Office Depot also hosted hundreds of teacher appreciation breakfasts nationwide. Through National PTA's grant program, National PTA can provide needed financial assistance to state PTAs. State PTAs can use the Basic Grant for many of their annual events, such as leadership training for units and state board members. The Advocacy Grant helps state PTAs to highlight legislative activity and helps PTA members to serve as advocates for children as well as to identify future leaders in PTA's legislation area. The New Initiatives Grant is given to state PTAs to conduct a new project in their state.
All grants focus on training and field service to help strengthen the organization.
The State Board Leadership Development program is used to provide leadership training for PTA members during state PTA events. Leadership training, conducted by National PTA region directors, covers a core curriculum that includes membership recruitment, National PTA programs, and topics of interest to states. Leadership services to states is a field service program in which special assistance is provided to states on an as-needed basis. To provide information and instruction for state leaders, National PTA's eight region directors conduct in their assigned states both region conferences and state president retreats. In all, the region directors and the vice president for leadership work with the 54 state congresses throughout the year, and in doing so, travel many miles meeting PTA members.