of organizations working to ensure greater father and male
involvement in programs that support the safety, health, and academic and
social development of all children. Alliance members provide opportunities to
grow male membership and involvement at your local PTA unit and strengthen
your PTA unit.
• To gain more male involvement in your school and community, visit
PTA.org/MORE.
• PTA Leaders and units can partner with MORE members to:
• Provide programs that engage fathers and positive male role models in schools
and communities.
• Act as a resource for fatherhood issues.
• Increase visibility and outreach of PTA unit events.

28. ENGAGING TEACHERS TO JOIN PTA
• Involving teachers and administrators is one of the best
ways to strengthen communication between families and
schools.
• Encouraging them to join PTA in a collaborative
partnership between home and school should be one of
the focal points of your membership campaign.

29. ENGAGING TEACHERS - IDEAS
• Put an enthusiastic and supportive teacher member on your membership committee.
• Enlist the help of the principal. A principal’s encouragement to join goes a long way.
• Send out personalized invitations to teachers and staff to join PTA at the beginning of the
school year. Be sure to include a membership envelope.
• Send out reminders to teachers who have not joined PTA including another membership
envelope.
• Survey all teachers mid-year asking if they joined PTA and why, and if not, why not.
• Send all teachers information about the California State PTA Continuing Education
Scholarships reminding them that they must be members to apply.
• Remind teachers and staff that PTA is more than a local fundraising group for their school. It
is an advocacy organization focused on student success!
• Hold a grade level or departmental membership competition. Provide winning group with
bagels or danish.
• Challenge the staff at a nearby school to a friendly membership competition.
• Publicize and apply for the California State PTA “Teachers Matter…Members Matter” award
and send a teacher to convention.
• Provide monthly opportunity drawings for teachers and staff who join with donated items from
local merchants.
• Reward teachers and staff with a breakfast or luncheon when 100 percent membership is
achieved.

30. BUILDING STUDENT MEMBERSHIP
• Students are considered full members.
• Here are some great ways to encourage students to join your PTA:
• Put an enthusiastic and supportive student member on your membership
committee.
• Provide membership invitations with membership envelopes in the summer
registration packets to all students including incoming students from middle/junior
high schools.
• Set up a PTA/PTSA table on student registration days and other school events.
Highlight activities that benefit students.
• Publicize the California State PTA Graduating High School Senior Scholarship
and the membership requirements.
• Provide student members with school and community service volunteer
opportunities which can be listed on their college applications.
• Encourage and welcome students in PTA leadership positions. It looks great on
their college applications!
• Involve students in the planning and execution of PTA events.
• Consider changing your meeting time to encourage more student participation.
• Partner with ASB for discounts at the student store or provide discounts on PTA
student store items for members.
• Encourage student delegates to attend the California State PTA Annual
Convention.

31. 2016-17
• California State PTA is now accepting applications for
students to serve on our state board.
• Student board members must be at least 16 years of age
and no more than 19 years of age by July 1, 2016.
• Selected students would serve on the California State
PTA Board of Managers from July 1, 2016, through June
30, 2017.
• Please note that all applications must be received in the
state office by March 15, 2016.

32. The Importance of
Membership Renewal
• The future success of your PTA can depend on your returning
members, as returning members are more likely to take on
leadership roles.
• It is important to have a good mix of new members and returning members.
• It also takes more effort to recruit a new member than it does to
keep an existing one.
• A returning member who sees the value and impact of PTA can be
your best asset for recruiting new members.
• Let members know they are valued and be sure to invite them to rejoin every
year.
• Membership recruitment introduces members to member benefits, yet
membership renewal helps us to determine how well we meet the
needs of our members by providing relevant resources.
• Members remain in PTA primarily because they believe their
membership helps their children.
• Educate members about what you do for students, families and schools in your
community.

33. Membership Renewal Planning
• An important part of achieving annual membership goals.
• Membership renewals provide a solid base of members who
help build a strong community network and provide a pool of
potential leaders for PTA.
• Track your PTA members to know your renewal average. How long
do members remain active with your PTA? 1 year? 2 years? 3 or more
years?
• Set a membership renewal goal as part of your membership marketing
plan.
• Survey your renewal members to determine whether your PTA is
meeting the needs of your members and community.
• Remind PTA members throughout the year to stay engaged and invite
them to attend upcoming activities. Thank them for their membership.
• Send membership renewal forms timely to PTA members (at least
one month before the end of the school year).
• Host an annual PTA membership renewal event.

34. Recognize your members
• A simple “thank you” can go a long way.
• Recognizing your PTA members’ contributions to your unit goals is the
first step to positive membership retention.
• Host a member appreciation event at least once a year.
• Hosting a member appreciation event helps you to recognize PTA
members who have actively engaged in PTA events and championed
your PTA goals.
• Send thank you emails/letters to new members and returning
members.
• Saying thank you to joining and returning members helps to remind
them of PTA benefits and ways to stay connected and engaged
throughout the year.
• You can use the following sample to recognize your members:
• Welcome to PTA Sample Letter
• Midyear Status Sample Letter
• Renewal Sample Letter

35. Transitioning PTAs
When Your Child Changes Schools
• Changing schools can be a time of excitement and anxiety.
• As children transition to new schools, your PTA can be a resource to
parents looking to join a new PTA.
• Practice the following steps to help your PTA unit transition and
keep an accurate count of your PTA membership.
• Keep an accurate record of your PTA members. Make note of parents
with students transitioning to new schools at the end of the school
year.
• Contact parents with transitioning students in April. Thank them
for their PTA membership and provide transition school contact
information for the new PTA membership chair.
• Provide PTA membership chairs in your community with a list of
transitioning parents. Encourage them to contact the new incoming
parents.
• Host a special event for new, transitioning PTA parents in August.

36. Backpack Bundle
• From National PTA
• Created with parents in mind to communicate PTA’s value
and impact.
• Ask your school’s principal for permission to distribute
these fliers in students’ backpacks.
• The following resources are included
• Connect with Your Child’s School & Community
• You are Your Child’s Advocate
• Today’s PTA Poster
• 15 Things You Can Do to Engage In your Child’s Education

37. Take Your Family to School Week
• National PTA's Take Your Family to School Week
• February 15-19, 2016
• Will focus on the theme Supporting Student Success to
promote family engagement solutions that are proven to
help prevent the risks associated with high school
dropout.
• More at PTA website

38. Parents' Guides to Student Success
• Created for grades K-8 high school English language
arts/literacy and mathematics
• Provide clear, consistent expectations for what students
should be learning at each grade in order to be prepared
for college and career.
• The guides include:
• Key items children should be learning in English language arts and
mathematics in each grade, once Common Core Standards are
fully implemented.
• Activities that parents can do at home to support their child's
learning.
• Methods for helping parents build stronger relationships with their
child's teacher.
• Tips for planning for college and career (high school only).

39. Webinars
• Talking with Teens About Stress Management
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St3sVNpISSk
• How to Tell When a Kid is Struggling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJISfSma-0w
• Announcing the PTA Family Reading Challenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni1EyIS6CX4

40. Back to Sports initiative
• Great for High School Units!
• The National Football League has partnered with National
PTA
• Helps PTAs across the country educate their communities
on wellness— from concussion education to NFL PLAY 60
tips on nutrition and staying active.
• Back to Sports events can help PTAs to build excitement
in their communities about the start of a sports season,
while also educating families about youth sports safety.
• More at http://www.nflevolution.com/backtosports

41. Fire Up Your Feet
• National PTA partnered with Safe Routes to School
National Partnership and Kaiser Permanente for Fire Up
Your Feet—a physical activity program that encourages
families to get more physical activity while raising money
for their PTA or school. There are two main components
to the Fire Up Your Feet program: fundraising and the
activity challenge.

42. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Be sure to also reference the California State PTA Toolkit
for PTA procedures and best practices.
• http://toolkit.capta.org/membership/
• National PTA site

45. National PTA – Back to School Kit
• http://www.ptakit.org/Membership/index.aspx

46. National PTA website
Print these flyers and brochures

48. Council Portal Login
• Unit Presidents
• Unit Board members

49. Home Page
• Easy to use features!

50. Modify Profile – Current members

51. Unit Profile
• President or delegate

52. Unit Board
• Add members (President)

53. APPENDIX
MORE INFO FROM
NATIONAL PTA

54. Membership List
• A membership list must be created and maintained by the
membership chairman/vice president.
• A regularly updated copy should be provided to the
secretary and the president.
• The list should include member name, contact information
and the date the member joined.
• Membership lists can be hand-written, or kept using
computer software.
• Lists should be kept confidential within PTA organization.
• PTA recommends that membership lists be kept for 3
years in the event of an audit by the Internal Revenue
Service.

55. Student membership
• Student membership is a vital part of the association.
Membership is open to students of all ages. Please
see Involving Students for additional information.
• If a PTA unit chooses to include a student membership
dues structure with lower dues for students, the bylaws
must be amended to reflect this structure.
• The student membership dues should be at least equal to
the portion of dues which are forwarded to council,
district, state and National PTA.

56. • Administrators, teachers and staff members are valuable
members of the association. They should be invited and
encouraged to join and participate. A PTA unit can choose
to include a teacher/staff membership dues structure. The
unit bylaws must include that dues structure.
• If a PTA unit chooses to include a family membership
dues structure, the bylaws must be amended to reflect
this structure. The number of members per family should
be specified, and the dues paid per member should be at
least equal to the portion of dues forwarded to council,
district, state and National PTA. Please consult with your
district parliamentarian for specific language regarding
family memberships.

57. Goals
• Creating, implementing, and assessing a year round
membership plan that includes retention strategies as well
as action steps that target and attract new members.
• Building an informed and active membership that
supports PTA’s mission, goals, and programs and
understands the link between PTA at the local, state and
national levels.
• Promoting and celebrating PTA successes with members
and the greater community.
• Membership Chair

58. Why can’t I keep the dues?
• The state and national levels of PTA provide several
services that benefit every local PTA.
• These services—including national and state child
advocacy and government relations, leadership
development, program planning and execution, and
resource development—all incur costs that are largely
borne by a small portion of the local membership dues.
• Every local PTA contributes its share for these expenses.

59. Preparing Your Membership Year
• It is important to start your membership year prepared to recruit, engage
and renew membership.
• Set goals. Challenge yourself. We suggest 2–5% annual membership growth as a
good target.
• Create a membership plan. Use Today’s PTA membership tools and templates to
set a goal, identify potential new member groups, and assess needs.
• Use last year’s PTA membership list to send out a renewal appeal to current
members.
• Cite your successes last year, thank members for their support, tell them
they played a role in your success, and ask them to join again this year to
help you achieve your goals.
• Visit Today’s PTA resources to find customizable marketing materials to enhance
or develop PTA membership campaign materials that appeal to a broad group of
potential current and new members.
• Maintain an email database to easily manage your members, communicate with
your entire school, create directories, and manage volunteers.
• Create a marketing campaign to promote your PTA’s successes, attract new
members, and motivate current members to renew.

60. Preparing Your Membership Year
• Ask your board to develop a consistent message
around the value of membership in your unit, as well as
talking points all can use in membership recruitment.
• Identify two or three successes from the previous year, determine
two or three goals that can be achieved with more members, and
use these as the basis of the message.
• Have the entire board practice using these talking
points on each other before they ask others to join.
• Use online membership applications and work with your
unit’s treasurer to create a procedure for processing
membership dues.
• Create a special appeal to teachers and school staff.

61. Creating Back-to-School Enthusiasm
• Send membership forms and Backpack Bundle fliers
home with first-day packets and have a membership
table at all orientation and back-to-school events.
• Design a visual representation of your growing
membership for display in your school or in a public
place within your community.
• an illustration of a tree to which leaves with new member names
can be added
• a jar to which beans, marbles, or ping pong balls can be added)
Ask people to join your PTA— do not wait for them to offer.
• Make it easy for people to join your PTA. Be sure to
have sign-up materials on hand at all meetings and
events.

62. Throughout the Year
• Set up your membership table at every PTA, school and community
event.
• Work with local businesses and other civic groups to promote PTA,
partner on projects, and grow membership.
• Make time to welcome or thank PTA event attendees and let them know
the event was made possible by PTA members. Ask those who enjoyed
the event to join PTA to show their support for your unit.
• Regularly include articles about membership and a clip-out
membership form in your newsletter or on community bulletin boards or
websites.
• Publish your current membership count in your newsletter and
compare it to your goal often.
• Post basic information on your website: PTA contact information, the
PTA mission and objectives, PTA background, names of board members,
a current list of events and activities, etc.
• Keep your website current and relevant. Outdated material is a sign that no one is
monitoring or maintaining your website.
• Post PTA member benefits on your website and promote the benefits of
membership.

63. Throughout the Year
• Track members who do not renew their membership. What
are their reasons? What can your PTA do to get them back?
• Show members how PTA advocacy at the state and national
levels connect to what is happening in your classrooms and
community. Use news from PTA Takes Action to show how
membership drives real results.
• Know that how you treat members will make your PTA
thrive or fail.
• Serve your members. Do not let them leave until their
requests for assistance have been addressed, then follow up to
make sure members were satisfied with what they received.
• Use the year-round and seasonal marketing and
promotions materials.

64. Developing a Membership Marketing
Plan for Success
• As membership chair, you should plan and promote events for
parents, students, and the general community where you can
showcase your school - as well as encourage attendees to join PTA
or renew their membership.
• When planning your promotion efforts, be sure to consider all of the
following:
• Date of the event being promoted.
• Your budget (funds to pay for advertisements, make copies, offer door prizes,
etc.).
• Your audience (business leaders, parents of schoolchildren, students, etc.) -
Who you want to involve affects how you deliver the message.
• Your goals - Measurable goals will help you determine if the event has been
successful.
• Promotion activities - Include how you intend to let people know about the
event or activity (marquee signs, fliers in the backpack express, posters in
merchant windows, paid advertisements in a local newspaper, etc.).
• Evaluation - After the event, you should record final expenses, attendance, and
whether the desired outcomes were reached (this measurement allows your
PTA to see if the event should be duplicated or modified in years to come).

65. Direct Marketing
• Includes public service announcements (PSAs)
• Messages in the public interest run by the media at no
charge - paid advertisements, special events, messages
posted in the community, and direct mail.
• Asking grocers to include fliers in their bags on a “Join PTA Day”.
• Setting up membership tables at youth sports events.
• Having local merchants display “Join PTA” posters.
• Lining neighborhood streets with yard signs.
• Hanging a “Join PTA” banner at the entrance of the school, library,
or other community center.
• Use Membership Marketing Templates and Tools on PTA.org
• http://www.pta.org/members/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2900

66. Indirect Marketing
• Building relationships with influential community leaders
who can influence decisions and help grow the PTA.
• church leaders, business owners, elected officials
• Providing a public speaker for an event.
• Partnering with another community group for a “Clean the
Park Day”.
• Organizing a food drive with a local soup kitchen.
• Speaking positively about your PTA when out in public.

67. Membership Count
• While many units provide family memberships to
encourage more people to join, it is important to
remember that each person who joins through a family
membership is actually an individual member and entitled
to all the rights and benefits of membership.
• One member = one card, one vote.
• If your unit offers a family membership, it must be
reflected in your bylaws.
• The state and national dues portion for each person who
joins through a family membership must be forwarded to
your state.
• Your unit should always have an accurate list of members
to determine who is eligible to vote at meetings

68. Tracking Member Data
• Maintain a membership database system such as an
online marketing or email tool.
• Good record-keeping is crucial for your membership recruitment
and retention efforts.
• It will help you keep track of members, dues payments and
mailings.
• Use email.
• Email allows you to communicate with members who are not able
to attend meetings.
• As new member benefits become available, National PTA will email
unit presidents.
• These messages will be written in a newsletter format that you can
use in your PTA newsletter or forward to your members via email.

70. Volunteers
• Volunteers will enrich your programs by bringing a variety
of ideas, perspectives, connections, talents and skills and
they will make your job much easier and more enjoyable.
• Volunteer Roles
• No two volunteers are alike—and there are as many
different roles to play as there are personalities!
• Whether volunteers would prefer to roll up their sleeves in
a planning meeting, help promote programs from home,
or simply lend a hand at events, there is a job for
everyone who wants to help.

71. Plan
• Be sure to announce planning meetings widely, rather than relying on
the same small circle of volunteers.
• Ask the principal to suggest parents who might be interested in
getting more involved, and have your board members extend a
personal invitation. You might be surprised who steps up!
• Invite a representative of the student council or student government to
participate on a planning team, or ask a group of interested students
to take the lead in planning a program or event, with PTA support.
• Consider recruiting school staff who have a natural interest related to
particular programs. For health and safety programs, for example,
these might include health and physical education teachers, school
nurses, kitchen staff, crossing guards and playground monitors.
• Also consider tapping into student groups related to the program
area. For arts in education programs, for example, think about
choir/band classes, dance teams or film clubs.

72. Promote
• PTA members who cannot make it to planning meetings
might be willing to help with promotion: writing press
releases, creating a flier or banners, updating the school
sign board, making phone calls to invite parents or
community representatives or spreading the word via
social media.
• Student volunteers might be willing to promote an event
during morning announcements or write an article about a
program’s impact for their school newspaper.
• Teachers might agree to have their students make posters
reinforcing program messages.

73. Participate
• Family members who attend events with their children might be willing
to come a little early for set up, stay a few minutes after to help clean
up or give a half hour of their time to staff a membership table or
collect event evaluation forms.
• If you are hosting an event in the afternoon or evening, consider
contacting the local high school to identify older students who might
need community service hours to meet graduation requirements.
• Do not forget to engage community members who have an interest in
children and/or a specific program area. For example:
• Local media
• Representatives of local children’s hospitals or pediatrician’s offices
• School board and city council members
• City or county parks and recreation departments, health departments or
libraries
• Local United Way representatives
• Service clubs (Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, etc.)

75. Share Your Success
• Another way to celebrate is to promote all the great
results through your school and PTA communications.
• Seeing photos from the event reminds families of their
positive experience and the impact PTA has on their
school community.
• Share those photos with others in the PTA network so that
we can highlight your results! Contact your state PTA or
email your photos and best practices to
programs@pta.org so that we can highlight your PTA in
one of our nationally distributed communications.

76. Recognize Partners and Volunteers
• Thank those who helped make it a success. Be sure to
include all of the following groups:
• Family member volunteers
• Students
• School personnel
• Sponsor representatives (if your PTA received a grant)
• Businesses that provided donations (send an acknowledgment
letter for tax purposes)
• Other community partners
• Access sample thank you letters, including one for
sponsors/donors and one for volunteers, in the additional
resources section
http://www.ptakit.org/Programs/Additional-
Resources.aspx

77. National PTA Schools of Excellence
• During the course of the school year, the National PTA
Schools of Excellence achieved:
• 46% increase in families that always feel empowered to support
student success,
• 53% increase in families that feel they always share power in
decision-making related to student success and school
improvements,
• 78% increase in families that feel their school and PTA always
collaborate with the community, and
• 102% increase in families that feel their school and PTA always
speak up for every child.

78. Health and Safety
• Studies show that children’s physical and mental well-
being have a significant effect on their long-term success.
• When children are well-rested, well-nourished,
emotionally supported and physically fit, they are more
ready to learn.
• The goal of PTA’s health and safety programming is to be
a resource for PTA leaders in partnering with schools to
create safe environments that encourage healthy, safe
choices and social and emotional support for all students.

79. Obesity Prevention
• What PTAs Can Do?
• Healthy Lifestyles Program
• Educates families on how to leverage community partnerships and
collaborate with schools to advocate for and support healthy,
sustainable changes around nutrition and physical activity.
• No fund raisers at Fast food joints?

80. Emotional Health
• Early Detection, Treatment and Family-School Partnerships Work
• Half of all lifetime cases of mental disorders begin by age 14.
• While 21% of all children ages 9 to 17 in the United States have a
diagnosable mental or addictive disorder, only 20% of them are
identified and receive mental health services each year.
• Early detection and treatment of mental disorders is imperative for
student success. Half of all students ages 14 and older who live with
a mental illness drop out of high school—the highest dropout rate of
any disability group—and these youth also experience higher suicide
and incarceration rates.
• Together, we can increase the percentage of students who receive
the mental health services they need in order to succeed in school,
continue to develop socially, and fully experience the purpose and
joys of life.

81. Chronic Conditions
• Students with chronic health conditions can function at
their maximum potential if their needs are met. Their
attendance, alertness and physical stamina will improve;
they will have fewer symptoms and restrictions on their
participation in physical activities and special events and
they will experience fewer medical emergencies.
• What PTAs Can Do
• Anaphylaxis: Be Aware, Prepared and Ready to Respond: A three-
part video series is designed to help create a safer environment for
children with severe allergies.