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Membership is both science and art

Membership science:

Training & plans of work
Tracking memberships
Texas PTA submission and payment processes

Membership art:

Awards throughout the Year
Driving membership ideas

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Membership Basics Course

If you are new to being on a PTA board in Texas, make sure you do Foundations Essentials by 10/15
You will also need to do the online Membership Basics course. Please jump online soon to complete that as it has some good information about both PTA and the membership position

Membership Basics Online Course

Also note there is a Basics guide on the Texas PTA’s website that gives similar info

Membership - Texas PTA - every child. one voice.

Here’s a sample Plan of Work if you haven’t submitted yours yet

Membership - 2022-23 Local PTA POW Sample.docx

Make sure you show the budget lines you are responsible for – usually the local membership dues income line and an expense line for supplies
Set goals and build lines with your pta’s calendar in mind

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Tracking Membership Info for your PTA

Members can come to you from three sources:

They pay online via the joinpta.org website
They join multiple PTAs (including yours) through Council’s Community Membership website
They pay through cash, check or credit card through a membership event or form at your school

Membership dues are three pieces – local dues ($ is set in your PTA’s by laws), state dues ($2.25) and national dues ($2.25). Your pta gets to use the local dues for programs and expenses but you submit the $4.50 in state and national dues to Texas PTA.
The easiest way to track membership info is to use myPTEZ

All our PTAs have a free account as we are all on joinpta.org
Info for people that use joinpta.org to join your pta is automatically fed into your school’s myPTEZ account and will appear when you run a roster report
Community members that join through Council will be reported to you from the council Membership Chair on a monthly basis
For those that join through check, cash or credit card payment at a school event or through submission of a form sent home with their student, you enter their information in your school’s myPTEZ account so that they also appear when you run a roster report. Can be done manually or import for large list

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Submitting Members to Texas PTA

You must report membership information to Texas PTA for all new members that joined through your local PTAs efforts. You do not report those who joined through the joinpta.org or Council Community Members process.
With that membership roster report is a payment for the state and national dues of $4.50 per member.
You submit the roster information in one of two ways:

Print out the roster and mail it and a check for the dues
Use Texas PTA’s new dues reporting upload process – Preferred

It is super easy and you get instant confirmation rather than hoping

the payment is received by the monthly deadline

Dues Upload Process Info

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Membership Awards

Texas PTA generally gives an annual goal for every PTA, for ‘21-’22 it was +15 new members for every board member
The 2022-2023 awards mostly same, but November is now Golden Apple, https://www.txpta.org/uploads/filemanager/Membership/2022%20Local%20Member%20Awards.pdf
Submissions are now to be received by the last day of the month – encourage electronic submission
Membership awards are announced at the Council meetings and Principals love to get competitive with the number of awards their school achieves
Monthly awards all have a theme such as August with the Head Start award that you can receive if you reach 75% of last year’s membership by the end of the month
Golden Apple award is for getting 100% of school faculty

We love this award and really would like to see all our schools get it! We have yard signs that get placed in front of the school and will have

recognition for each year the school gets the award

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Membership Awards, Contd

Special category awards all due by March 31

Student Membership – 50 students
MARS (Men are Really Super), Preschool, Community and Generations – 50 members

President’s Challenge – February 28
Voice for every child award – May 31

Silver - # of members equal to 50% of campus student enrollment
Gold - # of members equal to 75% of campus student enrollment
Platinum - # of members equal to 100% of campus student enrollment

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Driving Ideas around Membership – First be Ready to talk about PTA

Be ready to share your story of why you are involved in PTA
Remember the PTA Mission statement: To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children
Think through what your PTA does for the students as well as what the State and National level does

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Tactical Ways of Driving Membership - General

Membership gifts – check on budget first but sometimes you have spirit items left from past years

Vinyl sticker with school name & PTA or PTA logo
Plastic cup
Pen/pencil
Car magnet
Printed tote bags

We make goody bags for our first 100 members and the area businesses donate coupons, we sometimes add buttons with a PTA saying and the year, so they want a new one every year. Candy of course so the kids bug their parents to join. We’ve made the Platinum award for growth the last two years that we’ve done them!
We make coupons for each of our events for the year... (free entry to the Halloween Dance, $5 off Concessions at any event, $10 of a spirit wear order, etc.) with a total value of over $40. Then everyone who becomes a member is automatically entered to a raffle to win the package.

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Tactical Ways of Driving Membership - General

Sell bundles. For example, $7 PTA membership or $5 magnet or a membership and magnet bundle for $10.
Membership only appreciation events

The night before school starts the school has an open house where kids get to drop supplies off to their room, see their teacher, walk around school, etc. The PTA has a "Back-2-School Bash" in the gym with dinner, inflatables, games, prizes, etc. While the open house is free, entrance to the B2SB requires a family membership. We just require 1 person in the household to be a member. That has us having almost every family/child accounted for.
“Membership Monday” - give coffee to parents in the mornings. Ya know, because membership has its perks!
“DO-NUT” Miss Out on Joining the PTA donut breakfast
Membership dance for kids and adults- We sold pizza and drinks and we had a DJ

Must be a PTA member for programs:

Scholarships
Reflections
To join Smart Driving Club
https://www.txpta.org/member-perks

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Tactical Ways of Driving Membership - Staff

Focus on and celebrate Golden Apple Award. Council signs at school to announce achievement as well as additional “apple” for each year it is achieved

Highlight staff that are members (school mascot with “Ms. Jones is a PTA member” sign outside their classroom)

Staff member appreciations (invitation to event or invitation to join in staff mailbox)

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Tactical Ways of Driving Membership - Students

Give a certificate to students as an end of year award if they are a PTA member.
Give them voting paddle at membership meetings… they are voting members
Give them a position on the board or on a committee
Some of the schools worked with the principal to create a coupon book for each membership sold. The coupons were for various things the kids could do. Ex. 1 free popcorn, wear your favorite hat day, pajama day, if you are school that wears uniforms- free dress day. The days were decided by the principal and students turned in their coupons on that day. For those with multiple children, great way to get grandparents and friends to join.
Elementary Class, MS or HS Group/Club incentives:

Adding to elementary class parties or end of year club/group parties for the students. Whichever class/group gets the most membership sign up will get something special added from PTA (pizza, ice cream, cookie cakes, etc.)
Get local business to donated 25 of x to give to the class that does x (we have gotten skate passes from local skate rink)
Class/Group with most membership get to do something to

principal (Gak, duct tape, pie in the face, etc.)