Tag: electronic membership

Electronic Membership Makes it Easy to Join PTA

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by Membership Services Commission

ELECTRONIC MEMBERSHIP WORKS!

A few years ago, at the request of our local leaders, California State PTA created the online membership system known as Totem. Since its unveiling, over 2,400 PTA units have joined Totem and over 250,000 electronic memberships have been successfully processed.

If your PTA hasn’t put membership online yet, learn how today at https://capta.org/pta-leaders/services/electronic-membership-system/ 

Totem Makes PTA Membership Easy 

A growing number of PTAs are enabling their members to join and renew their membership online. Electronic membership is a great addition to your membership toolbox. It gives you a fast, effective way to get your membership message out and an easy way to have people join.

In fact, even though last year was a horrible time for PTA membership, over 360 units actually INCREASED membership. Of those 360 units, over 70% of them were units that used the Totem electronic membership system.

Five  Ways To Promote Your Electronic Membership System

  • Be the first to use electronic membership to join your PTA – and share with the built-in social sharing links in your membership dashboard
  • Send the link to your board and get them all to set the example, and then have them share and tell their friends to join. This is a great opportunity for your board to understand the electronic membership system and to help spread the word around your community
  • Post the link on your PTA/PTSA website with a colorful button. Bright colors like yellow and orange are great to attract attention
  • Post the link on your social media telling people you joined, how easy it was to join, and ask others to join and spread the word. Use #JoinPTA and #PTA4Kids in all your social sharing.
  • Email your membership link to your whole school community including all your past PTA members. Ask your principal, ASB advisor, or another school official to include the link in the next all-school notice or newsletter

Resources for Getting Started with Totem and Keeping Membership Growing

Comprehensive information about Totem, along with instructions for getting started, is available at https://capta.org/pta-leaders/services/electronic-membership-system/

Check out the Communication Commission’s archives of Social Media Kits – including Membership Drive Graphic (in the August 2020 section) https://capta.org/socialmediakits-archive/#august

Get Ready for Summer with Electronic Membership

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Get set up with e-membership before summer so members can join while you’re on vacation! If your PTA is not yet using the PTA electronic membership system, you can get set up now so you’ll be ready for the new school year. It’s just five easy steps and can take less than 10 minutes. For more information, visit www.capta.org/electronic-membership-system.

Watch your email inbox for an invitation from TOTEM. Our partners at TOTEM will be sending out invitations to PTA leaders to sign on to the system. You can change your officer positions, manage your online members and access to a variety of customized reports. Accept the invitation and get started right away. Questions? Visit www.capta.org/electronic-membership-system for more information, FAQs, success stories and more.

Bulk upload this year’s members to make sure they receive an automatic renewal message. We are excited to share the new bulk upload feature on TOTEM! Now you can upload all your members into the e-membership system and have one source for all your membership information. You can do it yourself with the Google sheet and FAQs from TOTEM, or for a small fee, TOTEM can set it up for you. All members in the system will receive renewal notices to make joining your PTA easier. This will set you up for a great start in the new year!

Leadership changes are coming soon. Don’t forget – June 1 is the deadline to upload your new PTA leaders. We encourage all local PTAs to upload new leaders into PTAEZ between now and June 1. For those units on TOTEM, please remember to update your leaders in that system as well. It’s as easy as a few clicks of a button.

Mid-Year Membership Campaign Tips

Posted on by CAPTA IT

WOW, we are hearing great things about how easy mid-year membership campaigns are using electronic membership links. Here are some tips from our experts (leaders like you):

  • Send out a designated email about PTA membership to your whole school community. Share what your PTA/PTSA has done and what you plan to do and include a link to join
  • Add a join button to all your electronic newsletters
  • Ask your principal to include the PTA/PTSA membership link in your schools communications
  • Create a great poster sharing what your PTA does and include a QR code so everyone can easily join when they see the poster
  • Remind your community at every PTA event that they can join — then follow that up with a membership table in the room or a link or QR code so they can join
  • Include your join link on all e-blasts, fliers and other electronic communication and include a QR code on paper programs, flyers and posters.

You can modify the ideas if you’re not using e-membership or you can connect your PTA to the TOTEM system and take advantage of the perks. Learn more at www.capta.org/join.