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How is Zeffy free?
How is Zeffy free?
Zeffy relies entirely on optional contributions from donors. At the payment confirmation step - we ask donors to leave an optional contribution to Zeffy.
You know the needs: a new playground, updated computers, athletics equipment that isn't older than your students, or prom decorations they'll actually want to photograph. There's always something to improve when you want the best for your students.
And you know the solution: a school fundraiser. But you can't just set up a table with brownies and a cash box anymore. Parents and students alike need to be able to tap cards, phones, and watches to give, and you need those donations organized and accessible as you bring your school fundraising ideas to life.
So, which are the best fundraising apps for schools? Which fundraising platform would make charitable giving easy? Whether you’re in charge of donations at your school or work for a school fundraising company, we’ve got you covered with the complete guide below.
9 Best fundraising platforms for schools at a glance
Responsive Table
Best features for schools
Pricing
Transaction fees
User ratings
Zeffy
✅ Free fundraising, unlimited support.
✅ Host raffles, events, crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer fundraisers
✅ Donor management and engagement
100% free - No hidden costs
0%
4.9/5
GiveButter
✅ Team fundraising
✅ Text to donate
✅ 160+ features for schools
Whether you're an elementary school administrator or a university dean, Zeffy can boost your school fundraising ideas.
Key features
Integrated event ticketing, raffles, and e-commerce stores
Customizable fundraising landing pages
Donor tracking and outreach capabilities
Easy-to-use system
100% free and unlimited customer support
Expected outcomes for schools
With Zeffy, 100% of donations go directly to the school to maximize what you raise. Schools can save an average of 5-7% in platform and transaction fees with the free platform that covers various campaigns and tracking capabilities.
Education-based nonprofits like Community Music School of Santa Cruz love Zeffy’s platform and see results like raising $47,664 for youth programs and scholarships while saving an additional $2,383 in fees.
Limitations
While Zeffy is versatile, other platforms come with more intricate integrations to other solutions.
Pricing
Everything is free with Zeffy, and it always will be. No platform or transaction fees–ever.
Expert reviews
Zeffy has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“It really has been so amazing. I am new to our school's PTA and I took on the task of setting up a new payment platform for our fundraising because the one we used in the past had very high fees. I feel so happy I stumbled across Zeffy because they helped make what I thought would be a confusing and difficult task into something so easy and really beneficial to our school.” - Jennifer T.
2. Givebutter: Best to spark friendly competition for your fundraiser
Givebutter is one of the most social fundraising platforms for schools, helping you turn school spirit into a fun event or campaign. With their teams feature, you can inspire urgency in your donors by turning giving into a competition.
Key features
Team-based giving
Custom school fundraising website with video appeal integration
Text-to-donate can encourage parents to spread the word
Free training and set up assistance
Expected outcomes for schools
GiveButter shares that donor engagement can increase by 15-25% through dynamic live streams, peer-to-peer fundraising, and interactive campaigns for your school fundraising ideas. Fenwick High School is a great example, raising over $189,000 through day of giving on the Givebutter platform.
Cons
Some users were surprised by how quickly processing fees added up, and several were frustrated by the limited customization options.
Pricing
There's no platform fee or subscription if you enable donor tips to cover the 2.9% + 30¢ processing fee. You can turn off tipping which will add a 1 to 5% platform fee, depending on which features (donation form, fundraising page, and/or event) you use, and the processing fee still applies.
Expert reviews
Givebutter has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“Givebutter has given my small private school and congregation a platform to offer its memebers a way to support the ministry happnening on our campus. We have used Givebutter to allow our members to give weekly offerings, pay for field trips, give a "free will offering" at events, and also has allowed us to accept digital payments for our athletic activities.” – Jeff W.
3. Bloomerang: Best to keep track of your donors
Initially designed as a donor tracking system, Bloomerang has become a one-stop school fundraising platform and development CMS.
Key features
Online-first giving
Intense donor segmentation and insights
Flexible donor communication tools
Automatable donor reports
Expected outcomes for schools
Bloomerang prides itself on increasing donor retention and revenue growth through more innovative segmentation and recurring giving options that improve long-term donor relationships. School fundraising ideas are easier to implement with tools that bring them to life.
Schools using Bloomerang can raise 25% more year-over-year and grow their donor base by 15%. For Bellarmine Preparatory School, that led to over 10,000 registered alums and a simpler way to engage them all in charitable giving.
Limitations
Bloomerang, a more online fundraising platform, offers insights that may be worth the cost for organizations with smaller fundraising teams who may not have the time to sort and pursue their donors with such specificity.
Pricing
Platform fees start at $125 monthly for 1000 donor reports and 5000 emails. Their fundraising feature is an add-on requiring an additional 1% of raised funds and a transaction fee of up to 2.2% + 30¢ that donors may choose to cover.
Expert reviews
Bloomerang has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“Overall, my experience with Bloomerang has been positive. The software is user-friendly and offers great tools for managing donors and tracking fundraising efforts. It’s especially strong in its reporting and analytics features. However, the limited customization options might be a drawback for some organizations.” - Al-nor A. (education management)
4. RallyUp: Best to incentivize student fundraisers
With RallyUp's fundraising platform for schools, you can host ten fundraising events and encourage your students to campaign for donations with an optional prizes feature.
Key features
You can host multiple fundraising events to invite students to
Team leaderboards make for a fun school fundraiser
Strong peer-to-peer campaigning with optional prizes
Expected outcomes for schools
RallyUp’s multi-format campaigns can generate more engagement and excitement from participants. Schools may see up to an increase in funds raised thanks to gamified experiences and real-time progress tracking.
For example, The St. Francis de Sales School raised over 40% more in a quarter of the time using RallyUp Raffles. They turned a 6-week fundraising process into 9 days to achieve more. Raffles are great school fundraising ideas, and have potential to speed up the process.
Limitations
Some users report that the platform has a confusing back end when you're trying to set up a new event and a lack of helpful communication from customer support when they ran into issues.
Pricing
RallyUp's free version is supported by donor tipping, meaning your donors would cover the 7.5% per transaction platform fee and you will be charged a 1.9 to 2.9% + 30¢ processing fee, depending on which payment processor you use. You can add additional features for $99 per month with the same transaction fees.
Expert reviews
RallyUp has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“Overall, we have had great experience. I have multiple volunteers on the back end every time we do a raffle and all find it easy to use/manipulate the data, and make update on the site.” – Lynn R.
Founded by a former quarterback, Snap! Raise is one of the few sports-focused fundraising platforms for schools.
Key features
Team-focused fundraisers and individualized messaging
Merch stores
Mobile app and gamification
Expected outcomes for schools
Snap! Raise can simplifiy everything from district-wide charity events to middle school fundraising ideas with minimal school involvement, often raising more than traditional efforts and retaining a large percentage of funds raised after platform fees.
The Chesnee High School Cheerleading Coach shared her praise for Snap! Raise after using the tool to fundraise during Covid and being able to engage donors online in an easy way. They were able to raise over $22,000 in 2022 because of it.
Limitations
Snap! Raise runs on teams, and players can be required to bring 20 emails each, which some teams found challenging. Users also report slow processing times for getting funds.
Pricing
Flat fee of 20% of total funds raised.
Expert reviews
Snap! Raise has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“I love how quickly you can get the fundraiser started and get donations flowing in immediately. I really like how the emails get sent out automatically once a week after the original send. This helps us to generate more donations as the month goes on. I also like how the fundraiser time can be customized. I wanted a shorter time frame for the donations and my rep was able to do that for me.” – Shaun C.
6. OneCause: Best for first time school fundraisers
If you've never run a school fundraising campaign, OneCause aims to take the mystery out of fundraising campaigns.
Key features
Supports virtual fundraising, event ticketing and auctions
Library full of information on school fundraising
Their support staff is on hand for ideation through implementation
Expected outcomes for schools
OneCause enhances school fundraising by boosting event proceeds through mobile bidding and virtual auction features. Schools can see more donor participation thanks to seamless hybrid event management and integrated promotions.
Using OneCause, schools like DeSales High School take advantage of key giving days like Giving Tuesday, bringing fundraising online to raise $15,000 in 24 hours. High school fundraising ideas like this one can maximize on days where its naturally easier to raise funds and rally the community.
Limitations
If you need help with your events, some of the OneCause tiers include the option to have OneCause staff on site to facilitate your fundraising efforts. But if you have a good idea of what you're doing and how to do it, this fundraising platform may not be worth the cost.
Pricing
Platform fees are $495 to $995, according to software review site G2. Processing fees default to 3.5% + 35¢ per transaction fee, and donors can cover these fees.
Expert reviews
OneCause has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“While the community was sure it wouldn't work for them, it did! The ease of bidding from anywhere you are and sharing the items with friends and family near and far is extremely beneficial. Our auction proceeds have nearly doubled since we started using Onecause to its full capacity.” – Sheena W.
7. Betterworld: Best crowdfunding site for education
With BetterWorld's transparency-focused online school fundraising platform, booster clubs, and students, you can follow up campaigns with photos and videos that show supporters exactly which improvements their gifts facilitated.
Key features
Supports virtual and in-person auctions, giveaways, crowdfunding and event ticketing
Consignment items can be auctioned on the platform to encourage students
Impact-giving pages raise money and improve donor relationships
Video and text communication support
Expected outcomes for schools
With BetterWorld, there’s a potential for all donations to go directly to your school without the burden of platform fees, and an option for donors to cover payment fees.
Over 100,000 nonprofits use BetterWorld to experience increases in donor participation by removing financial friction and offering free, easy-to-share fundraising pages.
Limitations
Some users report a challenging experience with the interface, but most enjoy the ease of use. BetterWorld doesn't have as many event types as some platforms.
Pricing
The platform is free for users, and the donors can cover processing fees of 2.9% + $0.30.
Expert reviews
BetterWorld has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“The site is easy to set up, manage, and track. Because we can use our own photos and graphics and create our own message to go out, constituent interaction with the site has a personalized touch. Constituents purchasing tickets for fundraising events find it easy to use. As a small organization, having access to this type of online presence has been so helpful.” – Bonnie H (Education management)
8. Classy: Best to set up quickly for lasting impact
Classy's unlimited event landing pages are quick and easy to set up, and they're geared toward recurring giving.
Key features
Unlimited event pages and specialized donation forms
Analytics, automation, and payment integrations
Optional support and design team
Expected outcomes for schools
Classy is well-known for increasing recurring donations through personalized, visually appealing campaigns that engage donors. Schools can raise more per donation by leveraging data-driven storytelling and peer-to-peer fundraising options.
For example, ScholarMatch saved over 100 hours of admin work in a year using Classy and its Zapier integration to make life easier.
Limitations
Classy is great for a set-it-and-forget-it donation page, but the lower tiers don't include event support or more robust outreach programs.
Pricing
Classy offers three tiers with customizable features, but costs aren't all published online. Platform fees start at $299, as quoted on software review site G2, and transactions have a 4% fee.
Expert reviews
Classy has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“While Classy is extremely user-friendly, easy-to-use, and aesthetically-pleasing, the most impressive part of the platform is the excellent customer service. It is truly above and beyond service, and they are able to answer even the most basic questions without making you feel bad about asking.” – Verified fundraiser
If you know you're sticking with your favorite event, DoJiggy could be the right choice for your school.
Key features
Specialized support for nearly a dozen event types
Unlimited text-to-donate
Fundraising websites with social and messaging integration
Expected outcomes for schools
DoJiggy streamlines school fundraising and helps schools raise more. Schools can also boost donor satisfaction with customizable campaign pages and seamless event experiences.
One case study shows how the Claremont Middle School PTA supports an annual event that has brought in nearly $1,000,000 over the past decade. That resulted in more staff to support students, an after-school program, and school supplies for the community.
Limitations
DoJiggy's fees are higher than the average school fundraising platform, and some reviews say their donation pages were difficult to customize without prior coding knowledge. Users also note the generic reports after fundraising efforts.
Pricing
Each type of event has a different fee, from 1.9% to 7.9%. Donors can cover both the platform and processing fees of 2.2-2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.
Expert reviews
DoJiggy has the following ratings from well-trusted review sites across the industry:
“We use the software for our school jog-a-thon fundraiser. Only the kids who will be collecting pledges online create pages. Some of the features are really good: - the ability to connect to PayPal which is what we use to collect donations online and keeps things all together - the ability to create "teams", which in our case are classrooms, that complete for the most money raised - the ability to have the administrator assign kids to the teams since most people forget to select their teams when they sign up - the ability to create a page template which makes it easier for the kids to start their pages - the tracking software and reports are super helpful.” - Virginia F.
Schools can thrive with various funding sources, including grants, corporate sponsorships, and creative ideas to bring communities together around financial goals. Grants can support academic programs, technology gaps, and extracurricular activities with a hefty price tag. At the same time, corporate sponsorships can become a long-term partner to count on for regular programming.
Adding fresh ideas to fundraisers and bringing things online through donation pages, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, crowdfunding, and e-commerce, alongside engaging in-person events, helps your school reach more people in ways they look forward to throughout the academic year (and maybe even the summer, too!)
So, what type of fundraising ideas truly stand out among students? Here are some creative and enjoyable ideas to engage students at every school level while raising money and encouraging participation in charitable events:
Elementary school students: Fun, interactive events where kids can be active or creative (dance-a-thons, walk-a-thons, art shows, read-a-thons).
Middle school students: Competitive or team-based events that engage their interests (game nights, talent shows, color runs, craft fairs).
High school students: Club or team-focused fundraisers that promote collaboration and leadership (sports challenges, car washes, trivia nights, peer-to-peer campaigns).
College students: Networking, skill-building, and service-based fundraisers that align with their interests and offer incentives (crowdfunding, auctions, hackathons, benefit concerts).
Supporting the best online fundraising strategies for schools
When raising money for your school, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Before you make your decision, take some time to refine your fundraising strategy and consider how to make the most of your platform’s features. Here's a quick guide to keep your school ahead of fundraising trends.
Refine your mission before choosing software
Start by answering these key questions to flesh out your school fundraising idea:
What is your primary need? (New technology, extracurricular programs, athletic equipment?)
Where (if applicable) will you host your fundraiser? (school gym, school community center, a local restaurant, the school’s parking lot, etc.)
Who will you ask for contributions to raise funds? (Parents, alumni, local businesses, or the broader community?)
Is this a one-time ask or a recurring campaign?
Will you engage local businesses, family members, or community members to support the fundraiser?
How will you encourage students to get involved?
Once you’ve clarified your school fundraising event’s what, why, and who, you can think about how to grab attention. Will you sell raffle tickets, host a read-a-thon, or set up a simple donation page? Your chosen method directly influences your desired features in a fundraising platform.
When comparing platforms, don’t just look at price—consider how well the software supports your school’s goals. Here’s what to focus on:
Customer satisfaction and reliability: The last thing you want is a glitchy donation page or unresponsive customer service during a critical campaign. Look for platforms with high ratings on review sites like the ones we’ve touched, where real users share feedback on ease of use, support, and overall functionality.
Cost and fee transparency: Price matters, but so does value. Ensure the platform offers the necessary features without unnecessary add-ons that could drain your budget. Look for transparent pricing with no hidden transaction or processing fees.
Multiple campaign types: If your fundraiser involves more than a simple donation page, make sure the platform can handle the specific type of event or campaign you’re running (e-commerce, recurring donations, auctions, raffles, events. etc.). This way, you can engage your community members at school events throughout the year and support all of your fundraising ideas.
Maximize your potential and consider fundraising trends
Once you’ve selected the right software, it’s time to unlock its full potential. Education fundraising trends are about personalization and working smarter (not harder). The following features may be helpful to ask about as you think about tech that scales with you:
Automation: Set up automatic thank-you emails and updates to keep donors engaged and informed without needing to monitor communication 24/7.
Analytics: Use built-in reporting features to monitor donor behavior and adjust your strategy in real time, offering a personal touch to everything you do.
Peer-to-peer fundraising: Empower students, parents, and alumni to create their own mini-campaigns, amplifying your reach, especially on social media channels they’re already using.
Case study: How Torrey Pines Elementary raised more than $100,000 (and kept it all!) with Zeffy's school fundraising platform
For nearly 30 years, the Torrey Pines Elementary School Foundation has been closing the gap between state funding and the needs of its students with robust fundraising efforts.
The foundation expects about half of its yearly budget to come from a simple online fundraising ask. They collect the rest from events and corporate sponsorships. For the 2024 school year, they've raised over $100,000, ⅔ of their ultimate goal, with more than six months until the school year starts.
With other fundraising platforms, the Foundation would keep an average of $95,000. (The fees TPESF saved were calculated with a 5% average fee—platform and credit card transaction fees combined). But with Zeffy, every cent has gone straight into the school budget.
Yes, there is a free fundraising platform for schools: Zeffy. Several organizations support school fundraising efforts with no platform fees. However, every other school fundraising platform includes transaction fees. Zeffy doesn't charge for our online fundraising platforms; we never will.
There is a fundraising app for sports teams, Snap!Raise. A former quarterback created this team-based fundraising system and integrates seamlessly into a school sports team's dynamics. Snap!Raise charges a flat fee of 20% for in-person or virtual school fundraisers.
You can use GoFundMe for education. GoFundMe is available to organizations and individuals, so teachers needing classroom supplies and undergraduates trying to make ends meet after loans are as eligible to fundraise with GoFundMe as dedicated school development offices. It's also a free fundraising platform, charging only 2.9% + 30¢ per donation.
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