Your school provides a lot to its students, from a quality education to after-school sports. However, the costs of these offerings rack up quickly, leaving many schools scrambling to make ends meet. Fundraising fills in the gaps while simultaneously engaging your community.
If your school is hosting a fundraiser this year, you’ll need the right tools to maximize revenue, inspire support, and reduce the burden on teachers, administrators, and parents. Luckily, there are plenty of fundraising platforms for schools on the market.
In this guide, we’ll help you find the fundraising platform that will help you streamline your school’s campaigns, save time through automation, reach more supporters, and ultimately grow your revenue. If you’re ready to start raising more money for your school, let’s dive in!
- Frequently Asked Questions about Fundraising Platforms for Schools
- Core Features of School Fundraising Platforms
- 8 Top Fundraising Platforms for Schools
Key Takeaways:
- Fundraising platforms help schools collect both flat and activity-based donations, market their event, and track their progress.
- Schools should look for a fundraising platform that offers easy setup, individual donation pages, real-time reporting, integrated communication tools, and gamification capabilities.
- The top fundraising platform for schools is 99Pledges, which enables easy and profitable “a-thon” campaigns.
Frequently Asked Questions about Fundraising Platforms for Schools
How can I raise money for my school?
With so many possible fundraising methods out there, it’s important to choose a campaign that aligns with your goals, resources, and community interests. The “right” fundraiser will vary based on your needs, but many consider peer-to-peer fundraising to be one of the simplest and most effective models.
Peer-to-peer campaigns encourage students to collect activity-based donations from their friends and family to complete a challenge. For example, in a Read-a-thon, a supporter might donate $0.10 for every minute a participant spends reading over a two-week period. These campaigns are the ideal way for schools to raise money because they are simple to set up, inexpensive to run, and exceptionally shareable.
How do fundraising platforms support peer-to-peer events?
Fundraising platforms make it easy for schools to collect both flat and activity-based donations, market their event, and track their progress. To host a peer-to-peer campaign with a fundraising platform:
- Select a fundraising platform with easy setup that automatically creates campaign-wide and individual donation pages for each student.
- Encourage students to share their individual pages with friends and family on social media.
- Students secure flat and activity-based donations from their networks. For example, if you’re holding an event like a Walk-a-thon, they might get activity-based pledges for $5 per mile walked from five family members.
- Track your fundraising progress throughout the campaign to see whether you’re on course to meet your goal. With online reporting dashboards, you can course-correct if you start falling behind. You can also use these dashboards to gamify the campaign, inspiring competition between students to earn the most pledges.
- Host your fundraising event and record each student’s performance. Then, you’ll collect your activity-based donations and tally up your earnings!
Are school fundraising platforms only for online campaigns?
No. While online fundraising platforms for schools can be used for digital campaigns, they streamline in-person events by helping you accept online donations, track cash and checks, and report on your progress. Plenty of schools use fundraising solutions to run in-person events like Dance-a-thons, Fun Runs, Walk-a-thons, and more.Are there free fundraising platforms for schools?
Yes! Platforms like 99Pledges offer all the features your school needs to host a successful fundraiser with $0 in startup costs and 0% platform fees. You’re only responsible for covering the transaction processing fee (3.49% plus 49 cents per transaction). Keep in mind that not every free fundraising platform is created equal, however. Some red flags to look out for include required minimums, platforms that take a set percentage of your earnings, and freemium solutions that seem free but require you to upgrade to a paid plan to access necessary features.Core Features of School Fundraising Platforms
While the exact features your school needs will depend on your goals and priorities, there are some basic tools you should look out for. Specifically, choose a solution like 99Pledges that offers:
Quick and easy setup
Your school has enough on its plate without adding complicated software into the mix. Look for a fundraising platform designed with schools in mind; that means no parent or organizer setup. By leaning on these free setup services, you can focus on collecting pledges instead of technical troubleshooting.
Individualized participant pages
Rather than using a single generic page for the entire organization, peer-to-peer platforms automatically generate personalized donation pages for every student. Individualized pages are effective because donors, such as grandparents or family friends, are much more likely to contribute when they can give directly to a child they know and support.
Your platform should allow simple page customization, empowering participants to share their personal reasons for fundraising for your school. By putting participants at the center of the campaign, these pages foster a sense of personal accountability and make it easy to share your fundraiser via social media, text, or email.
Flexible payment processing options
To make the donation process as convenient as possible, fundraising platforms for schools should support a wide variety of flexible payment methods, including major credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. They should also allow organizers to input and track offline donations, such as physical cash and checks. These features ensure donors can give to your school whenever, wherever, and however they prefer, which ultimately increases your profits.
Designated fundraising support
Most school fundraising organizers aren’t fundraising professionals. Instead, they’re school administrators, PTO/PTA leaders, or teachers. To reduce stress and maximize your revenue, look for a fundraising platform that gives you access to a dedicated fundraising coach. This way, you can ask questions and get advice without needing to track down a different support line every time you need a little help.
Real-time reporting and donation tracking
Interactive administrative reports and live dashboards help you monitor your fundraising progress. These tools track key metrics, such as:
- Participant involvement
- Current donation totals
- Progress toward the school’s goals
This data-driven oversight is crucial because it allows organizers to identify participants who might be struggling so they can offer targeted support.
Integrated communication and automation tools
Your school fundraising platform should feature integrated messaging and communication tools to streamline outreach. Automated systems reduce the administrative workload by automatically emailing donation receipts and personalized thank-you messages to donors.
You can use your platform’s built-in messaging features to send custom email reminders or updates to participants and parents. This ensures consistent communication and nurtures long-lasting relationships with supporters, which is invaluable for securing donations in future campaigns.
Gamification capabilities
To drive participation, top platforms offer interactive gamification elements like real-time leaderboards. These leaderboards track and display live campaign statistics for individuals and groups, instantly showing who has raised the most funds. You can up the ante by offering fundraising prizes to top earners, which keeps momentum high throughout your campaign.
8 Top Fundraising Platforms for Schools
1. The Best Fundraising Platform for Schools: 99Pledges
99Pledges’ fundraising platform enables your school or classroom to launch a free “a-thon” fundraiser in minutes. Elementary, middle, and high schools across the country have hosted engaging, successful campaigns using our simple and professional platform. On average, our users double or even triple their fundraising revenue compared to previous efforts!
Benefits of 99Pledges’ fundraising platform for schools include:
- Automatic donation page creation
- Option to accept flat and activity-based donations
- Payment processing for credit, debit, and mobile wallets
- Free cash and check tracking
- Dedicated fundraising coach
- Simple social media sharing capabilities
- Real-time reporting dashboards
- Built-in messaging
- Funds delivered within one business day
- Protection of donor information
- Zero startup costs or platform fees—only cover the transaction processing fee (3.49% plus 49 cents per transaction)
You can run your most successful peer-to-peer campaign yet with 99Pledges, whether that’s a Walka-a-thon, Dance-a-thon, Read-a-thon, or any other “a-thon” event you can imagine. We’ll provide the support you need to maximize profits and engage your entire community.
When to Consider 99Pledges
Choose 99Pledges when you want to host a successful, affordable fundraiser that can involve a wide variety of age groups. Because 99Pledges is one of the most affordable options for school fundraising, it is an excellent choice for anyone, especially if you’re looking to get your community involved.
Other Fundraising Platforms for Schools
2. DonorsChoose: Classroom Supply Fundraising
DonorsChoose is a platform for teachers to raise money for classroom supplies. Teachers simply create a list of the supplies they need, and donors across the country can contribute to make it happen. Once a classroom project has received the necessary funding, DonorsChoose will order the requested supplies and send them to the classroom in need.
When to Consider DonorsChoose
Share this tool with teachers at your school to use alongside your school-wide fundraisers. This platform is easy to use and allows teachers to directly request the supplies that would make the biggest impact in their classrooms. The best part is that this platform is completely free for teachers!
3. Funds2Orgs: Shoe Drives
The Funds2Orgs platform allows you to raise money by running a shoe drive instead of asking for monetary donations. All the donated shoes get repurposed and sold at a low cost to micro-entrepreneurs who can then sell them for a higher price. Their goal is to help you raise money while giving individuals in low-income communities a chance to earn a profit in their small businesses.
When to Consider Funds2Orgs
If your supporters are not often in a position to donate much or at all, or if you have recently completed a fundraiser based on monetary donations, Funds2Orgs can be a great low-lift way to raise money for your school.
4. Bonfire: Product Fundraising
You can use Bonfire’s platform to design custom t-shirts that your school can sell in a fundraiser. This way, your supporters will receive something tangible in return for their donation. Additionally, custom apparel helps bring awareness to your school and your fundraiser when supporters wear their new merchandise in public.
Selling t-shirts also pairs well with traditional peer-to-peer campaigns, serving as an additional revenue source. For example, you might hold a charity 5K and create custom t-shirts for participants and supporters to purchase.
It’s 100% free to get started on Bonfire. Setup is easy, and the platform offers fast, secure payouts. Your school won’t need to purchase or hold any inventory, meaning there is no risk of over-purchasing shirts and wasting resources. Bonfire also handles all of the logistics, taking the burden off your plate.
When to Consider Bonfire
If you’re already planning on hosting a fundraising event for your school, consider creating branded t-shirts to boost your revenue. Bonfire’s donation processing fee is typically 8%, but if your school qualifies as a nonprofit, it’s reduced to 3.5% once you’re verified.
5. GoodUnited: Social Media Fundraising
GoodUnited is a messaging platform that helps you connect with donors via Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, and WhatsApp. Contact supporters on their favorite social media site to make online donations easy and ensure your campaign remains top-of-mind.
When to Consider GoodUnited
Because many of the parents at your school are likely already on Facebook or Instagram, this can be a successful fundraiser at just about any time, but it’s especially helpful when you want to fundraise when school is not in session.
6. ShopRaise: Raise Funds While Shopping
With ShopRaise, your supporters can use the app to purchase items they would normally buy anyway. Parents can shop at popular chains like PetSmart, Walmart, or Amazon, and up to 10% of their purchases will go to their cause of choice—which is, in this case, your school! The ShopRaise app is simple to use and comes at no extra cost to you or your supporters.
When to Consider ShopRaise
ShopRaise is a great way to raise extra money during or in between your planned fundraisers. This platform allows your parents and supporters to contribute funds without increasing their normal spending. Because it comes at no extra cost and requires little effort, ShopRaise can be used simultaneously with any other fundraising tool on this list!
7. Double the Donation: Matching Gifts Software
Double the Donation’s matching gift services are used by schools and nonprofits to easily grow revenue. Matching gifts are a form of corporate social responsibility where an employer matches charitable donations that their employees make. With access to one of the largest and most comprehensive matching gift databases, you can identify and send automated asks with all the necessary information to match-eligible donors.
Boosting the number of matching gifts your school secures means that you can easily double the impact that donors make—all without asking them to contribute more from their own pockets.
When to Consider Double the Donation
If many of your parents and community members are already donating frequently, investing in this software may be well worth it. Those donations you’re already getting can be greatly increased through corporate matching gift programs that many of your donors are likely eligible for.
8. GoFundMe: Simple Crowdfunding
GoFundMe is a popular crowdfunding platform that individuals, schools, nonprofits, sports teams, and other organizations can leverage. To get started, users simply start a campaign, add a description and photo or video, and set a goal. Then, they’ll share the campaign page online with friends and family to raise money for their cause.
GoFundMe allows organizations to send updates during the campaign and thank contributors.
When to Consider GoFundMe
This platform is a good option for urgent fundraising needs because it’s so fast and easy to get started. It can also help you reach and engage a broad audience by circulating the page on social media. However, GoFundMe offers limited free features, which make it hard to boost engagement through memorable campaigns.
Additional Resources
99Pledges is one of the highest-quality, most affordable platforms for hosting successful fundraisers that bring in revenue and bring your community together. Our method of fundraising through peer-to-peer fundraisers is great for any time of year and age group, and you can get started in just a day!
From Walk-a-thons to Read-a-thons, the possibilities are endless for planning exciting and engaging fundraisers for all ages. Get started today to experience our simple and effective platform for yourself.
To learn more about school fundraising tips and technology, explore these additional resources:
- Everything You Need to Start a Read-a-Thon Fundraiser. Curious about Read-a-thon fundraisers? Learn how and what you need to get started with this guide.
- The Only Guide You Need to Team Fundraising Platforms. If you’re raising funds for your school’s sports teams or clubs, start with this guide to find the best fundraising tool.
- 55+ Genius School Fundraising Ideas: Shatter Your Goals. Feeling burned out or stuck with fundraiser planning? Check out these fresh ideas to reinvigorate your efforts.
