Historian

The historian assembles and preserves the record of activities and achievements of the PTA, and assists the president in preparing the Annual Report.

Historian records, like minutes, should be kept forever.

Collection of hours is important to our organization for many reasons.Maintaining federal tax exemption is one of the most important. An organization granted nonprofit charitable status must receive one-third of its support from the general public. Valuation of service hours expended in carrying out the purposes for which it was formed will positively effect the public support ratio of PTA.

Volunteer hours can be reported in the narrative portion of the IRS 990 report and can also be placed on your PTAs financial statements. From information provided by nonprofit charitable organizations, the IRS publishes a figure, adjusted annually, that attributes a dollar value to volunteer hours donated. This enable PAs to publish an annual tabulation of the collective value of volunteer hours which has been returned as a donation to local communities and statewide.

Advertising the value of volunteer hours expended by PTA can be a valuable marketing and publicity tool and raises the publics awareness of the organization. Frequently, foundation grantors request the number of volunteer hours an organization expends annually when considering apportionment of grant funds. The volunteer value helps a foundation understand the extent of a groups parent involvement, support nd commitment to their own purposes which aids the grantors in determining the amount of assistance to award.

What To Do

Review materials received from your predecessor:

Unit's year-to-year history and record book with narrative reports.

Historically significant items such as:

  • List of charter members;
  • First bylaws;
  • Copy of unit charter; and
  • Historic photographs.

Procedure book with copies of previous reports, California State PTA Toolkit material.

Start a monthly calendar "diary" of unit activities and keep it current based on each new PTA year.

Decide on method for recording volunteer hours at all meetings and PTA events, and collect throughout year for totaling and reporting in unit Annual Report.

Raise member awareness of value of volunteer hour tallying, e.g., advocacy at all levels, as a measure of in-kind services, publicity tool.

Attend council/PTA district workshops for historians.

Contact council/PTA district historian for assistance as needed.

Contents for History Book

Keep written printed account of the year's activities and key personnel for the unit's permanent PTA History Book. Include:

  • List of officers and chairmen with titles and addresses.
  • California State PTA convention delegate list.
  • PTA membership and school student enrollment numbers.
  • Program and focus group topics (names of speakers and leaders).
  • Activities, projects carried out by PTA in school and community.
  • Any changes to bylaws.
  • List of recipients of Honorary Service, Continuing Service, Golden Oak Awards, and other special awards or recognition presented to or received by the unit.
  • Record of members' volunteer hours. (Volunteer Tally Sheet, Forms 451)

Present a brief summary of the year's history at a meeting near the end of your PTA year. Consider a similar presentation at a school staff or school board meeting.

Create a scrapbook of mementos, photos, press clippings (Public Relations Coordinator 6.3.1, 256), newsletters, flyers, etc. which do not go into the history book.

Present to the outgoing president if desired at term end, or keep with other unit materials.

Sharing PTA History

Display unit history books along with protected historical material (e.g., behind glass, in vinyl envelopes) and other memorabilia reflecting your unit's history.

Request an area in your school's front hallways for showcasing your unit's history in photos, souvenirs, etc.

Collaborate with the Founders Day chairman and/or committee to promote the history of your unit during Founders Day activities.

Prepare the Annual Report with the unit president and ensure that it is submitted through channels by the council or district deadline. (Annual Reports 2.3.5, Forms 447)

Safeguard the history record book and other materials pertinent to the history of the association and transfer them to your successor.

UNIT ANNUAL REPORT

It is the responsibility of every PTA unit to prepare a Unit Annual Report. The historian or president as designated in the bylaws, is responsible for completing the Unit Annual Report (Unit Annual Reports 2.3.5a, 38; Forms 469).

Submit the report by council or district PTA due dates through PTA channels, keeping one copy for the procedure book.

Collect and tally members volunteer hours from beginning of PTA year (Volunteer Tally Sheet, Forms 471). Advise members to project their volunteer hours for the last few months of the term according to planned PTA activities, due to the deadline for submitting the Annual Report.

Publicize the hours PTA volunteers have provided to the community. One example may be to compute the hours volunteered by members multiplied by an hourly wage. Prepare a mock check and present to your school board or city to bring attention to the needs of your school and its children.

Download the Unit Annual Report Form in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Download the Council Annual Report Form in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.


Tracking Volunteer Hours Is Important!

Every unit, council and PTA district needs to keep track of volunteer hours.

WHY? As a record of how much PTA members contribute to school and community.

HOW? Use one of the sample Volunteer Hour Tally Sheets:

  • on a clipboard in the school office so all members can keep track of their hours more easily as they enter or leave the school
  • as the attendance sheet at unit, council or district board meetings
  • on a clipboard at the entrance to your PTA membership meeting, or circulate during business portion of the meeting.

Tally Sheet for Historians to compile volunteer hours

Blank "Volunteer Hours" check for presenting

Volunteer Sign-In sheet for any occasion - with time in/out

Individual Volunteer Hours Tally Sheet -- total hours

Volunteer Hours record sheet for officers and chairmen

Historians Make Every Minute Count

WHAT HOURS SHOULD BE COUNTED?

  • Time spent writing PTA agendas, minutes, correspondence, reports, newsletter articles
  • Time spent on PTA-related activities at school or within the community
  • Telephone time regarding PTA business
  • Travel time to and from PTA activities
  • Attendance at meetings, workshops and other functions related to PTA work
  • Convention attendance (except time spent sleeping and eating).

HELP US COUNT UP ALL THOSE HOURS WE GIVE TO CHILDREN BY VOLUNTEERING IN OUR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES!


Introduction
Annual Reports
School Administrators
Responsibilities of Officers/Chairmen
President
Secretary
Historian
Parliamentarian

Parliamentary Procedure
Nominations/Election
Executive Leadership
Executive Board
Bylaws
Job Descriptions
Toolkit

Many of the materials in this Web site are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The Acrobat reader is a free download from Adobe Software.