Elected officers in the same house?

QUESTION:  

Our local unit’s Nominating Committee is recommending one person for President and her husband as Treasurer—is that  permitted under the Bylaws?

ANSWER: 

There is no prohibition in the Uniform Bylaws against two or more members of the same household holding offices in the same PTA.  However Article 5, Section 7(a)(4) provides that “[i]In the event two (2) or more members of the same household hold offices in the same local unit or council, only one (1) shall co-sign financial matters.”  In other words, the couple can both be officers but only one of them can be authorized to sign contracts or checks.  The best practice, assuming both are elected, would be to have a decision made at  the first Board meeting as to which (if either) would be on the bank account and authorized to sign contracts, and record the decision in the minutes. You can find the current version of the Uniform Bylaws on the Washington State PTA website.

Can a non-profit save funds for the following year?

QUESTION: 

Our PTA is developing our budget for next year, and it has been suggested that we plan on setting aside a reserve fund that can be used to fund activities in the beginning of the following fiscal year.  As a nonprofit corporation, aren’t we supposed to spend all of the moneys we take in during the same fiscal year?

ANSWER: 

Being a nonprofit means that no individual receives a profit from the association; it does not mean that the PTA can’t accumulate funds from one year to the next.  In fact setting aside sufficient funding to use during the first part of the following fiscal year is a sound and financially prudent practice because it assures that there will be funds for such expenses as purchasing insurance, attending training, and other early-in-the year obligations even though the PTA may not have had time to begin its fund-raising activities.

Handling a Cash Box

QUESTION:
Does the state PTA have a recommendation for how to handle the need for a cash box, i.e. for selling concessions where change may need to be made? Our practice has been that the individuals would personally "stock" the cash box and then reimburse themselves (with two people counting the monies), but some people aren't able to do that with their personal finances. Is it permissible to use PTA funds to provide the necessary cash upfront?

ANSWER:
It’s perfectly permissible to use PTA funds to “stock” the cash box at the beginning of an event. This can be done with a PTA check signed by two authorized signers payable to an individual who then takes the check to the bank and cashes it. There should be a slip indicating how much money and in what denominations were in the cash box at the beginning.

There’s a sample labeled “Cash Box Starting Inventory” on page 25 of the Money Matters section of the Leadership Packet.
-- The starting inventory form should be confirmed by two individuals (other than the one(s) providing the funds) and if a PTA check was used the amount of cash in the box should be the same amount as the check.

--At the end of the event a tally sheet should be completed showing all cash in the cash box at the end of the event, before repaying the source of the initial cash.

--As indicated on the sample ”Money Receipt/Tally Sheet” on the same page of Money Matters, the total amount of cash should be verified by two persons, and then delivered to the Treasurer for deposit, with the Treasurer signing to acknowledge the s/he has received the funds. 

--If the cash box was ‘stocked’ using individual funds, repayment should be by PTA check, or if necessary, by cash with the individual signing a receipt confirming that s/he received the money. Of course the amount repaid should be the same as the amount reflected on the cash box starting inventory. If the cash box was ‘stocked’ by using PTA funds, that should be noted because then the cash receipts from the event would be less than the total cash on hand by the amount of the ‘stocking.’