When: September 17, 2016 from 10:15 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: Allan Center at 4900 Gonzales Street  Austin, Texas
Contact: Lynn Boswell / 512 694-2896 / lynn@villitamedia.com

The Austin Council of PTAs will be offering hands-on support to local PTAs who are late filing Form 990-N (e-Postcard) with the IRS. This service is being offered to all local PTAs that are in danger of revocation because they have failed to file their returns in the past. The IRS accepts an e-Postcard return for most small tax-exempt organizations with annual gross receipts of less than $50,000. It is a simple form, easy to file online, and no specialized knowledge is needed. For these PTAs, the barrier is not a lack of sophisticated financial know-how. Rather, it’s often the result of intimidation about anything involving the IRS, a lack of clear PTA leadership in the past, a miscommunication about deadlines, a lack of familiarity with computers or some other factor that kept the return from being filed. PTA leaders at some schools lack email addresses, or do not have personal bank accounts. The goal is to help every PTA get past these obstacles to file successfully, avoid revocation and gain the skills needed to file successfully in the future.

Help is needed to sit down with PTA leaders or parent support specialists from these schools to get these returns filed. The most important role of volunteers is to guide individual PTA leaders through the process so this year’s returns can be filed, and so they understand how to file the forms without help next time. Experienced PTA treasurers, including some with professional backgrounds in financial fields, will be available to help all PTA leaders and volunteers. Training will also be provided to volunteers from 10:15 – 10:45 a.m. The goal is to be able to work one-on-one with every PTA who needs help, so we would love support from UT accounting students to help accomplish that. Volunteers who speak Spanish are also needed. There will be computer access and support for all volunteers. If you have questions, please contact Lynn Boswell (lynn@villitamedia.com / 512 694-2896).