Ask anyone involved in a school sport or program of any sort and they’ll all agree on a couple of things. First, they’ll all agree that every program can benefit from greater funding. Second, they’ll agree that programs don’t fund themselves. Fees paid by participants can be a great start towards paying for equipment, training, and other things, but they only go so far. Fees aren’t usually enough on their own, especially if the group does any sort of traveling. That’s where fundraising comes into play. Fundraising is a great way to get the money you need to fund your program. Running a successful fundraising event can be easier said than done though. Fortunately, there are some great fundraising platforms and sites that can make fundraising efforts go more smoothly.
With SuccessFund, administrators can review, provide feedback for, edit, and approve fundraisers faster than ever before. There’s no need for physical paperwork, cutting down on lost paperwork and approval timelines. Transparency and security are top priorities, which districts also love.
Collecting payments has never been easier than with SuccessFund. This online fundraising platform allows you to collect digital payments securely using credit cards, Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even Venmo. That’s a pretty big deal since Venmo payments aren’t usually allowed for fundraisers. SuccessFund makes it possible to take payments using Venmo in a way that is in line with district policies by eliminating the user-to-user element and maintaining transparency.
Some fundraisers need to track the contributions each student is responsible for. SuccessFund makes that easy. It creates aggregated results that are easy to read. That’s just the beginning of the fundraising tools SuccessFund offers. With SuccessFund you can also track transactions and customize how frequently you receive alerts. Easy order and sponsor management are also key features, as is making it easy to share your fundraiser.
So what kinds of fundraisers can you use SuccessFund for? This fundraising platform works well for donations-only fundraisers, selling products or services, event ticket and concession sales, banner and sponsorship sales, PTA memberships, or event registrations. It’s not currently designed to fully support pledges or “athon” fundraisers–it doesn’t currently track and aggregate pledges. You can still use it to process payments after the amount has been finalized though. Similarly, if you were to hold a silent auction fundraiser, you would not be able to use SuccessFund to manage the bidding process. You could use it to enter the winning bid and collect the payment though.
How much does it cost? SuccessFund charges a fee of $1 + 5% for each payment made through its platform.
Have you ever had trouble getting your fundraiser approved by school administrators? What about handling payment processing or tracking contributions for each student? These are fairly common pain points experienced by fundraiser organizers everywhere. SuccessFund is a fundraising platform designed to address those exact problems.
SuccessFund is another online fundraising platform. 99Pledges is a great fundraising platform that specializes in “athon” fundraisers. “Athon” fundraisers make it easy to get your students and their parents involved in your fundraising efforts. Like SuccssFund, 99Pledges makes it easy to set up and share your fundraiser. Collecting payments and tracking results is also built into the platform. It’s also similar in that it’s a very affordable online fundraising platform to use with a $0 startup fee and 0% platform fee. You’ll still be responsible for the standard 2.9% credit card or Paypal fees plus $0.30 per transaction. What makes 99Pledges stand out is its ability to accept both flat donations and performance-based pledges, a key feature that makes this platform a great choice for pledge-oriented fundraisers.
Like “athon” fundraisers, auction-oriented fundraisers are one of the few types of fundraisers not 100% supported by the SuccessFund platform. If you want a great online fundraising platform that fully supports an auction fundraiser, OneCause is worth considering. Participating in your auction fundraiser is super simple, thanks to OneCause’s mobile bidding tool. Other OneCause features include social media sharing, ticketing, seating planning, registration, auction management, and checkout. OneCause’s online fundraising platform isn’t just limited to auctions though. It also supports fundraising events, peer-to-peer fundraising, virtual fundraising, giving fundraising, and text2give fundraising. Those using OneCause may be charged up to 5% in convenience fees, plus a 4.35% + $0.35 transaction fee per transaction.
One of the keys to running a successful fundraiser is to make it as easy as possible for people to donate to your program. That’s part of the idea behind ShopRaise, a fundraising app that allows your supporters to donate money to your program while they shop. They use ShopRaise to shop for their items (things they would normally be buying anyway). Up to 10% of the value of their purchases gets donated to their cause of choice, which in this case is your school or program. This allows your supporters to make donations without costing them more every month than they would normally spend. Use ShopRaise at no extra cost to you or your supporters. Depending on your school district’s fundraising policy, you may be able to run a fundraiser using ShopRaise at the same time as another fundraiser, making it easier to maximize your donations.
Do you already have a decent base of supporters? If so, Double the Donation could be worth considering, especially with its ability to allow you to tap into corporate businesses. Double the Donation offers matching gifts automation software called 360MatchPro. 360MatchPro increases the percentage of submitted matching gift requests, opened emails about matching gifts, matching gift revenue growth year-over-year, time saved by your team who won’t have to chase down matching gifts anymore, and increased donation amounts due to thoughtful automated matching gift messaging. Finding match-eligible donors is easier than ever, thanks to Double the Donation’s massive, comprehensive matching gift database. The automated ask feature, complete with all the information you need to match up with the right donors, makes contact practically effortless. This platform is pricier than the other ones to use. Double the Donation offers three tiers of plans with pricing at $999 per year, $1500 per year, or custom pricing, depending on the total annual revenue you bring in or total annual gift-matching revenue.
Which online fundraising platform or site you should use for your program’s fundraiser may depend on what sort of fundraiser you are doing. Some fundraising platforms are designed for specific types of fundraisers, while other fundraising websites or platforms, like SuccessFund, may work for a wide range of fundraisers. You may need to pay fees to use some fundraising sites. Pay attention to how those fees are assessed and the dollar value you are expected to pay. The type of fundraiser, the fee structure, and how intuitive the platform is to use should all influence what site or platform you choose to use. Remember, if you have any questions about how to use SuccessFund for your school’s fundraiser, we are more than happy to help!
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