Bonfire is custom-apparel fundraising: you design a shirt, Bonfire prints and ships it, and the school keeps the profit on each sale. Read-A-Thon is a no-product reading fundraiser — students read and sponsors donate, with nothing to buy or ship. Bonfire is a great fit when school spirit-wear is the goal. Read-A-Thon is the better fit when you want every student raising money, not just the families who want a shirt.
Bonfire vs. Read-A-Thon at a glance
Both are no-inventory and free to start; the difference is that one still sells a product. Bonfire figures below are as published on bonfire.com (captured August 2026).
| Bonfire | Read-A-Thon | |
|---|---|---|
| The model | Sell custom t-shirts at a profit | Collect donations for reading |
| What the school keeps | Profit per shirt (often ~$9–$14), free to run; 8% only if you enable extra contributions | 75% (prize store) or 80% (self-run rewards) |
| Who participates | Families who want to buy a shirt | Every student, plus sponsors anywhere |
| Ceiling | Capped by shirt demand | Capped by participation and reach |
Bonfire removes the worst parts of a product sale — no inventory, no delivery. But it is still a product sale: your total is limited by how many people want the shirt.
When Bonfire is the right call
Bonfire is a genuinely clever product, and for the right goal it is excellent.
- You want spirit-wear anyway. If your school was going to make a shirt regardless, Bonfire turns that into a fundraiser at no extra cost or inventory risk.
- You have a strong design or moment. A great mascot tee, a championship shirt, or a milestone design can sell itself and raise real money.
- You want something tangible. Some communities respond to getting a keepsake for their support, and apparel delivers that.
As a spirit-wear-plus-fundraiser, Bonfire is hard to fault.
Why reading raises across the whole school
The ceiling is the difference. A shirt sale earns from the subset who buy; a reading fundraiser earns from everyone who takes part:
- Participation is not limited to buyers. Not every family wants a shirt, but every student can read — and every reader can attract sponsors, including relatives far away.
- No size charts, no fulfilment questions. Even with Bonfire handling printing, apparel brings sizing, design rounds, and "where is my shirt" questions. Reading has none of that.
- A higher, cleaner share. You keep 75–80% of donations rather than a per-unit profit margin that depends on base cost and quantity.
- A literacy outcome. The fundraiser doubles as a reading initiative, which earns classroom support a shirt sale does not.
The honest read: for pure spirit-wear, Bonfire is great. For maximum participation and a literacy tie-in, reading wins.
How to choose
- Do you want a product or participation? If a shirt is the point, Bonfire; if broad participation is, reading.
- Do you already need spirit-wear? If yes, Bonfire adds a fundraiser to something you were doing anyway.
- Do you want a literacy angle? Only the reading model provides one.
You can even run a Read-A-Thon as your main event and offer a Bonfire shirt on the side. To make reading the fundraiser, start free or see how it works.