May is a busy month for PTAs with Teacher Appreciation Week, end of the school year activities, and electing new officers. As a PTA leader, you’re probably a bit worn out from everything your PTA has done this past year. But making sure your PTA is successful next year begins with wrapping up this year. Here are six important things to do before your PTA year ends.

1. Register your new officers. Illinois PTA sends out a Local Unit Packet each year filled with resources to successfully run a PTA. However, that packet can’t be sent if Illinois PTA doesn’t know who the new officers are. Be sure to register your new local unit or council officers as soon as they are elected so they can get the materials and information they need. Even if you have the same officers as last year, you still need to register them to confirm their contact information.
2. Prepare for your audit. Your bylaws spell out how your audit should be conducted. Remember, nobody authorized to sign checks can be on the audit committee, though it is helpful for the treasurer to be accessible to the committee when they are conducting the audit. Make sure the committee has all of the financial records, including treasurer’s reports, the checkbook register, the ledger (or spreadsheet or wherever you record income and expenses against your budget lines), deposit and expense vouchers, copies of meeting minutes, and last year’s audit report. Be sure to have the audit committee sign off on the audit report form.
3. Thank your volunteers. Most people don’t volunteer for personal recognition, but recognizing and thanking them for their service keeps them coming back and encourages others to step up and start volunteering. Whether it is something simple like a small reception with punch and cookies or supporting the Illinois PTA Scholarship Fund with the purchase of a volunteer award, thanking your volunteers in a public way is essential to keeping your PTA running well.
4. Make sure procedure books are up to date. A procedure book helps preserve your PTA’s knowledge and makes it easier for a new volunteer to get up to speed on their position. Make sure your officers and committee chairs have written up what they’ve done, how they did it, and what they would do differently the next time. Be sure to keep a copy in the president’s files in case a procedure book doesn’t return at the end of the year.
5. Get your new officers (and anyone else) trained. Nobody would expect to walk into a new job, be shown to their office, and told, “Okay, there you go. Get started. Good luck!” It should be the same way with a volunteer job. Illinois PTA has several free training courses to help PTA leaders (and any interested PTA member) learn how to do their PTA job. Contact your district or region director or Illinois PTA Leadership Development Director Brenda Diehl to find out when training is scheduled in your area or to set up training. Be sure to take a look at National PTA’s E-learning Library of online courses, many of which are available in both English and Spanish.
6. Pass on materials. It seems so obvious—you’re leaving a position, and you need to pass on all the materials to your successor. Yet this simple, common sense task fails to happen more often than you would guess. Far too often, district and region directors hear from new PTA officers that they didn’t get any materials to help them do their jobs. If you’re an outgoing president, make sure your officers and committee chairs are passing on their procedure books and other materials. If you’re an incoming president, keep in touch with both your new officers and chairs and the outgoing officers to make sure your board has the tools they need to be successful next year.

Photo © 2013 by Geneva Vanderzell under Creative Commons license.

Many PTAs have their fiscal year ending on June 30^th (check your bylaws), which means it’s time to handle all of those end-of-the-year tasks so your PTA is ready to start off on the right foot when school starts.

1. Close your books. Make sure you get those last deposits in and write those last checks before the end of your fiscal year. Send in your last dues payment and any unused PTA membership cards.
2. Prepare for your audit. Your bylaws spell out how your audit should be conducted. Remember, nobody authorized to sign checks can be on the audit committee, though it is helpful for the treasurer to be accessible to the committee when they are conducting the audit. Make sure the committee has all of the financial records, including treasurer’s reports, the checkbook register, the ledger (or spreadsheet or wherever you record income and expenses against your budget lines), deposit and expense vouchers, copies of meeting minutes, and last year’s audit report.
3. Conduct your audit. Be sure to have the committee sign off on the audit report form. Your PTA membership will need to vote to accept the audit report at your first meeting prior to adopting your budget.
4. File your 990 form. Once your audit is done, you have all the information you need to file your Form 990 with the IRS. If your PTA has less than $50,000 in gross income, your PTA can file the online Form 990-N. Be sure to keep a copy of your receipt from the IRS saying that you’ve filed. If your PTA made between $50,000 and $200,000, your PTA needs to file the Form 990-EZ. National PTA has a helpful step-by-step guide to walk you through these two forms. The IRS Charities and Non-Profits page also has useful information.
5. Register your PTA’s new officers. You can register online, and doing so ensures that your PTA will get the new Local Unit Packet stuffed full of useful information when it comes out later this summer.
6. Plan next year’s budget. Look at what you spent this year, what programs you plan to retire or introduce, and what changes you plan to make. Consider having a budget line to send someone to the Illinois PTA Convention next spring or to support the Illinois PTA Scholarship Fund with volunteer and other awards. If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at our sample budget.
7. Get trained. Contact your district or region director to find out when training will be available in your area. Be sure to check out National PTA’s E-Learning Library as well.