If you want the most money kept for the least volunteer work, and a fundraiser teachers actually welcome, a Read-A-Thon is hard to beat. Here is everything a PTO leader needs to run one.
Students read and log their minutes while friends and family sponsor them with online donations. There is nothing to buy, nothing to deliver, and no money for volunteers to handle, so one champion can run the whole event in about an hour a week.
How it works
Students read and log their minutes. Friends and family sponsor them with online donations. There is nothing to buy, nothing to deliver, and no money for volunteers to handle. The platform provides payments, marketing materials, and a live reporting dashboard.
What your school keeps
Two models, both simple. In the prize-store model, the school keeps 75% as funds and readers earn 15% of their own donations to spend on RAT Bucks in Read-A-Thon prize store. Prefer to handle rewards yourself? Choose the self-prize model and the school keeps 80%.
How to pitch your board
Boards used to product fundraisers ask three things: how much we keep, how much work it is, and what families will think. The answers are strong on all three: 75-80% kept, about an hour a week, and families prefer a reading event to one more catalog. Lead with money kept and the literacy benefit and the vote takes care of itself.
Run it in five steps
- Sign up free (about ten minutes) and pick your dates.
- Hold a kickoff to get students excited; this drives your result more than anything.
- Send the materials the platform provides by email and text so distant family can sponsor.
- Cheer progress with the dashboard during the reading window.
- Celebrate and report; rewards and totals are handled for you.
A simple four-week timeline
| When | What you do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks out | Sign up, pick dates, and set your goal | ~10 min |
| 2 weeks out | Send the first announcement; ask teachers to mention it | ~20 min |
| Launch day | Hold a short kickoff to excite students | 1 assembly |
| During (1-2 wks) | Share two or three progress updates from the dashboard | ~1 hr/week |
| Wrap-up | Thank families; totals and rewards are handled for you | ~15 min |
What you will need
Less than you would think. There is no inventory to order, no float to manage, and no money for volunteers to handle. You will want a champion to own it, a kickoff moment to launch it, and a way to reach families by email and text, all of which the platform supports with ready-made materials. Distant relatives can sponsor online, so your reach extends well beyond the families who live nearby.
Questions your board will ask
- "What does the school actually keep?" 75% as funds plus 15% to readers for RAT Bucks in the prize store, or 80% if you self-prize; well above what product fundraisers net.
- "How much work is it for us?" About an hour a week, because the platform carries payments, materials, and reporting.
- "What will families think?" Most welcome a reading event over another catalog, and teachers support it because it reinforces literacy.
- "What if we have only ever done product sales?" That is the common starting point. Lead the pitch with money kept and the literacy benefit, and the switch is an easy yes.