Elaine Uehlein, parent council member at Anderson School in Bozeman, Montana, discovered PledgeStar two years ago and began using it to run the school’s annual Fun Run.

From the moment the event kicked off, the parent council was thrilled with PledgeStar’s ease of use—especially since their previous fundraiser, an annual gala, was not only complicated to plan but also time-consuming to manage. “There was less handling of funds with PledgeStar,” says Ms. Uehlein. “We wanted a single platform to handle all of the financials, and that’s what we got with PledgeStar. We were even able to manually handle checks.”

Anderson School’s Fun Run also proved to be wildly more lucrative by using PledgeStar when compared to the school’s gala event. “We raised about $50,000 both years we used PledgeStar,” Ms. Uehlein explains, “while we were only raising about $30,000 with the gala—which was also a lot more work.”

Even the best event only succeeds when the community participates, and Ms. Uehlein credits PledgeStar’s communication element to the Fun Run’s success: “With the ability to text and email friends and family with PledgeStar, we felt like we were getting a much bigger reach than just sending home flyers like we did in the past,” she says. Anderson School also motivated the students to fundraise by offering amazing prizes for top earners, which remained on display at school throughout the fundraiser.

“We worked really hard to find prizes that appealed to all ages,” says Ms. Uehlein, who also explains that some of the most sought-after prizes didn’t cost the parent council a dime. “Community members donated gift cards, and experiences such as ‘principal for the day’ was a huge draw,” she adds.

One prize got the kids more excited than any of the others. “The class that earned the most money got to pie our principal,” says Ms. Uehlein.

Anderson School is not only thrilled with the success of the Fun Run but also what the funds will provide to the small, 200-student school. “We have a lot of needs,” explains Ms. Uehlein. “Now, with these funds raised through PledgeStar, we are able to really help with purchasing curriculum, the music program, teacher classroom stipends, teacher holiday gifts, and guest speakers. We will also be able to maintain a healthy base for our budget in the coming years.”