October 2008

PTA has launched a number of new initiatives, resources and incentives that, when effectively utilized, are wonderful marketing tools to attract new members and sustain current units. As you review the articles in this edition of PTA Partners in Leadership, you will be able to see the many programs that can be promoted to local units and non-PTA groups which may spark interest and enthusiasm to join PTA. As state leaders, you have the capability to reach to the grass roots level and make a significant contribution to the work of local units. Leadership at its finest!

In This Issue

Registration Is Now Open for PTA Movie Night Live

New! Now! Family-School Partnerships Resources

State Leaders are Key to Fighting the Flu

OMDR Plus Update and Reminder

Are You Interested in Serving in a National Leadership Role?

2008 PTA Healthy Lifestyles Award Winners

Is Your PTA an Outstanding Advocate for Children?

Shirley Igo Advocate of the Year Award

2008 PTA Reflections Program Online Gallery—Now Live!

Revised 2008 Form 990, Adjusted Filing Threshold to Provide Transition Relief

Reminder for Filing IRS 990 Tax Form

PTA Unit Recognition Program Notice

PTA, in partnership with HP, is pleased to offer an exclusive showing of the newly released DreamWorks Animation’s film, Kung Fu Panda, nationwide to all registered PTA schools within days of its DVD release. This is an exciting, first-of-its kind opportunity available only to PTA schools.

PTA Leaders: Please recommend this family social event to your local PTA and help them get started! By registering now, schools will receive a FREE Kung Fu Panda DVD, performance license, event kit, and more!

Here’s what local units can do:

• Have local PTAs choose a date for the showing between November 13 and November 26
• Have them go online and register their PTA’s participation at PTAMovieNightLive.com
• Have units spread the word by inviting friends, parents, and community to attend the event
  
  
• Encourage units to host PTA Movie Night Live

Schools must register no later than midnight on October 31 to participate. To register and for more information, please visit: PTAMovieNightLive.com.

PTA Movie Night is presented to you by PTA Video Store, your new online destination for family-friendly entertainment.

PTA.org has the tools your local units need to build strong family-school partnerships!

New downloadable tools—available at pta.org/family_school_partnerships.asp

• The Power of Partnerships, a guide to PTA’s process for building successful partnerships, in English and Spanish (a copy of the guide was also included with the October/November issue of Our Children magazine)
• PowerPoint presentations and handouts to help educate parents and other school stakeholders about the power of parent and community involvement and what they can do
• The National Standards for Family-School Partnerships Assessment Guide to help local schools implement effective programs, practices, and policies to involve families and support student success
• The PTA Report to the Community, a customizable template that equips PTAs to share their partnership successes

Review the materials at www.pta.org/bsp and share them with your local units!

The time period for effective flu vaccinations is NOW, and PTAs can serve a vital role in protecting our children, families, school staff, and community-at-large from the spread of influenza. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's expanded recommendation that most children receive flu shots, an additional 30 million children need to get vaccinated this year, and health professionals are looking to school-based solutions to help reach their goal.

You are key to this program’s success!  Get the word out and encourage your local, council, and district PTAs to host a “Let’s Fight Flu Together” vaccinationclinic in your school, community center, library, church, or other community facility. Each local unit received a kit in the mail with “how to” and promotional materials last month. To register to host a vaccination clinic, or for more information, please visit pta.org/flushotclinics.

PTAs registering to host a flu vaccination clinic by October 31 will automatically be entered into a drawing for a $1,000, $500, and $250 prize.

OMDR Plus has taken several dramatic steps forward in the last couple of weeks, with final testing of version 1 taking place as we go to press. Here is a quick update and a few reminders, as we prepare for go-live.

The steps for implementation of OMDR Plus:

• The unit goes through the group start up wizard, which is a one-time process that takes about 10 minutes. Remember that local leaders no longer need to know their membership number to sign up. As of the publication of this article, over 100 units have already set themselves up through the wizard with no significant problems reported.
• The state approves the unit into the system. This is the only task actually required at the state level (and is also a onetime process, per unit, that takes only a few seconds). Although training for this one task is quick and easy, please remember that there is much more for states to take advantage of in OMDR Plus, at your option.
• The unit officers sign up for and receive the proper training. Just as for state leaders, training is available to them for the entire system or only for their specific duties within their unit; like state leaders, it is their choice as to what they want to take.
• Once training is completed, the unit will get their members and other parents signed up. As part of their training, they will be provided with suggestions on how to go about this and examples of communications they can use to send to parents and other group leaders.
• Members and other parents sign up for the system, also through a simple wizard; again, a one-time only process which will take only a few minutes to complete.
• After parents have signed up through the wizard, the designated unit officer(s) will approve them into the unit, giving them access to all of the functionality in the system.
• After the parents have been approved, they and the units they belong to will then be able to use the system and all of its capabilities (as described in various other documents and articles).

Please remember to designate the appropriate person(s) to sign up for state level training if you haven’t done so already. For more information on training classes, please contact Julia Sheffler at Just Between Friends by phone at (412) 561-0500 or by e-mail at jsheffler.training@justbetweenfriends.net.

Again, the only required task and associated training, is approving units into the system. This process will take substantially less time and effort than in the original OMDR system. You will also learn about all of the additional capabilities now available to you in OMDR Plus.

PTA is seeking individuals to serve in national leadership positions to be elected in June 2009. In addition, PTA is looking for individuals to serve on various committees. The list of positions, descriptions of service requirements and responsibilities, letter of intent form, professional/personal references form, and signature of agreement and submission form are available at pta.org/letterintent.

Applicants must send all required materials to the attention of Diane Tremblay at the PTA national office for arrival by December 1, 2008. Submissions may be made via mail to PTA National Headquarters, 541 N. Fairbanks Court, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60611-3396 or by e-mail to leadershipdevelopment@pta.org. No faxes please. Applicants will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of the materials. Please direct any questions to leadershipdevelopment@pta.org, or to Diane Tremblay at (800) 307-4PTA (4782) Ext. 389.

PTAs representing a total of more than 450,000 students from 47 state PTA congresses applied for the 2008 PTA Healthy Lifestyles Awards. Twenty-two of the 474 applicants were selected as this year’s award winners and will receive full funding for their proposals, which include health fairs, health hikes, a school garden, a recipe book, walking clubs, the installation of bike racks, a fruit and vegetable convention, and more. Go online for info on recognizing your state’s winners.

Please recognize your state’s winners—and applicants—in press releases, newsletters, your state PTA website, and state meetings as we approach November’s PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month celebration. Plus, encourage all units in your state to participate—whether or not they received an award or even applied.

• Link to www.pta.org/healthylifestyles, which features event ideas and planning tips for PTAs at every stage of the planning process.
• Ask units to tell you about their plans, then highlight those plans in online and print publications. If possible, arrange for state officers to attend events throughout the state.

Check PTA.org next week for the national press release about this year’s award winners.

Send an e-mail to healthylifestyles@pta.org to request a list of all the units in your state that applied for this year’s PTA Healthy Lifestyles Awards.

For more than a century, PTA’s members have been a powerful voice for the health and education of children. Your advocacy efforts have ensured that all children continue to have the opportunity to meet their potential in safe and nurturing settings. In recognition of that hard work, the PTA national organization will present the second annual Outstanding Advocacy Awards at the March 2009 National Legislative Conference.

The 2009 Outstanding Advocacy Award will be presented to a PTA that, through their dedication and leadership, affected child-related policy, regulation, or legislation to support PTA’s mission and goals. Two awards will be presented, one to a state PTA and one to a unit, council, district or region PTA. The state PTA will receive $1,000 and the unit, council, district or region chosen will receive $500. The monetary award may be used only to cover direct expenses for PTA work. In addition, awardees will each receive two all-expenses paid* trips to the 2009 National Legislative Conference and be recognized at an awards ceremony on Capitol Hill on March 12, 2009. Criteria and application materials are available at www.pta.org/AdvocacyAward. The deadline for nomination for both awards is December 1, 2008, so nominate your PTA soon!

* Expenses include and are limited to round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, conference registration and materials, and per-diem food expenses.

Do you know an impassioned and compassionate leader, dedicated to moving PTA forward and committed to ensuring that others would follow?  2008 marked the passing of one of PTA’s greatest child advocate leaders, PTA national president (2001-2003) Shirley Igo. Mrs. Igo was a model of public service and volunteerism throughout her life. To honor Mrs. Igo, the PTA national organization will present the Shirley Igo Advocate of the Year Award to one individual who most exemplifies the qualities that made her a true advocate for all children.

The nominee must be a current PTA member and submitted by someone other than the nominee. The person chosen to receive this award will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the 2009 National Legislative Conference in Washington, DC and be recognized at an award ceremony on Capitol Hill on March 12. Please visit www.pta.org/AdvocacyAward for details on how you can nominate someone you believe is deserving of this award. The deadline for nomination is December 1, 2008.  

We are pleased to announce the unveiling of the 2008 PTA Reflections Program online gallery, displaying the national award–winning artwork from the 2007–2008 Reflections Program year.

Nationwide, students in preschool through high school submitted more than 500,000 works of art based on the theme “I can make a difference by . . .” Check out the inspiring photographs, dances, films, poems, stories, songs, paintings, drawings, collages, and more at http://pta.browsermedia.com/.

The gallery is an exciting way to celebrate students’ incredible talents and promote participation in the Reflections Program. Please link to the gallery from your state PTA website and publicize it among your units and members. Direct units to www.pta.org/reflections for more information about hosting the PTA Reflections Program.

For nearly 40 years, the PTA Reflections Program has encouraged students to create works of art for fun and recognition. Help us continue to encourage creativity and celebrate imagination by promoting the gallery.

The Form 990 has been revised by the IRS and it provides transition relief so that a smaller organization has time to adjust to the new form. Go online for more details.

The revised forms are for tax year 2008 (to be filed in 2009). Organizations with gross receipts of less than $1.0 million and total assets of less than $2.5 million will be allowed to file the Form 990-EZ instead of the form 990. For 2008 tax year organizations with gross receipts over $1.0 million and total assets over $2.5 million will be required to file the 990. For the 2009 tax year, organizations with gross receipts over $500,000 or total assets over $1.25 million will be required to file the Form 990. The final thresholds will be in the tax year of 2010, with $200,000 gross receipts and with $500,000 total assets. Also, there will be a filing threshold for organizations required to file Form 990-N (the e-postcard) from $25,000 to $50,000 starting with the 2010 tax year.

If you need additional information on the revised 2008 Form 990, please visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov.

This is a reminder to file a 990, 990EZ, or 990N tax form for organizations with a tax- exemption status with the IRS. State PTAs and local units should take steps to file on time. Go online for guidelines to determine if your PTA should file the 990, 990EZ, or 990N form.

All PTAs with annual receipts greater than $1.0 million and total assets greater than $2.5 million must file a 990 form.

All PTAs with annual receipts less than $1.0 million and total assets less than $2.5 million must file a 990 or 990EZ form.

All PTAs with annual receipts are normally $25,000 or less will have to file an Electronic Notice (e-Postcard) Form 990-N.

The IRS deadline for PTAs to file a 990 or 990EZ form is the 15th day of the 5th month following the organization’s fiscal year. For instance, a fiscal year ending June 30 must file by November 15.

PTAs’ 990s along with state PTAs’ audited financials are due in the PTA national office within 30 days of filing with the IRS. (Download the Policy for Continuing Affiliation with National PTA Guide.)

Penalties for filing late or not filing is a penalty of $20 a day, not to exceed the smaller of $10,000 or 5% of the gross receipts of the organization for the year. Organizations with annual gross receipts exceeding $1 million are subject to a penalty of $100 a day. The penalty begins on the due date for filing the Form 990 or 990EZ.

For the past three years, the PTA Unit Recognition Program has acknowledged and awarded local PTAs for all of the great things and hard work they are doing year round. Unfortunately, due to a significant decline in participation, and because it is cost prohibitive, this program will be discontinued effective October 2008. An article was included in the October 14 PTA Local Leader News newsletter to inform units and we will post a notice on PTA.org as well. We would like to thank the local PTAs that participated in this program and we encourage all PTAs to continue going strong with their membership efforts.

Please remember that there are plenty of additional opportunities to recognize your local units. Browse our PTA award programs page for information on other awards programs, including the PTA Hearst awards.

For additional info, questions or concerns please contact us at info@pta.org.