Tag: membership

Tips and Tricks from the Great Membership Idea Exchange

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Back in late July and early August we held a few Membership Idea Exchange Zoom calls. We were so excited to be joined by PTA leaders across the state — sharing their ideas and some of their struggles.

We took notes from each of the calls and here are some of our favorite ideas:

Themes: 

  • Building a Better Community
  • Stronger Together
  • I Matter Because (tie in to Reflections)
  • Superhero
  • Set Sail with the PTA- Pirate themed with bandanas or masks as membership incentives

General ideas:

  • Include a PTA membership as part of a spirit pack
  • Have the school mascot or a cool animal (like a llama) attend the Zoom meeting of the class who gets the most memberships.
  • Look at your membership list from last year and make sure you are asking those families to join again this year.
  • Every person who purchases a membership gets a coupon for a discount on spirit wear or other school event. 
  • Share the why– make sure you are letting families know all that your PTA does for the school and community.
  • Ask your principal to include PTA membership on their weekly calls and/or their newsletter.
  • Have a contest to see who can get a member from furthest away– this is much easier if you are using Totem!
  • Remind families that everyone can join– grandparents, siblings, friends, neighbors.  To that end, add lines onto your membership forms with those titles so they don’t forget.
  • Use your social media to advertise your membership drive. 
  • Ask school board members, superintendents, and other school district personnel to join the PTA.
  • Create a “Join PTA” slide that the teachers can use when they are doing parent presentations.
  • Remind families that membership doesn’t necessarily equal volunteering, but it does equal supporting our kids!

Farragut Drive Elementary School created a really fun video to encourage their parents to be in the Zoom Where It Happens. Check it out here: 

Finally we want to leave you with a quote from one of the leaders who was on this call: When you have nothing but uncertainty, you have nothing but possibility!  

We hope you will use these tips to have an amazing membership drive.

As always if you need us, we are an email away– membership@capta.org.

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Membership Campaign Ideas

Posted on by CAPTA IT

As you begin to think about your fall membership campaign, your first orders of business are to select a theme and set a goal. These are often some of the most fun parts of your campaign, as you can be as creative as you would like to be!

You can find lots of great theme ideas on Pinterest, you can theme it to your school mascot, or theme it to something in popular culture (a movie, book, or character that appeals to the children at your site).

Your goal should be specific and attainable, for example set of a goal of getting at least one more membership than last year or one membership for every student in the school. Once you have your theme and goal you can begin to think about marketing, bulletin boards, and fliers.

Check the blog next week for more membership ideas!

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.

 

New Year’s Resolutions for Membership

Posted on by CAPTA IT

The great thing about the new year is that you get a fresh start. No matter what you forgot to do, meant to do or thought you should do – now you can. Here are five resolutions that will increase PTA membership, and leave you less stressed in 2019.

  • Get some help. Everything is more fun with a friend (or several). If you don’t already have a membership committee, form one now. Ask your PTA president to appoint new committee members. More members equals more ideas and more people to share the fun (and work), plus a bigger pool of volunteers to spread the word
  • Ask again. January is the perfect time to revitalize your membership drive. Include PTA membership join links on your website, in social media posts and in your newsletter. Ask in person and remind your principal, teachers and other PTA volunteers to invite everyone to join. No one wants to be left out
  • Go electronic. If you are not yet on the e-membership system, powered by TOTEM, find out more and learn how you can get on-board. It’s really easy. If you are on, send out an e-blast reminding everyone in your community they are invited to join PTA. Ask your school site administrator to include your PTA join link in information sent to parents and the community
  • Let us help. We have great resources just waiting for you. Check out our customizable fliers (in 6 languages), goal setting worksheets, membership marketing templates and so much more at www.capta.org/building-membership

Learn about PTA. You are part of the largest, oldest, child advocacy association in the nation. Just by joining PTA, you are telling your children you value their education and well-being. You are doing great things at your school and you are a voice for children’s education, health and overall success. You are making a difference. To find our more about PTAs legacy and your part in it, visit www.capta.org/whatwestandfor.