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We've heard the reasons many times as to why parents join their local PTA. "I belong because I want to know more about my child's school." "I belong because I want to meet other parents." "I belong because I was asked." It sounds so basic. Why wouldn t every parent be a member of their local PTA? The reasons are many and known all too well. Parents face a very busy and complex schedule with a lot of competition for their attention. The following are some thoughts on how to break through the clutter and gain the attention of parents for the benefit of their children.

Infrastructure
A basic and critical step is to have a membership chair within your PTA—someone whose single job is the care and feeding of existing members and recruiting new members. Use Cub Foods as a model. Cub sends you loving flyers in your newspaper every Sunday. They also send you a coupon book directly to your home, just in case you missed the flyer. They even had a bumper sticker for a while, so that your friends knew you were a loyal Cub "member." Not to mention all the other messages they send to you through the radio or outdoor ads. Cub loves your business and they want you back again and again, and preferably bringing a friend. This product advocacy with just one clear mission is the role membership chairs must assume with the same passion and vigor.

Don't Re-Invent the Membership Campaign
There are great resources available through the National PTA web site—use them and it will make the job of membership chair so much easier and your PTA look like a super star. The back of the PTA membership card details how to access member services on the web site. It has a wealth of information on every angle of membership. Two areas of interest relating to membership are:

A bulletin board just for membership inquiries. Here you can review past questions or post your own. One suggestion for recruiting new members was PTA members greeting kindergarten parents as they drop off and pick up their children during the first few weeks of school. Studies show a personal invitation to join a group is always the most successful method of new member recruitment. When parents are asked why they did not join a PTA a common response is I wasn t asked.

The National PTA recently conducted a survey of 2,700 men to find out why so few men join PTAs. The results of the study "Getting Men Involved" includes tips on how to encourage more dads to become members.

Success lies within your reach—Plan now for fall registration
A well organized approach to fall school registration was the key for several Minnesota PTA units who successfully increased their membership during the last two years. And now is the time to plan for fall registration.

Nancy Walters, PTA president for the John F. Kennedy High School, Bloomington, makes sure student registration packets include a PTA membership form, plus the dates of the PTA meetings for the coming year. She and her team also staff a PTA membership table during their school's all-day registration in August. "We got a lot of parents at our table, it was just one more stop for them to make as their kids registered," said Walters.

Jenny Portner, PTA president for Hoover Elementary, North Mankato, saw an increase in their membership by including a list of PTA volunteer opportunities in student registration packets. This is followed by a membership registration form in mid-September. "Parents are so overwhelmed with paperwork at the beginning of the year, we have found it successful to send home membership forms after school has started," said Portner.

She also makes a brief presentation on the value of PTA membership at the school's spring kindergarten round-up. PTA volunteer opportunities and membership forms are also included in kindergarten registration packets.

Ellen Mackinney, PTA president for Kennedy Elementary, St. Joseph, is also a firm believer in including PTA membership information in the student registration packets. She also reminds PTA leaders to remember to include PTA materials in the information students receive when they enroll during the school year.

Members of Kennedy Elementary PTA get an additional membership perk in the form of their own local PTA Membership Merchant Card. It s very simple, says Mackinney, it s a laminated card the size of a credit card. "We have our information on the front and on the back six or seven local businesses list their discounts available to our PTA members. The card has been very successful. We've even had  community members who do not have children in the school system join our PTA because they want the discount card," laughs Mackinney.

Like other units successful in building membership, Kennedy Elementary PTA makes a big splash during fall student registration and open house. "We have a membership table with posters that explain our dues and how we allocate our money," says Mackinney. They also hold a drawing for anyone who becomes a member on registration day. "The prizes are nothing big, $5 or $10 gift certificates to local pizza place or another business in town," she explains. "But I think parents enjoy getting a phone call that night saying they won something."

Summary
Your PTA isn't Cub and you certainly don t have the staff or advertising dollars of a major retail chain, but lessons from the retail sector can be applied. Find someone to be your PTA Account Executive for membership someone who asks at every meeting and at every event how can this help recruit new members? Use your people resources wisely. In other words, network like crazy for proven successful membership recruitment ideas. Make full use of the national and Minnesota PTA web sites. Attend the Minnesota PTA annual convention to steal ideas. And finally, start planning now for a successful membership drive next fall.

Reprinted from March/April 2005 - Voice of the MN PTA