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Recruiting PTO Board Members
It's April and nominations for next year's PTO Board need to be submitted at this month's meeting. You've served a term or two and believe it's time for some new blood and new ideas, to take over. So how do you go about recruiting potential candidates for next year's PTO board? Here are some tips.
Recruiting New Board Members
FORM A NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE
Begin by forming a committee. A Nomination Committee, also called a Board Development Committee, is a group of volunteers that actively seeks out and recruits new Board members. The Committe is lead by a chairperson so it should be included in your position descriptions list.
The Nominations Committee, consisting of PTO member volunteers, would carry out these recruiting methods. Consider asking a 1st Grade teacher to also be on this Committee. They have direct contact with several of the parents that are still fairly new to the school so they'd be a great liaison.
WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION
Next, prepare written job descriptions of each position. This information should be readily available in your PTO Bylaws. If it's not, first take the time to write them up and then put forth a motion at the next general meeting to have them added to your bylaws.
Just like any job description, list the responsibilities, the estimated amount of time the position will require, the qualifications (i.e. an Accounting degree or experience in Accounts Payables or Receivables), and the benefits to the organization as a result of the board member's work.
Since each Committee Chairperson reports to one of the elected board members (President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary), be sure to also write job descriptions for any Committee Chairperson position as well so they understand all aspects of what they'll be overseeing.
PUBLISH & DISTRIBUTE
Once you've completed the position descriptions, publish them on the PTO webpage, in the school newsletter, and in a separate recruitment mailing that gets distributed to parents.
Clearly note the nomination & election schedule on all calendars, PTO meeting agendas, the PTO webpage, and in the school newsletter. Do not assume that parents understand the process. For example:
- April 15th PTO Meeting – Nominations for next year's board members & committee chairpersons will be accepted. All nominations must be submitted by this meeting.
- May 15th PTO Meeting – Elections for next year's board members & committee chairperson will take place via secret, written ballot.
ANNOUNCE & ASK AT THE PTO MEETINGS
Make announcements at the February, March, and April meetings that Nominations are being accepted for next year's Board positions. Ask if anyone present is interested or if they know of anyone who may be. Allow time for questions to be answered regarding the process of nominations and elections.
WORD-OF-MOUTH ADVERTISING
Spread the word and ask everyone that attends the PTO meetings to do the same. Talk up the PTO, the positions, and potential ideas that need carrying-out, and the positive results the Board members have at the school.
ASK
If you know someone that you think would make a good Board member, be sure to tell them. Sometimes it just takes being personally asked by another person to encourage a volunteer.
Make a point to be a little early for afternoon pick-up and hang out at the playground after school. These are times when the parents are standing around talking about the happenings at the school and you'll have their ear to make your pitch.
REFER TO COLLECTED CONTACT INFORMATION
If you've read through the PTO Ideas' article on Increasing Participation, you'll remember that the first thing we advised was for the PTO to collect parent contact information in September of each year. Now is the perfect time to refer back to these forms.
- Anyone that noted they'd be interested in volunteering should receive a personal phone call, letting them know you have volunteer opportunities available.
- Also use these reference forms to pull out individuals with the particular skills you need. Is there an accountant in the group that could be the Treasurer? Is there a Graphic Designer that could improve the PTO website? Is there a Marketing person that would be able to improve the PTO image?
REACH OUT TO PAST VOLUNTEERS
If they volunteered once, they may be able to again. Some parents volunteer for a year or two and then step down. But even several years down the road, they may still have children at the school. While there may be some you're happy to see retire, chances are you'll come across a few that are worth bringing back on board.
- Make a list of those past Board members.
- Determine which of those still have students at the school.
- Look at their past achievements. Are they someone that had a positive attitude and achieved positive results?
- If so, call them and ask if they'd be interested in helping out again. Let them know you heard about the wonderful work they did in past years and think the PTO could benefit from them serving another year.
NOT THIS YEAR, BUT MAYBE NEXT
If you ask someone if they have an interest in serving on the Board, but they decline, don't give up. Ask them if you can keep them on your list to ask again next year. Perhaps they just need the year to get their feet wet with smaller projects in order to gain the confidence to take on a leadership role.
GET VOLUNTEERS INVOLVED AT AN ENTRY LEVEL
Recruitment doesn't just begin two weeks before the April PTO meeting; it can begin a year or two sooner.
It's all about relationship-building and it should be a goal of the Nomination Committee to constantly get new parents volunteering on an entry level and then to nurture these relationships throughout the years.
Jumping into a Board position can seem overwhelming to a first grade parent that's only been at the school for a year. Instead, ask them to be a Room Parent or Committee member. Once they learn the ropes, they'll likely move up to Committee Chair and then hopefully to a PTO officer position.
ASSIGN 3rd GRADE A THEME
Ask the 3rd grade parents to plan a program. It may be a fundraiser or a nonprofit enrichment program.
By 3rd grade parents have been at the school for a few years and have learned the ropes. You'll find that those parents that have volunteerd up to this point, will help those along who haven't. It's like on-the-job training.
As an example, let's say each year the 3rd Grade parents are responsible for planning Earth Day events in April or Health & Wellness events in January. Maybe they choose to plan a Walk-a-thon or distribute seeds to the students and have them plant a garden.
By assigning a particular grade to carry out the same theme every year, parents will expect to have to volunteer when they reach these grades. Everyone will look forward to seeing what creative ideas each new class brings to the table. It may even become a bit competitive to make it better than the year before.
The end result... you just got parents volunteering and learning how to organize an event – the first step in getting them into a Board position. You also now have trained volunteers for another year or two.
SUGGEST CO-CHAIRING
If you speak to someone who hasn't quite said 'No', yet is unsure of committing to 'Yes', suggest to them that they co-Chair the position. Co-Chairing means two people share the leadership role equally. In doing so, they can feed off of each other's ideas and skills.
GET REFERRALS FROM SCHOOL STAFF
Ask the teachers who they think would make a good PTO volunteer. Teachers are constantly sending home classroom requests. Typically, the same parents help out over and over again. Ask the teachers for the names of their top 3 or 4 volunteers from each class and call them.
The school secretary is also a great resource and knows most of the parents. Ask the secretary if there are any parents she thinks might like to get more involved.
REFER TO MEETING ATTENDANCE RECORDS
Take a look back at the PTO meeting sign-in sheets to see which parents have been attending on a regular basis. A personal invite to be nominated may be just what they need to get them more involved.
PUT FORTH A COMMITTED BOARD
The current Board members should always put forth a positive image. Others need to know that their leaders can work together as a team that's committed to the PTO's mission.
Sign in as a PTO Ideas' Member to get Fundraising: Success is in the Details, our online guide featuring 9 essential steps to planning successful events, including being a great leader.
HIRE A PAID COORDINATOR
Hiring a part-time, paid PTO coordinator, may not be an option for many schools, but it does work for some and works very well.
In this case, a person who is not associated with the school is hired to run the PTO. The benefit of hiring someone other than a parent, is that they're looking at the fundraising and event planning strictly from a business standpoint with unbiased judgement. They're also the one person that stays with the PTO and provides continuity year-to-year.
Just as any school staff member would, the Coordinator gets to know parents on a school-based level rather than socially.
The Coordinator would make the business plan to be presented to the PTO membership for approval. The Coordinator would work with Committee Chairs and volunteers to see that it's carried out according to plan.
Paid Coordinators are typically paid a stipend of a few thousand dollars a year with a possible added incentive for exceeding fundaising goals. Dollar amounts vary depending on the level of responsibility - amount of time worked each week, the number of events they're required to plan, and the amount of money they're required to raise.
HOST A RECRUITMENT BREAKFAST
Invite everyone and anyone that may be interested in volunteering. Encourage everyone to stop in for a cup of coffee. Answer questions about the positions and ask questions to find out in which position each person may be a good fit.
WEAR A PIN
Wear a pin during drop-off, pick-up, or anytime you're at the school and around the parents. The pin should have a question or statement printed on it that encourages conversation. You want people you know and don't know to look at it and ask, “What does that mean?”. The pin could read something like:
- Ask me why your child smiled today? (Answer: because the PTO hosted a fun enrichment program)
- Ask me how you can help? (Answer: we need volunteers...)
- Ask me what we did with your money? (Answer: we purchased new playground equipment)
HELP THEM MAKE A PLAN
As you speak to potential nominees, ensure them that you'll be available to help them along the way. Let them know, that as a current Board member that's finishing up his/her term, you'd meet with the new Board members to help them draft a plan for the upcoming school year. In doing so, they see that you have no intentions of deserting them.
DON'T
Never make people feel excluded from the PTO. Don't only ask your close friends to join your committees. Remember, people may not remember what you said, but they'll always remember how you made them feel.
Do not be a Board member that complains or boasts about the amount of work you're doing. Always maintain a positive attitude.
Do not be a Board member that talks about other parents negatively. If you're talking to me about the terrible job Mrs. Jones did organizing an event, then I can't trust that you won't be talking about me to someone else.
GUIDELINES FOR RECRUITING NEW BOARD MEMBERS
- Think about what skills are needed for each Board position based on the issues of your organization. Do you need a leader that knows how to delegate and oversee effectively? Do you need someone with a strong financial background to get the PTO budget back on track? Or do you need a creative marketing person who can turn the image of the PTO around?
- Form a Nominations Committee that will work all year long to nurture volunteer relationships and grow them until they're ready for leadership roles. This Committee should maintain a list of potential board members and their skills.
- Identify any conflicts of interest.
- Speak with the potential nominees about their thoughts and objectives and invite them to join the Board.
- Invite newly-elected Board members to attend a Board meeting so their comfortable with the format before they take office.
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