MembershipI carry the card that counts.Do you?

Georgia PTA presents…

Membership Goals

2014-2015 Georgia PTA Membership:246,805 members

Our goal for 2015-2016 is 300,000 members. We need your help to reach our goal!

Your PTA’s Membership Goals

• 2% increase over last year’s numberOR

• TARGET membership Student enrollment at the end of the first full week of school PLUSNumber of certified teachers at the end of the first full week of school =Your Target Membership Number

Once you have your goal, you will create a membership marketing campaign to promote your PTA’s successes to attract new members.

Target Groups

• Staff - Ask administration to encourage staff to join PTA• Retaining families from last year• New Families (those who have never joined PTA before)• New Families moving in AFTER Open House (create a new

family packet with membership form and goals)

PTA Vision & Mission

MISSION To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. PURPOSES • To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community and place of worship. • To raise the standards of home life. • To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth. • To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth. • To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social and spiritual education.

National PTA History

For more than 100 years, National PTA has worked toward bettering the lives of every child in education, health and safety. Founded in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, National PTA is a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education.

Today’s PTA is a network of millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools.

Membership Chair Duties

Who is the Membership Chair?The job of the Membership Chair is to organize your local unit’s

membership, report and remit dues to Georgia PTA, plan recruiting drives, and implement member retention practices.

Duties at a Glance:•Developing your local unit’s membership campaign•Reporting membership and sending dues to Georgia PTA on a monthly basis.•Georgia PTA provides membership cards to Local PTAs during the summer

based on previous year’s membership totals; cards should be distributed to members immediately upon joining.

•Notifying members of the Member Benefits of being a PTA member.

Dues

Your dues amount is indicated in your local unit PTA bylaws (it may be $5.00, $10.00, etc.). Please refer to your bylaws to know how much you need to charge per membership.

What happens to the dues my unit pays to Georgia PTA?A portion of the money stays directly with the unit you joined, $1.50 goes to Georgia State PTA, and $2.25 goes to National. Of the dues amount you charge, $3.75 of each member’s dues gets forwarded to Georgia PTA and National PTA.

State Portion of Dues

What does the $1.50 per member that goes to Georgia PTA go toward?

•Maintains the state office in the city of Atlanta•Provides leadership training, conferences, annual conventions,

etc.•Provides leadership in the 13 PTA districts in the state•Promotes state and federal legislative activity affecting

education, health, and safety of children and youth•Maintains the Georgia PTA website•Publishes newsletters and training materials for local unit

leadersAnd much more!

National Portion of Dues

What does the $2.25 per member that goes to National PTA go toward?

•Maintains the national office in Alexandria, VA•Maintains the National PTA website (www.pta.org)•Provides leadership training and field service at state

and regional levels•Develops publications on issues and distributes them

free or at a nominal costAnd much more!

Membership Dues Transmittal Form

Dues are to be turned in MONTHLY using the Dues Transmittal Form

All forms in the 2015-2016 Leadership Resource Guide are fillable. Just put your cursor in there and type!

Additional Membership Cards

To receive additional membership cards, your local unit PTA must submit dues for at least 90 percent of the number of cards received to date. (Use Dues Transmittal Form for submitting dues.)

Please allow one (1) week to process mail requests and two (2) days to process pick-up requests.

Membership Awards

• The Visionary Pin and Certificate: 400 members to Georgia PTA by last business day of August.

• The Pacesetter’s Certificate: 300 members to Georgia PTA by last business day of August.

• The Early Bird Certificate: 200 members by the last business day of September.

Membership Awards

•The Platinum Membership Award: Target Membership achieved and dues sent to the state PTA office no later than the last business day in September.

•The Gold Membership Certificate: Target Membership achieved and dues sent to the state PTA office no later than the last business day in October.

•The Silver Membership Certificate: Target Membership achieved and dues sent to the state PTA office no later than the last business day in November.

•The Bronze Membership Certificate: Target Membership achieved and dues sent to the state PTA office no later than the last business day in February.

Membership Awards Form

To receive the various Membership Awards, please send in the Membership Awards Form.

Page 175 of the Leadership Resource Guide.

Oak Tree AwardThe Oak Tree Award’s purpose is to recognize the value of the school staff as stakeholders advocating for all children through PTA membership. (Staff includes: principal, administrative staff, clerical staff, custodians, social workers,counselors, cafeteria staff, i.e., and personnel assigned or based at the school.)

Due: Last day of October

Community PartnershipCommunity Partnership Membership Certificate: Awarded to PTAs having 30 or more community members by the last business day in October (attach list of community members). Community partners include, but are not limited to, business partners, police/fire department members, school board members and senior citizens.

Due: Last day of October

The Membership Card

Member Benefits

Georgia PTA and National PTA offer many benefits to our members.

As they say, membership has its privileges!

Visit www.pta.org and www.georgiapta.org for a complete list of updated member benefits.

First Impressions Count!

•Banners / Posters throughout the school •Membership Table – colorful & inviting (volunteers wear new spirit wear or PTA shirt)

•Floaters working the crowd - Ask people to join your PTA—Do not wait for them to walk to your table

•Play PTA video in the school lobby to greet parents and students •Wear “I joined PTA” Stickers •Put membership forms and fliers to go home in Student Packets to catch families that miss Open House.

•Make it easy for people to join your PTA. Think logistics and reduce long lines & wait time!

Membership Campaigns

Helpful Tips

SUGGESTIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN

• Publicize accomplishments and future goals. • Use PTA and school newsletters, websites, email lists, fliers, posters, bulletin boards, marquees, and signs. • Create a “Brag Board” with pictures and information about accomplishments, current goals, member benefits, pictures of members participating in events and programs, etc.

Helpful Tips

SUGGESTIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN

• Invite EVERYONE in your community to join. Customize “invitations” for specific groups: men, non-English speakers, high school/adult siblings, extended family members, and those not aware of PTA.

• Receive the principal’s permission to send PTA information home with students. Examples: letter and membership form, membership dues envelopes, recruiting fliers, surveys

JUST ASK!

UNLESS YOU ASK, YOU’LL NEVER KNOW Before you write off those who haven’t renewed or joined, discover WHY.

A personal visit or phone call is preferable, but a letter or email will sometimes work.

Be sure to mention the accomplishments of your PTA and the benefits the member gains through their membership.

Best Ideas - Tips for Success!

•Create your Membership Forms on duplicate paper so that the person who signs up for a membership gets a copy of the form as a receipt.

•Don’t have just one membership table at Open House, place multiple membership tables in various places in the school. Make it EASY to become a member and not have to fight a long line to sign up!

•Make sure Membership forms are translated into the languages spoken by the families in your school.

Boost Your Membership

To increase membership, ask all vendors who have a booth at your Fall or Spring Festival to purchase a membership along with their booth fee.

If you have a family Movie Night or Bingo Night, allow for free admission for PTA members and then charge for non-members. Have a PTA membership table right there so they can opt to join PTA right on the spot and get in the event for Free.

Boost Your MembershipBoost Your Membership

Host a welcome back teacher luncheon – Great time to get your teachers to become members. Give them a free PTA t-shirt with teacher membership. This is good for them to wear on jeans days!

Have a Back to School Bash school dance at the end of the first week of school. Students who are PTA members get in for free. The cost for other students is the cost of a PTA membership. A perfect membership drive for Middle and High schools!

Make Membership tied to anything… give away free popcorn at Movie Night to PTA members. Give away free school spirit bracelets at Open House to PTA members. These little things that kids want to be part of the group will help drive membership.

Make it fun!

Entertain with a new “welcome back” video created from yearbook pictures. Include in the video statements about HOW your PTA has impacted your school.

The PTA Theme Song is available to purchase from iTunes.

Please Remember…

Use the 2015-2016 version of the Leadership Resource Guide as there has been many changes made to the guide.

Available on the Georgia PTA

website at www.georgiapta.org.

Contact us!

Have additional questions? Need assistance?Georgia PTA is here to help!

Margie RingfieldGeorgia PTA Membership Chairmringfield@georgiapta.org