The best time to start your PTA membership drive is September when the kids come back to school. Most schools have a welcome orientation for new or returning students. Talk to your school's administrators and make sure the PTA is on the agenda. At that time, you can tell parents the benefits of joining the PTA, not only for their child, but for the school and community as well. In addition to speaking at the meeting, make sure everyone in attendance receives a PTA membership envelope.
Get The Word Out.
Most parents have a hundred different things on their plate so joining the PTA is sometimes one of the last things on their list. Parents need to be reminded of the importance of their membership. So get their attention in any way you can and make joining the PTA an easy process. Here are a few easy ways to get parents attention:
1. Hand out fliers with a PTA membership envelope attached to every student.
2. Place PTA membership posters all over the school, so regardless of what entrance or exit a parent uses, he will see your sign.
3. Have your Membership Drive dates on the school's marquee.
4. PA announcements.
5. Consider a PTA banner.
6. Have PTA officers personally handing out membership envelopes to parents as they drop-off/pick-up their children.
Get The Students Involved.
Nothing get's students involved like a good old-fashioned classroom competition. Have a contest, where the homeroom or classroom with the largest PTA memberships will win a pizza or ice cream party. The money you spend for the party will be well worth it, if you increase your members. Encourage the kids to not only get their parents to join, but also grandparents, aunts, uncles and godparents.
Post a chart in the school's main hallway, so the kids can see how their individual class is doing in comparison to their school mates.
Make Joining Easy.
In addition to taking cash and checks, consider offering parents a way to join your school's PTA online with a credit card. PayPal is a quick, easy option to add to your website.
Rerun your Membership Drive in January.
Redoing all of the steps above again in January will ensure that you get the parents who may have missed out the first time around.