Introducing Our Latest Disney Trip Winner. Best of all, it encourages a love for reading amongst young people of all ages. If your PTA or school is holding this event, you can take teachers and parents help as well. If your nonprofits work with cellular companies to run the text-to-give campaigns, the cellular companies will transfer the funds to the nonprofit once donors pay their phone bills, which means the money might take 30 to 60 days to reach them. Want to learn more about Read-A-Thon? One of the most widely publicized text-to-give campaigns was The Red Crosss relief efforts after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Kids and parents of all ages and income levels can participate. These donations are coded to you and are tracked and reported within your Fund-A . Maintaining the support of this new generation of philanthropistsand immediate access to them via their phonesrequires restraint. 3/3/2023 9:00 am. A-thon-style events have the potential to bring in significant fundraising dollars for any organization that takes them on. Supporters will be able to donate online by giving a flat donation (e.g. Revamp your website and online donation forms so they will load faster and be more easily navigable on mobile devices. Yes, if they choose that option. Our favorite part was that we could encourage a love of reading while raising money for the school. It started around 6 p.m. with a . Join 5,000+ schools around the world using Read-A-Thon. Donors who give via text usually make a quick decision in response to images they saw on television and involved minimal background research. We hope our ideas and insights will help you decide if text-to-give fundraising is the right method for you, and if so, that youll be able to get the most out of it. We recommend using a multichannel approach when it comes to promoting a text code. Organizers. Speaking of educational fundraising, library fundraisers are another great way to support a love of learning while bringing in critical funds for your school. Create your signature and click Ok. Press Done. In 1973, a small group of Penn State students held the first dance mMarathon, with 39 couples participating and raising $2,000. He and his family will enjoy their all-expense paid trip later this year. It also meets donors where theyre at, which is often on their phones. RAT is a no brainer when it comes to fundraising. Just sign up, create your event, and encourage students to create donation pages to send to family and friends. 0% Platform fee. This worry is understandable, with the United States literacy ranking 125th worldwide. If you're hoping to raise a lot of money (and have a lot of volunteers on hand to help!) Before starting your read-a-thon campaign, youll need to finalize the following details: Now you have all the details for your read-a-thon fundraiser. For a minimum donation of $500 your business's name and logo will be featured on all the Carlisle Football Lift A Thon Fundraiser 2023 webpages. So spreading the word about your online fundraiser to the student body should be one of your greatest concerns. Downloads: 7433 Hot! They decide how much theyll read and the amount they hope to raise. From auto-generated participant fundraising pages and leaderboards, to easy payments and instant collections PTFundraiser has what you need. With Read-A-Thon's effortless online platform, you can raise thousands of dollars just by encouraging students to read. Check out this example here. $0 Startup costs. St. Francis - St. Stephen School raised $5,352 with 99 students that went directly to their financial aid fund to support returning & newly enrolled students. Also, be as specific as possible (i.e. Recipient of Society of Women Engineers Certificate of Merit, RIT Computing Medal, AP Scholar with Distinction, top 30 individually at Maine State Math Meet for class of 2021 in both 2017 and 2018 . A receipt and a thank-you email follows directly after that. Your organization can use individual peer-to-peer campaigns as signup for each kid. How much money do you hope to raise, and how quickly do you need it? In this day and age, social media is your best friend. Just like with any other fundraising method, you must keep track of the results of your text-to-give campaign. Auctions are a popular and highly lucrative type of fundraiser, and now modern auction software has made it possible to not only make your next auction completely virtual, but also mobile-friendly!Online auctions work in much the same way as a regular auctionexcluding the cost of a venue and catering. They dont even have to turn on their computers. A typical Write-a-thon may run for 1-2 months, depending on computer availability at school and home. In return for their fundraising efforts, Love My Library will give students the chance to choose virtual books from over 3 million different titles. Turn this timeless event into a fresh and inventive online fundraising idea by using platforms like Facebook Watch Party or Teleparty to host a virtual watch party. Also, share your text-to-give information in your direct mail outreach or your e-newsletters. . (You can unsubscribe anytime.). Donors enjoy a simple checkout experience when pledging. You can connect with her on Linkedin. At the end of the day, the focus is to get students active and engaged whether that's physically and/or mentally. And remember, our customer service will help every step of the way as well. While this fundraising type can be a bit trickier and require some research, crowdfunding has the potential to bring in massive amounts of revenue for your school! Share the kids progress on your social media accounts and your crowdfunding campaign. You must also check how each fundraising campaign is doing. I plan to have the charity event in NC is TBD. 1. Will all students follow the same measurements? Baker PTA earns a percentage of sales from Scholastic, our book fair vendor. Simply go into the platform to monitor the progress of your online fundraiser. Customize your mobile-responsive donation pages with logos, fields, and gift amounts. Say goodbye to raffles and bake sales! 99Pledges will donate 6 Kindle Fires to schools that raise $10,000.) When choosing the right text-to-give platform for you, make sure your providers software offers all the below-mentioned features. . However, most dont differentiate between the two terms and use them interchangeably, regardless of if the donation is made by donors giving on a mobile donation page or via their cell phone bill. Time to set-up your Read-A-Thon! This is another a-thon fundraiser that fosters a giving spirit and sense of duty within the larger community. To begin selling your own custom merchandise, create an online store on your school website. Not only is this a simple process for your donors, for nonprofits it will take only a few minutes to get started. Click on that and your file will appear in the editing area. They are the people who will help you promote this page and raise more money. The kids LOVED the Read-A-Thon! Read-A-Thon not only provides print marketing packages, but social media, text, and email marketing tools to help you maximize promotion for your online fundraiser. The following funds will go partly towards these kids and partly towards the next batch. Check out Donorbox Premium get the following to ensure fundraising success: Explore tons of helpful articles, free resources, downloadable samples, and more on the Donorbox Nonprofit Blog. Online school fundraising has never been easier. Work with a vendor who offers plenty of options, so you can provide your donors with the most flexible and convenient donation experience. You can turn this event into a reading event for all community members by including some games and fun activities for parents and teachers as well. The first group you should address is your board. Share your code Speak aloud, share on the web or social media, print on handouts or project it at events with Live Display. Be sure to indicate that you're a "Teacher" and follow the guided tour. Traditionally, you have your supporters pull out their checkbook, envelope, and stamp to mail a donation. In the past year, mobile giving donations have increased by 205%. As you go along, make note of what works and what doesnt, and then adjust to keep honing your strategies and making more out of your text-to-give campaigns. Of those who encouraged a friend or family member to contribute, 75% did so by talking with others in person, and 38% did so via voice call. With text-to-give, simplicity is everything. Just be sure to pick out high-value goods and experiences that participants would be willing to bid on, partner with a reliable auction software provider, and promote to parents and community members. To learn more about best practices and how to run the most effective Read-a-thon fundraiser, check out our Read-a-thon Basics resource. Activity ideas: Running, Jogging, Walking, Biking, Dancing, Jump Roping, Skipping, Playing Sports. A fundraising coach to help meet your fundraising goals, An account ambassador who guides you through challenges, Team of tech experts whenever you need their support, High-performance tools that guarantee more donations and better donor management. Additionally, these widgets also offer tips for students to find and attract sponsors, allowing them to funnel attention to their fundraising webpage and expand your network of supporters. Get your students reading Requiring more steps would help solve this, but it would then go against the speed and the simplicity of a text-to-give process. Math-a-thon: Students receive a math worksheet at home based on their grade level and count how many math problems were solved correctly. You no longer need to spend days or even weeks coordinating faculty, staff, and volunteers and allocating precious school funds to host your next fundraiser. It was a strong introduction to a phenomenon that would soon become more and more common. You're not only thanking them for their money but also their involvement. Each program is assigned an Hour-A-Thon Fundraising Specialist to directly run the program with coaches. Ask your volunteers to assist them whenever needed. That way, you can invite the kids parents to create fundraising pages in the kids names. Set the ground rules. Or, if you'd like to learn more about Read-a-thon fundraising and the Read-A-Thon platform, schedule a meeting with one of our specialists. In keeping with our commitment to data privacy and security, Give Lively takes full measures to protect all collected data, both where it is stored and when it is transferred between authorized parties. Other, more complicated online fundraising platforms require upfront technical knowledge and extensive configuration. Online fundraisers have rapidly become a cornerstone of school fundraising programs, offering an organized, safer, and more effective way for you to raise money for your institution. Text-to-give is one of the simplest ways to donate. Our features are easy to set up, simple to use, and powerful enough to bring you results. With Read-A-Thon, your return on investment is guaranteed, and you should be ready to launch your own virtual Read-a-thon in a matter of minutes. All you need to do is promote your online fundraiser. The Ultimate Online School Fundraising Program, How Read-A-Thon's Online Fundraiser Works, many companies that match gifts for schools. The professional platform feels easy to customize, and connects you to a wide range of useful features that simplify and super-power your teams a-thon fundraising goals. However, next-generation text-to-give services have made the process of online giving less cumbersome by removing the donation cap. Kick-off events are critical in the larger fundraising sales process, as the initial excitement for your campaign will often determine its overall trajectory. Read-A-Thon Fundraising Company Inc. All rights reserved.All Content and materials on Read-A-Thon.com are the property of Read-A-Thon Fundraising Company Inc. Readathon and Read-A-Thon are trademarks of Read-A-Thon Fundraising Company Inc. There are three variants; a typed, drawn or uploaded signature. Your next read-a-thon event can help you raise more money and acquire new donors when powered by expert coaching and premium tools. If raising enough funds is your concern, start an online crowdfunding campaign to meet your fundraising goal within a short period of time. This was our first time doing a Read-a-thon and we LOVED it! When to hold a read-a-thon and for how long, how would the be days divided, for example-. Whether your campus is in person, virtual, or hybrid, Read-A-Thon is safe, secure, and simple to run. If youre able to, designate a text-to-give coordinator or a coordinating team (depending on the size of your nonprofit and the program). Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. The learning curve is low, so donors can give without much hassle.