Are you tired of fundraisers that ask you to sell things? Regina Mayes was. Gilbert Elementary School’s PTSO co-president in Gilbert, Arizona, Mayes was looking for better options. Rather than asking families to sell things, the preschool through sixth grade school with about 600 students used PledgeStar for the second year in a row to host the school’s direct-donation drive.
“We sent the students home with a flier and package of Life Savers with a note that said, ‘You are a lifesaver for supporting our school’ and a QR code that directed them to the PledgeStar site,” says Mayes. “We also included it in our school newsletter, sent digital fliers, posted it on the school’s marquee, talked about it during morning announcements, and posted headlines like, ‘Are you tired of fundraisers that ask you to sell things?’ on the school’s social media.”
Mayes is also hypersensitive to Gilbert parents’ needs. “We are a Title 1 school,” says Mayes, “so we want the most benefit for the funds we raised and to not burden families who are already in a tight spot. We don’t want them to feel pressured to financially contribute. Before we found PledgeStar, the companies we were using kept 40% of our earnings. PledgeStar not only has a much smaller service fee, but it also lets families opt to cover credit card service fees for payments.”
Gilbert kicked off the drive with an assembly hosted by a professional emcee who got the kids excited about the fundraiser. “We gave out a participation prize just for signing up,” says Mayes. “That way, kids of families that were not financially able to contribute wouldn’t feel left out.” Using PledgeStar’s tracking system, Gilbert set schoolwide goals. “When we hit $5,000, the kids got music at lunch,” says Mayes. “When we hit $10,000, our school therapy dog participated in spirit week activities. When we hit $20,000, a barber shaved and dyed a tiger paw into the back of the principal’s hair during our Otter Pop party.”
“Our goal was $20,000, and we raised $28,000.” explains Mayes. “At the end of the drive, we had a big celebration where students received prizes.” As an added incentive to raise additional funds, faculty and staff participated in a dance-off at the celebration as a reward for the students reaching their final goal. “The kids voted them off until there was a final winner,” says Mayes. “The emcee returned to help facilitate, and a parent who is a professional photographer documented the whole event.”
Gilbert's parents loved PledgeStar last year, and they loved it even more this year. “Families could easily import their information and contacts from the year before rather than re-entering everything,” says Mayes. “Families without email contacts appreciated the text pledge requests.”
PledgeStar was very user-friendly for Gilbert parents. “Parents only have to set up one account for multiple children so that grandparents wouldn’t get duplicate emails from each student,” says Mayes. “PledgeStar only sent a few messages to families. Registration wasn’t time-intensive, and we could direct families to PledgeStar to help them set up their accounts. PledgeStar was very reachable and supportive.”
By exceeding their goal, the PTSO fully funded their budget and still had money to donate toward school improvement projects. “It took the pressure off of us as a volunteer organization,” says Mayes. “When teachers ask us to fund a special project, we are able to do so. It’s really exciting for our executive board.”