Introduction to Membership
The strength of your PTA lies in its membership – the parents, teachers, school administrators, business leaders, and community members who devote themselves to making a positive difference in the lives of children. Members are the lifeblood of Utah PTA and provide the passion, leadership, and hard work needed to fulfill Utah PTA’s mission.
Every individual who joins PTA is giving something not only to his or her child but to every child. Imagine how much stronger your community could be if every parent, every community member, and every business leader who could be involved in PTA did get involved.
Attracting new members and retaining current ones are among the most important duties of a PTA. A strong membership is essential for PTA to be a force in decisions involving the welfare and education of children. But a thriving membership doesn’t just happen; it requires good planning and year-round attention from leaders like you.
Form a membership committee. Meet monthly to make a plan to retain and recruit members. Involve the board of directors and other members in these efforts. Membership is everyone’s job!
Your PTA should plan and hold a kickoff membership campaign at the beginning of the school year and then continue membership recruitment efforts throughout the year. Every PTA sponsored event and every school sponsored event is an opportunity to recruit new members, and every participant is a potential PTA member or supporter! Successful membership recruitment drives are essential to bringing new volunteers and excitement to your PTA.
As a membership committee, choose a fun campaign theme. Your campaign will build excitement and enthusiasm for children going back to school and encourage parents to get involved in their children’s lives. Display your theme in a high-traffic area of the school. Chart your membership goal and growth.
Consider having an additional membership campaign in January. This is another important back-to-school period and a great time to recruit new members. Parents are resolved to be more involved, and new families may have moved into the community. A new campaign reminds parents that it’s not too late to join PTA and make a real difference for their children and schools in the current school year.
Many PTAs run only one membership campaign a year – in the fall. The PTAs that run more than one campaign a year have, on average, 20% more members. That is because potential members have more opportunities to say “yes” to becoming a member. Nationwide, approximately 18% of PTA members join in January and February, second only to the traditional, fall back-to-school campaign period.
As part of the effort to increase parent engagement, Utah PTA has put together membership campaign ideas and customizable marketing tools to help each PTA reach out to new members. These materials are available at utahpta.org. Additional tools and resources to help you develop programs and increase participation in your local PTA are available in the local PTA Leader Kit, on the National PTA website, pta.org.
Guidelines for the Membership Chair
Responsibilities of the Membership Chair
The membership chair is responsible for facilitating the work of the membership committee and ensuring timely, accurate communication with other PTA committees and officers. The membership chair and committee should develop a membership growth plan that will direct the activities of the committee. This plan will create membership recruitment and retention strategies that will lead to overall membership growth. Other responsibilities of the chair include:
- Be the first one to join PTA! Ensure that all members of your PTA board and other PTA committees join also.
- Attend scheduled meetings as determined by the local president, including leadership and membership training at the Utah PTA Leadership Convention for important training and information.
- Know your council, region, and Utah PTA membership representatives.
- Create and lead the membership committee in development efforts to reach membership recruitment and retention goals.
- Follow Utah PTA membership calendar and time line.
- Conduct a membership drive with an effective membership campaign. An effective campaign can strengthen current members’ perception of the value of belonging to the PTA. Your members will find out what your PTA is all about, and they will see firsthand that PTA can effectively accomplish its goals. Incorporating their ideas also demonstrates the PTA’s interest in members’ opinions, skills, and knowledge, and shows individual members how they can be advocates and be a voice for all children.
- PTA members who join PTA through MemberHub can print their own membership card. If your PTA is not using MemberHub, distribute membership cards to local members (you may receive membership cards from your council president or region director).
- Maintain accurate membership records and relevant information on the work of the Membership Committee.
- Maintain a Membership Procedure Book which includes:
- Local bylaws
- Local PTA calendar
- Committee list
- Membership roster
- Campaign
- All membership information
- Work with the council, region, and Utah PTA membership representatives to ensure membership goals are being met.
- Check Utah PTA website: utahpta.org for membership updates and for additional helpful information and resources.
- Adjust local dues according to Utah and National PTA dues increases, by following the appropriate procedure.
- Apply for Utah PTA membership awards.
- Collect and process dues on a monthly basis by the 25th of each month.
Develop a Membership Committee
The goal of the membership committee is to build an informed, active membership that supports the mission, purposes, policies, and programs of the PTA. Under the direction of the membership chair, the committee should develop a membership recruitment and retention plan that emphasizes a year-round effort to involve new members. Well thought-out committee plans made early and carried out with enthusiasm and imagination throughout the year will contribute to the success of membership development.
Committee size
The size of the committee will vary, depending on the needs of the local PTA.
Most membership committees will include three to ten members.
Committee composition
- Local PTSA committees should include parents, teachers, principal, and at least one student.
- Local membership committees should include a representative from all areas of the local school community.
The Membership Committee may include:
- Principal—to provide administration assistance.
- Treasurer—to coordinate collection and remittance of dues.
- Publicity Chair—PTA PR.
- Program Chair—to coordinate school events and membership opportunities.
- Hospitality Chair—to welcome and greet everyone at meetings and all school functions.
- Teacher VP—to promote faculty involvement.
- Student representative—to promote student membership in PTSA.
- Community representative—to reach out to supportive business/partnerships.
- Parent—to assist with friendly personal invitations and phone call follow-up.
- Diversity and Inclusivity Chair— to reach out to all parents.
10 Tips for Launching a Successful Membership Campaign:
1. Form a Membership Committee
2. Choose a campaign theme
- Decide how to implement Utah PTA’s yearly membership campaign theme or choose one that best fits your PTA.
- Using a theme generates interest and enthusiasm.
- Display your theme in a high-traffic area of the school.
3. Set goals
- Together the membership committees sets membership goals pertaining to membership growth.
- Make sure the goals are reasonable and attainable, yet challenging.
- Choose goals that fit your individual strengths, comfort level, budget, time, and expertise.
4. Target potential members: Retain and Recruit
- Assign committee members specific responsibilities:
- Retaining members
- Recruiting new members
- Increasing male involvement
- Asking teachers and staff to join
5. Have a plan
6. Sell the value of PTA membership
- Recruiting new members goes hand-in-hand with making sure they find value in PTA and renew their membership the following year.
- Emphasize to new members what they get for their membership dues.
- Keep members motivated through on-going communication, opportunities to volunteer, and recognition.
- The number one benefit that PTA members receive from PTA membership is the ability to help their own child.
7. Motivators
- Post your membership goal in a high-traffic area in the school.
- Show results of your campaign.
8. Incentives/awards/prizes
- You may choose to offer “punch cards,” discounts on t-shirts, class prizes, etc. to incentivize members to join.
9. Campaign all year long
- Every event your school or PTA holds is a chance for members to join PTA. Set up a table to have sign-up opportunities available.
- Continue to ask members to join throughout the year.
- Continue to promote your PTA throughout the year.
- Include PTA membership materials in new student packets in the school office.
- Coordinate this with school personnel.
- Schedule your recruitment and retention activities throughout the year, particularly at back-to-school time and the beginning of the new year in January.
10. Evaluate and adjust accordingly
- Seek feedback from committee members and PTA members. Regardless of whether the evaluation is done through a formal survey or informal communication, it should be systematic, recorded, and used to adjust and improve the goals of the membership committee.