Pledge Drive Fundraising
Raise 50% More.
No Platform Fees.
Skip the door-to-door asks and awkward phone calls. PledgeStar turns your Pledge Drive into a simple online campaign that engages your whole community, with zero platform fees and no event required.
No upfront cost. No commitment.
A Pledge Drive That Fits Every School
No event required. Thousands of schools choose PledgeStar because it adapts to any Pledge Drive style. Here are the most popular ways schools bring theirs to life.
Flat Pledge
- Fixed Amount
- Simple to Ask
Incentive Prizes
- Rewards for Top Givers
- Boosts Giving
Family Challenge
- Friendly Competition
- Whole-Family Ask
Class Competition
- Class vs. Class
- Prize for Top Room
Virtual Drive
- No Event Needed
- Ask Anytime
Build Your Own
- Custom Tiers
- Custom Goals
Simplify Your Fundraising
Skip the door-to-door soliciting. Engage your whole community online, no event required.
In a Pledge Drive, students ask for donations from family and friends to help fund programs and equipment that enrich their education. Unlike Jog-A-Thons, Walk-A-Thons, or Read-A-Thons, a Pledge Drive requires no specific event to raise money, so schools can launch a campaign any time of year.
Pledge Drives deliver one of the easiest ways for schools to raise significant funds, and they do not require students to sell or distribute products. Many schools also offer incentive prizes, small rewards for hitting fundraising milestones, to boost participation and spirit.
- No product sales, packing, or delivery
- No specific date or event required
- Simple flat pledges, with optional incentive prizes for top fundraisers
- Ideal for classrooms, grade levels, or the whole school
After entering your campaign details, share the registration page with your families so they can create their own personalized fundraising pages. The personalized invitations invite friends and family to donate by email, text, and social media, each with a secure link for flat pledge donations. PledgeStar grows your donor pool, simplifies collection, and offers easy reporting so you can focus on your community.
Promote the Drive
Spreading the word about your Pledge Drive genuinely impacts its success, and PledgeStar makes promotion easy. Families mobilize friends and relatives with customizable emails and social media sharing options, improving your campaign's visibility and encouraging more participation and contributions.
Ask for Pledges
Participants collect pledges by sharing their personal page before, during, and after the drive. With PledgeStar's easy-to-use platform, parents and students track donations in real time, keeping the excitement and momentum high.
Say Thank You
The Pledge Drive creates a sense of community and gratitude. Every donation, big or small, gets your school closer to its goal and helps donors feel connected to the classroom they support.
Receive Donations
Donations are made directly into your school's own account and processed by your credit card processor, so there's no waiting on PledgeStar to release your funds. Easy reporting and real-time tracking help you stay on top of every donation.
A successful Pledge Drive follows a simple sequence: plan, organize, promote, execute, collect, and follow up. Here is what each stage involves.
1. Plan Your Pledge Drive
Choose the pledge drive style that best fits your organization, whether it is a flexible online-only campaign or paired with an event like a Jog-A-Thon or Read-A-Thon. Decide on your flat pledge amount and whether you'd like to offer incentive prizes for top fundraisers. Pick a catchy campaign name and set key dates, including a pep rally and the fundraising deadline.
2. Organize the Logistics
Choose PledgeStar as your fundraising platform to streamline the process. Set up your campaign details, including the duration of the drive and any fundraising milestones you want to hit along the way. Recruit volunteers to help organize and manage the campaign, and encourage participants to reach out to their networks for pledges.
3. Promote the Drive
Effective promotion is key. Use flyers, social media, and community outreach to boost awareness, and create a unique hashtag to engage supporters and inspire sharing. Make it simple for offline donors with easy-to-use pledge cards, and motivate contributions with incentive prizes such as merchandise, gift cards, or recognition for top fundraisers.
4. Execute the Drive
Keep everything running smoothly on the day of the event or throughout the campaign. With donations coming in before and during the drive, the dashboard lets you track progress, update participants on milestones, and maintain a lively atmosphere to boost engagement.
5. Collect the Funds
Unlike other platforms, which hold your proceeds until after the fundraiser ends, with PledgeStar donations are made directly into your school's own account as they come in, processed by your credit card processor. By the time your campaign concludes, the funds are already where they belong, ready to put to work.
6. Follow Up and Say Thank You
After the drive concludes, thank everyone involved: donors, participants, and volunteers. Strengthen relationships with personalized thank-you notes, and share updates on how contributions are making an impact.
Streamlined Setup
PledgeStar offers a quick and seamless setup process, so your school can start fundraising in no time. Our platform guides you through every step, from creating the campaign page to managing donations, so you can focus on making your Pledge Drive a success.
Customizable Fundraising Pages
Each student creates a personalized fundraising page with unique messages, photos, and progress updates. This personal touch helps participants connect more effectively with their supporters.
Reach Non-English Speakers
With support for over 50 languages, family, friends, and neighbors can easily donate and participate in your fundraiser, regardless of where they live or what language they speak.
Transparent and Capped Fees
You choose the plan that fits your Pledge Drive. Go FREE and pay nothing to use the platform, with donors able to add a small amount at checkout to help cover costs. Or choose our standard plan, with a low 7% fee that never exceeds a $1,195 cap, and let donors cover that fee through Donor Fee Coverage so your school keeps 100% of what's raised. Either way, funds deposit directly into your own account right away, so you never wait for funds to be released.
Real-Time Tracking and Reporting
Track donations and participation in real time with PledgeStar's reporting tools. Schools can monitor individual and overall fundraising progress, making it easy to recognize top performers and keep the community updated on the campaign's success.
Promotional Tools
PledgeStar provides social media integration, text messages, and email templates to help you spread the word about your Pledge Drive. These tools make sharing pages simple and encourage more people to donate.
Increased Participation
PledgeStar's accessible, easy-to-use system helps more students and parents participate in the Pledge Drive. A simplified setup and user-friendly platform help schools boost engagement and raise more.
Simplified Donation Process
Making a donation has never been easier. PledgeStar offers a hassle-free process that lets supporters give online in just a few clicks, no checks, no cash, and no door-to-door visits.
Comprehensive Support
Our team supports your Pledge Drive every step of the way, from setup to troubleshooting, so your campaign runs smoothly and successfully.
Ever wonder how to boost your school fundraising efforts in a fun and effective way? PledgeStar transforms your Pledge Drive, making it easier than ever to raise money. Our platform simplifies the entire fundraising process, so schools can focus on community and connection while maximizing donations. Whether you're a parent, teacher, or student, PledgeStar's easy-to-use system ensures a smooth and successful fundraising experience for everyone.
- Easy-to-set-up fundraising pages
- Personalized pledge requests
- Flat pledges with optional incentive prizes
- A simplified donation process
- Real-time tracking
- Social sharing and engaging promotional tools
- No products to sell, pack, or deliver
PledgeStar helps maximize fundraising while boosting participation and management. It makes donation collection easy and efficient, leading to higher overall contributions. With PledgeStar, your Pledge Drive stays a super-successful, low-effort, stress-free campaign for you and your school.
Keep More of
What You Raise
Choose the plan that fits your pledge drive best. With PledgeDrive FREE, you're live in minutes and pay nothing to use PledgeStar. Your group keeps everything raised minus standard credit card processing fees, and donors can add a small optional amount at checkout to help keep it free.
Prefer our standard plan? It carries a 7% fee, capped at $1,195 per campaign. With Donor Fee Coverage, supporters can optionally cover that fee along with processing at checkout, so your pledge drive keeps 100% of every donation at $0 cost to your organization.
Everything Your School Needs
Raise 50% More
Schools using PledgeStar consistently raise more through easy, fun outreach by automated email, text, and social media.
Fee Plans Built for Schools
Choose the free plan or our standard plan with Donor Fee Coverage, whichever fits your Pledge Drive best. See pricing details →
Running a different kind of event? Explore our Jog-A-Thon, Walk-A-Thon, Read-A-Thon, Fun Run & Color Run, or Anything-A-Thon pages.
Effortless Setup
Launch your campaign in minutes. Families enter names and contacts, and our platform sends emails, texts, and social posts for them.
Personalized Pages for Every Student
Every student gets a personalized fundraising page to share with friends and family via text, email, and social media.
Reach Every Family, Any Language
With over 50 language options, families and friends near and far can participate and donate, no matter where they are.
World-Class Support
A dedicated specialist guides you through every step, from setup to launch to your final Pledge Drive report.
3 Simple Steps to Game-Changing Results
Your site goes live instantly. Send families the registration link and they follow simple on-screen instructions to enter their supporters.
Friends and family follow the link they receive, enter an amount, and pay securely with cards, digital wallets, and more. All major payment methods supported.
Log in any time to monitor your fundraiser's progress with our easy event overview dashboard and reports.
What Schools Are Saying
"PledgeStar made fundraising effortless, not just for us, but for our families too. It was easy to set up, intuitive to use, and powerful in results. We raised over $40,000 and didn't have to give nearly half of it away like we did before."
"PledgeStar completely transformed our jog-a-thon. What used to raise $17,000 now brings in over $85,000, without third-party vendors taking a massive cut. It is incredibly easy for parents and grandparents, and we keep 100% of the money for our school."
"PledgeStar was a game-changer for our school. Families tapped into relatives and friends across the country, and even overseas. We more than doubled our fundraising, jumping from $32,000 to nearly $60,000, and kept almost every dollar."
How to Raise 2x More
for Your Pledge Drive
Get the expert tips used by thousands of schools to boost participation, raise more, and keep more for classrooms and programs.
It's absolutely free. No commitment required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can donors give from out of town or internationally?
Is there support available if I get stuck?
What if a family has multiple students participating?
Do we need to hold an event to run a Pledge Drive?
Can we offer prizes for top fundraisers?
Start Raising in Minutes
With no platform fees. Tell us a bit about your school and we'll take it from there.
Why Schools and Teams Choose PledgeStar
Thousands of groups trust PledgeStar to run their "a-thon" fundraisers with less work and bigger results, all without paying platform fees.
- No platform fees, ever. Donors can optionally help cover costs.
- Automated emails and texts do the asking for you.
- Real-time dashboard to track every donation as it comes in.
- Dedicated support team to help you launch and grow.