Annual Standards of Affiliation & Finance Basics
All PTAs in Virginia are organized and chartered by Virginia PTA and covered under the umbrella of the Virginia PTA’s 501(c)(3) non-profit status granted by the Internal Revenue Service. This group exemption exempts your local unit from paying federal income tax on money earned, allows donations to be claimed as tax exempt and enables your local PTA unit to apply for a Virginia Sales Tax Exemption. ALL BOARD MEMBERS, not just the Treasurer, have fiduciary responsibility for the financial position of the PTA.
ANNUAL STANDARDS OF AFFILIATION (Good Standing)
Standards of Affiliation are defined in Virginia PTA’s Local Unit Uniform bylaws and ensure local and council PTAs maintain 501(c)3 best practices and comply with applicable federal and state laws. Standards of Affiliation are sometimes referred to as Good Standing which generically refers to a selection of Standards of Affiliation that must be met to qualify your PTA to participate in PTA grant and awards programs.
We recommend you keep a copy of the Standards of Affiliation checklist and copies of all pertinent documentation in your legal documents or treasurer binder.
Annual Standards of Affiliation that each PTA should upload to MemberHub include:
- Contact Information for your Executive Board (June 15th)
- Proof of Insurance (June 15th: extended to 7/15/23 for 2023-2024 compliance. Please re-submit mid-year based on renewal date)
- Financial Review (Audit) Report Form (Aug 1st)
- IRS 990 Tax filing for fiscal year ending Jun 30th (Aug 1st)
- Membership List; (1st of each month. Automatically submitted if membership sold in MemberHub)
- Membership Dues; (1st of each month. Unit must initiate ACH transaction, membership dues do not automatically transfer to Virginia PTA)
- Bylaws Organizational Structure Form (annual or when modified)
Standards of Affiliation letters will be uploaded to your MemberHub/Givebacks compliance panel AFTER your PTA has submitted all Good Standing materials to Virignia PTA via your MemberHub/Givebacks compliance panel. This includes a dues payment for the current fiscal year. Please note your 2023-2024 Standard of Affiliation letter is valid from compliance due date (August 1st) to compliance due date (August 1st).
FISCAL YEAR
PTA’s in Virginia have a fiscal year of July 1st – June 30th.
ANNUAL FINANCIAL REVIEW/AUDIT (Due Aug 1st)
The purpose of the annual Financial Review or Audit is to ensure that PTAs are following proper financial procedures, practicing financial responsibility and providing transparency for their General Membership. The Financial Review will help your PTA identify gaps and opportunities to improve financial practices and get back on track with best practices.
Timeline & Submission
Your financial review should be complete and submitted to Virginia PTA via MemberHub by August 1st. This ensures the outgoing officers report on the fiscal year they oversaw. Additionally, this allows the incoming Treasurer to fully transition into their new role at the start of August enabling the incoming Executive Board to use the valuable summer months to budget and prepare for the coming year. Your Financial Review can be uploaded immediately upon completion and presentation to the incoming Executive Board. If there are edits needed as a result of General Membership Review in the Fall, then please re-submit your audit to Virginia PTA via MemberHub. Please remember that if your Treasurer leaves office for any reason in the middle of the year, a Financial Review should be completed within three (3) weeks, before the new Treasurer takes office.
Conducting your Financial Review
- Your Executive Board appoints a Financial Review Committee of three PTA members who were NOT authorized signers on your unit’s bank account.
- Your outgoing Treasurer prepares their books and records for review and completes the first half of the Financial Review (Audit) report.
- The Financial Review Committee conducts a materials provided by the Treasurer and completes their section of the Financial Review (Audit) Report.
- Executive Board accepts the Financial Review
- General Membership votes to adopts the Financial Review
- The president and treasurer that are in office at the time sign page 1 and scan your entire financial review (including all pages of the financial review report and any additional information from the financial review committee or auditor)
- Submit your financial review by uploading a copy to MemberHub. (Click ‘Compliance’ in the left menu and then ‘Enter State Submissions’. Note: The ‘Documents’ section of MemberHub is for file storage and does not trigger compliance submission.)
ANNUAL IRS TAX FILING (Due Aug. 1st)
Annually, every PTA is required to file a 990 with the IRS and provide a copy to Virginia PTA by August 1st in accordance with Local Unit Uniform Bylaws, which are a legally binding document for your PTA. This deadline ensures officers responsible for the fiscal year report the PTA’s income to the IRS. Additionally, it alleviates placing an undue burden on incoming officers to obtain records and information and report on a fiscal year for which they were not responsible.
Your PTA can file your 990 immediately at the end of the fiscal year. Using monthly Treasurer reporting, your PTA can determine the type of filing needed. If the PTA’s gross receipts are less than $50,000 across three consecutive years, then your PTA can file IRS Form 990N (e-postcard) on the IRS website, which takes about 5-10 minutes to complete – and can be completed prior to your annual financial review. If your PTA’s gross receipts are $50,001 or more, but less than $250,000, your PTA may file a Form 990EZ. If a PTA’s gross receipts are over $250,000 your PTA must file a full Form 990.
If your PTA fails to file taxes for 3 years in a row you risk losing your federal tax-exempt status and may need to pay IRS fees to have your tax-exempt status re-instated.
- File Form 990N (with Instructions)
- Submit a copy of your 990 filing or acceptance receipt by uploading a copy to MemberHub by August 1st (Click ‘Compliance’ in the left menu and then the ‘Enter State Submissions’. Note: The ‘Documents’ section of MemberHub is for file storage and does not trigger compliance submission.)
NOTE: * Units that raised more than $50,000 and have retained an accountant to prepare their 990-EZ or 990 filing may request a due date extension (to no later than Nov 15th) by submitting a 990 Exemption request prior to August 1st.
INSURANCE (Due June 15th)
PTA activities can create liability and put you at risk for loss due to theft, injury, property damage and many other issues. To protect yourself and your PTA, and in accordance with your bylaws, your PTA must purchase annual insurance and provide proof of insurance to Virginia PTA by June 15th. You PTA may select any insurance provider. Many PTAs select Virginia PTA’s insurance partner, AIM Insurance. Another common carrier is RV Nuccio.
- Learn more about the types of Insurance coverage your PTA should consider
- If your insurance renews in the fall/winter; please upload your current insurance certificate reflecting coverage at the start of the new fiscal year. When your insurance is renewed, you should upload the new insurance coverage certificate.
- View MemberHub’s Compliance upload support instructions
SUBMIT MEMBERSHIP DUES & LIST (1st of each month)
Annual PTA membership dues are determined by the members of each local school PTA and includes National PTA dues of $2.25/member and Virginia PTA dues of $1.50/member. Your membership approved dues amount should be documented on your Local Unit Organizational Structure Form. Dues are collected by your local school PTA and remitted to Virginia PTA. Virginia PTA remits dues on behalf of your members to National PTA on a monthly basis.
Annual PTA membership dues are determined by the members of each local school PTA and includes National PTA dues of $2.25/member and Virginia PTA dues of $1.50/member. Your membership approved dues amount should be documented on your Local Unit Organizational Structure Form. Dues are collected by your local school PTA and remitted to Virginia PTA. Virginia PTA remits dues on behalf of your members to National PTA on a monthly basis.
Submitting your dues on-time is part of the Standards of Affiliation and keeps your PTA in Good Standing which allows your PTA to qualify for grants and awards and enables your families to participate in the Reflections Arts Contest. Failure to submit dues will result in your unit being closed and tax exempt status revoked. ALL membership lists and dues should be submitted to Virginia PTA electronically via MemberHub. If you are selling memberships in MemberHub, submission of your Membership list is automatic, however, you must still initiate payment of your dues in MemberHub.
FINANCE MANAGEMENT BASICS
STANDARDS OF AFFILIATION (aka 501(c)3 DETERMINATION) LETTER
Annually, Virginia PTA provides a Standards of Affiliation verification letter that verifies your status and good standing as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. This annual letter also provides verification that your PTA is covered by Virginia PTA’s filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), which provides your PTA the ability to fundraise, solicit charitable contributions and host charitable gaming activities. This letter can be provided to sponsors, businesses or individuals making donations to your local unit so that they can claim their donation as tax exempt. It can also be used to validate your status with TechSoup if you are applying for a Google for Nonprofit’s account.
Standards of Affiliation letters will be uploaded to MemberHub AFTER your PTA has submitted all Good Standing materials to Virginia PTA via MemberHub. Within MemberHub you will find your unit’s letter by looking under ‘Compliance’ / ‘Upload Documents’ / ‘General’. In 2023-24 your 501(c)3 letter will be uploaded and visible directly in the Compliance section of MemberHub.
SALES TAX EXEMPTION
A Virginia sales tax exemption is not connected with the IRS. The Virginia Department of Taxation administers the Sales Tax exemption, and not all nonprofits qualify for it. Having a sales tax exemption is not required for your PTA. If your PTA wants to apply for a Sales Tax Exemption you can find more information here.
PREPARING A BUDGET
Preparing your annual budget is an excellent opportunity for your board to talk through goals for the coming year. Remember, our mission is to advocate for the heath and welfare of children and to create a supportive inclusive school climate. You should only raise enough money to cover your needs for the year. Please be mindful of whether or not the items that you discuss raising money for are items that should be paid for by the school division or if they would create inequitable learning across your county or region. If so, you may like to consider advocating for improved resources for your entire school community.
Your Executive Board should approve the proposed budget to be presented to the general membership for adoption. Per uniform bylaws, you should obtain general membership approval for any changes to the adopted budget over five hundred dollars ($500.00) per fiscal year.
Visit Treasuer Tools for sample budgets, treasurer request forms, monthly reports and a sample organization structure for your Treasurer binder.
SAMPLE SUMMER PLANNING CALENDAR (Full Treasurer Monthly Checklist)
| Last Membership Meeting of the School Year | Adopt a summer spending budget to support operations until the Fall Membership meeting where the full fiscal year budget is adopted |
| Last Day of School | Target deadline to submit all Treasurer Reimbursement Requests |
| June 30th | Fiscal year ends and so does spending under the 202X-202Y budget. |
| July 1st – 9th | Treasurer reconciles checking account to June 30. Fills out their portion of the financial review report and prepares all materials for the Financial Review Committee. |
| July 10th – 20th | Financial Review Committee conducts their review and provides a full completed report to Executive Board |
| July 20th – 30th | File 202X taxes for 202X-202Y fiscal year and submit verification form to Virginia PTA via MemberHub by Aug. 1st. Visit the bank to update authorized signers. (Three signers is best practice. Typically the President, Treasurer and Secretary are authorized signers). |
| August 1st |
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| Month of August |
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| First General Membership Mtg of 202Y-202Z | General Membership votes to adopt the 202X-202Y financial review report and a 202Y-202Z budget. |
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