National Congress of Parents and Teachers
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
PTA's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. For more than 120 years, National Parent Teacher Association (National PTA) has worked toward bettering the lives of (Continued on Sch O)every child in education, health, and safety. Founded in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, National PTA is a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. The PTA's nationwide network provides parents with the forum and tools to collectively influence the decisions that affect children not only at their schools, but also throughout their districts, within their states, and across the nation. This mission is unique to PTA.
- Income
- $25.1 million
- Spending
- $22.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 83%
- Reserves
- 2.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 98%
- Employees
- 55
- Volunteers
- 20,000
- Highest pay
- $470,512, executive director (to 04/25)
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 65 out of 100. Higher than 55% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.1 months of spending.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 36% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 11% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 57% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1583% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2522 of 22 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Reports results. Its tax return states measurable results. These are its own figures and nobody has checked them.
Results it reports
- 4,592 PTAs participated in 16 different programmatic opportunities.Work delivered
- A local leader PTA kit included over 90 instructor-led trainings and webinars.Work delivered
- Digital courses were developed for more than 6000 registrants.Work delivered
- Media coverage of programs, positions and thought leadership resulted in 3 billion media impressions.Work delivered
Read from the return by an AI model and shown only where the wording was found in the return. These are the charity's own figures.
Programs described in its return (5)
- $15.0 million spent. Center for Family Engagement: Developed new programs, programmatic resources, and toolkits that are aligned with the strategic plan and advance the mission of National PTA. Provided state and local PTA leaders with technical assistance and support to implement National PTA programs at the state and local level. Provided robust online resources to help leaders refine their skills and shed light on areas supporting local PTA units. National PTA offered awards and grants to support PTAs as they engage families, support student success, and increase access in the areas of arts, digital safety, and well-being and healthy lifestyles. 4,592 PTAs participated in 16 different programmatic opportunities and were awarded a total of $1,336,250 in funding by National PTA.
- $1.3 million spent. Member and Field Services: Developed and sustained programs, curriculum, and toolkits aligned with the National PTA 2021-2026 Strategic Plan to advance the important mission of the organization. Managed a year-long membership focus initiative for local PTA leaders across our network while also providing targeted support for district, council, region and state PTA leaders. Updated and maintained an online platform for people who visit the National PTA website to join PTAs across the country. Provided state and local PTA leaders with technical assistance, information, training, and support to implement programs and resources. Continued to build membership related resources that tie PTA value to membership, such as a membership initiative called Membership Mania and an online series called Membership Minute. As per the Strategic Plan, continued to look at the structure of PTA to identify initiatives and potential changes to strengthen the support provided to PTA's constituent associations.Training: Provided training for our members from experts in nonprofit management, family engagement, child advocacy, diversity and leadership. Developed and distributed a local leader PTA kit, a year-round resource to support the needs of all PTA leaders that included over 90 instructor-led trainings and webinars. Developed digital courses for more than 6000 registrants.
- $1.1 million spent. Advocacy: In partnership with key Administration and Congressional offices, championed policy improvements via national advocacy efforts at the federal, state, and local level around community violence prevention, youth mental health, and child nutrition. Ongoing educational activities to support our policy recommendations and federal funding requests. Lobbied in support of legislation that bolsters public education funding, strengthens access to services and supports for all families, and enhances health and safety measures. Hosted an annual Legislative Conference in conjunction with an annual Convention for our association for state and local leaders to meet with their federal members of Congress.
- $424,176 spent. Meetings: National PTA facilitated a gathering of the National PTA leadership, its membership, and strategic partners at National PTA's virtual Legislative Conference (March 2025) and virtual Annual Convention (June 2025). National PTA's 2025 Legislative Conference provided training and support to PTA leaders to advocate on behalf of all children. National PTA's 2025 virtual Convention included informative general sessions and association business, as well as educational workshops and networking opportunities. National PTA also conducted a virtual National Governance Retreat (September 2025) for the association's governance volunteer leaders and members of committees. National PTA also held both in-person and virtual Board of Director meetings in support of the business, work, and mission of the association.
- $862,835 spent. Communications: Conveyed the association's mission and values into a cohesive message to members, leadership, partners and sponsors. Shared important resources with millions of members, families, advocates and educators through traditional and social media. National PTA programs, positions and thought leadership were featured in print, broadcast and online media outlets, resulting in 3 billion media impressions. In 2025, we were recognized with five TRENDY Awards from Association Trends, including a bronze award for our Blueprint for Parent Leaders to Take Action on Gun Violence Prevention in the Best Advocacy Campaign category and four silver awards for our Weekend Update newsletter in the Best Daily or Weekly Communication category, our Thrive online learning community in the Best eLearning & Live Training category, our Leadership Briefing newsletter in the Best Monthly Newsletter or Communication category and our Notes from the Backpack podcast in the Best Podcast category.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since February 1943.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.