Help us grow our PTA impact! Sharing our NYS PTA priorities like adequate and equitable school aid, support for student mental health and school safety with the strongest voice possible will gain the attention of our elected officials. And we know our collective PTA voice does make a difference with the passing of universal free school meals and more recently with our efforts that began at Convention, the passing of the establishment of NY’s Center for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia to improve student outcomes and the foster care luggage bill.

Leave No Stone Unturned:

Discovering New Members in 2026!

Happy New Year, PTA friends! January is the perfect time to reset and look at your membership list with fresh eyes. Our focus this month is on the Discovering Members Award , challenging every unit to leave no stone unturned and reach out to potential members you may have overlooked during the fall rush. Here are a few tips on how to market to everyone in your community to win that award:

 

🌟Expand the Family Tree. Remind your current members that PTA isn’t just for parents. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins often love to support their student’s school but just haven't been asked yet. Launch a "Grandparents & Guardians" campaign asking families to sign up one extended family member to show their support.

🎊Connect with the Community. Local business owners are vital parts of our school districts. Approach your local coffee shop, the deli, and the neighborhood realtor. A business membership is a low-cost way for them to show they care about the community they serve. Create a quick-and-easy Business Sponsor Membership Certificate using our NYS PTA Membership Toolkit and it will look great for their business, too!

🎊Invite the Whole Village. We know it takes a village to raise a child, so let's sign them up! Encourage members to invite anyone who plays a supportive role in their student's life, whether that’s a co-parent, step-parent, mentor, or partner. Focusing on the student's entire "support squad" is a great way to be inclusive while marketing your membership.

 

✉️Reach out to past members. In Givebacks you can send messages to current members, but you can also send messages to past members who have not yet renewed their membership. This is a great way to ask people to sign up for memberships for the new year. The instructions for sending dynamic messages can be found here. (These instructions show you how to send messages to current members; it's the same except change the value to "Not Current Year.") You can also find more information on our website here.

 

Let’s dig deep, find those hidden gems, and bring home that Discovering Members Award!

Welcome to 2026-seven!!

January presents the perfect opportunity to reconnect with members after the winter break, setting a positive tone for the new year. As we continue promoting that every voice matters when it comes to supporting students, here are a few ways to re-engage and strengthen your PTA community this month: 

 

❄️Connect and Communicate

While much of the holiday rush has passed, units can use this time to continue the spirit of togetherness and connection with family activities/nights, warm drinks at pickup/dropoff, or even a simple “Thank You” email to everyone on your membership list. 

 

🔍 Discover New Voices

Reach out to local business owners, alumni, and community members such as librarians and sports coaches to become members. Reinforce that membership does not require volunteering or attending meetings; it is simply a way to show support for a school community.

Membership Mondays

Come chat with leaders from NYS PTA Membership Team!

Membership Monday Zoom Schedule & Registration links

Lunch and Learn Videos!

Lunch & Learn videos are up and more will be posted soon, so check back often for new videos to be released periodically throughout the year.

 

These videos can only be accessed on Facebook through NYS PTA Leaders Group - so make sure you join if you have not already done so!

2025-2026 Membership Awards have some changes to the previous year's awards. Please review our newsletter every month to see what is coming up next and learn what criteria your PTA needs to achieve in order to earn a Membership Award. You can also read about each Membership Award on our website nyspta.org/membership-awards-2025-26/

To be eligible for any award your PTA must be "In Good Standing" as described in bylaws and Resource Guide. This means that your PTA's:

1. State/National dues paid for at least 25 members* 
2. Insured with the AIM NYS PTA Insurance package
3. Bylaws that are not expired
4. 990 Filing is current and IRS Exemption not Revoked**
5. Officers updated with current school year in Givebacks
6. President and Treasurer have completed the new Financial Accountability training***

To earn the Discovering Members Award badge in January enter at least 10 new members that are teacher/staff, community members, or alumni and remember to pay State/National dues for all those who join during this month by January 31st. Twelve random winners (one from each region) will receive a $100 cash prize!

 

Reach out to teachers who still have yet to join, or other staff members such as aides, office staff, nurses, custodians … leave no stone unturned!

 

Reach out to community members and alumni such as local businesses (great time to start a business sponsorship program), librarians, fire department, police and more! Community members are defined as someone who does not have a child or connection to the students in the school (so someone other than a parent or school teacher/staff member).

• Check out the Membership Resource Guide for all sorts of tips and helpful ideas. (This section will be updated soon!)
• Use the “Why PTA” flyer [(Canva) (Word)], and have plenty of copies available to hand out that explain all that YOUR PTA does for the children in your school (cultural arts programs, reflections, book fairs, scholarships, etc...).
• Put a Customized PTA Logo on all your communications so that everyone knows "PTA did this!"
• Check out NYS PTA and National PTA websites to learn about the advocacy that takes place. Knowing a little can help you answer that hard question -  "what does PTA do?"
• You can find past newsletter editions in our archive here!

NYS PTA Membership Team invites you to join our statewide units

NYS Pride PTSA and Empire State PTSA!