GoPledge: Free School Fundraising Platform

School fundraising has evolved beyond paper order forms and manual donation tracking. Today, schools need a school fundraising platform that is easy to use, affordable, and designed to increase participation. GoPledge is a free online fundraising platform built specifically for K–12 schools, PTAs, PTOs, booster clubs, coaches, teachers, and administrators who want to raise funds with less administrative work.

A Fundraising Platform Built for Schools

GoPledge was designed with school communities in mind. Whether you’re organizing a walk-a-thon, fun run, sports fundraiser, arts program campaign, or classroom initiative, the platform makes fundraising simple for everyone involved. PTAs, PTOs, coaches, club leaders, school administrators, and volunteers can create and manage campaigns without technical experience. The intuitive interface guides users through every step, eliminating the need for specialized training or IT support.

Unlike many fundraising platforms, GoPledge charges no platform fees. Schools only pay standard Stripe payment processing fees, providing transparent pricing while allowing organizations to keep more of every donation. With fast campaign setup, mobile-friendly giving, automated communications, and peer-to-peer fundraising tools, GoPledge helps schools launch campaigns quickly and achieve higher participation rates.

Why GoPledge Works as School Fundraising Software

A successful school fundraiser depends on participation, ease of use, and transparent pricing. GoPledge combines these essentials into one powerful fundraising solution.

Benefits

• Zero platform fees with only Stripe payment processing costs.
• Peer-to-peer fundraising that allows students and participants to create personalized fundraising pages and share their fundraising goals and progress with family and friends.
• Flexible donation options including one-time gifts and per-unit pledges for events like walk-a-thons, read-a-thons, and fun runs.
• Automated email reminders, thank-you messages, and campaign updates that keep supporters engaged throughout the fundraiser.
• Real-time leaderboards encourage friendly competition and higher participation.
• Sibling donation support, allowing families with multiple participants to contribute through one streamlined donation experience.
• Group dashboards that help coaches, administrators, and parent leaders monitor campaign performance in real time.

Peer-to-peer fundraising is especially valuable because it expands your donor network beyond your immediate school community. Each participant can share a personal fundraising page with relatives, coworkers, neighbors, and friends, helping schools reach entirely new supporters. Many organizations report increased engagement and stronger fundraising results when peer-to-peer campaigns are used effectively.

How GoPledge Helps You Raise Money and Raise Funds

Step 1: Create a Campaign in Minutes

Getting started is simple. Build a fully custom-branded fundraiser page with your school’s colors, logo, photos and videos. Next, add participants, organize teams if needed, and establish individual or group fundraising goals.

Step 2: Share and Mobilize Your Community

Once your campaign is live, participants can immediately begin sharing personalized fundraising pages through email, text messages, and social media. GoPledge’s automated email sequences help remind supporters to donate while keeping participants motivated throughout the campaign. Real-time leaderboards encourage healthy competition that can increase engagement across classrooms, teams, and clubs.

Step 3: Collect Donations and Disburse Funds

Donations are processed securely through Stripe and deposited via ACH after the fundraiser concludes. Schools can also record offline cash and check donations, ensuring all contributions appear in campaign totals and leaderboards without additional platform fees.

Student Fundraisers, Peer-to-Peer Campaigns, and In-Person Tools

GoPledge makes student fundraising easy while giving schools the controls they need. Students can receive guardian approval before participating and create personalized fundraising pages that highlight their goals and progress.  

Schools can also generate QR codes for events, allowing supporters to scan and donate within seconds during assemblies, athletic events, performances, or community gatherings. Displaying live fundraising leaderboards during school assemblies or events adds excitement while encouraging additional participation from students and families.

Fundraising Events

GoPledge supports many popular school fundraising formats. Schools can easily create walk-a-thons, fun runs, read-a-thons, and more. Event thermometers, live progress updates, and campaign announcements help maintain excitement throughout the fundraiser.

Pricing, Plans, and the Free Plan

GoPledge offers a truly free plan for schools, making it an affordable choice for organizations of every size.
The free plan includes campaign creation, peer-to-peer fundraising, donation pages, reporting dashboards, email automation, and participant management. Schools only pay standard Stripe payment processing fees, which are clearly disclosed during setup. There are no hidden platform charges or percentage-based fundraising fees.

Onboarding and customer service are also included throughout the campaign to assist with setup and any questions that come up along the way. Cash and check donations can be tracked within campaigns without any platform deductions, giving organizers a complete view of total fundraising progress.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a school fundraising platform?

A school fundraising platform is software that helps schools create, manage, promote, and track fundraising campaigns online. It simplifies donation collection, participant management, communication, reporting, and payment processing from one centralized location.

What is peer-to-peer fundraising?

Peer-to-peer fundraising allows individual participants to create personalized fundraising pages and share them with friends, family, coworkers, and community members. This approach significantly expands donor reach while encouraging greater student involvement and campaign participation.

How does a school fundraising platform work?

Schools create a campaign, invite participants, share fundraising pages, collect secure online donations, monitor progress through dashboards, and receive funds through electronic bank transfers after the campaign concludes.

What are the benefits of a school fundraising platform?

An online platform saves time, increases participation, automates communication, provides real-time reporting, supports mobile giving, improves donor convenience, and helps schools raise funds more efficiently with less administrative work.

How quickly can schools start and raise funds?

Most schools can create a campaign in just a few minutes. Once the campaign is published and shared, donations can begin arriving immediately, allowing organizations to start raising funds the same day.

How are funds collected and paid out?

Online donations are securely processed through Stripe. After the fundraiser ends, funds are distributed via ACH transfer. Schools can also manually record cash and check donations, so all contributions are reflected in campaign reports.

Compliance, Security, and Data Privacy

GoPledge prioritizes donor security and student privacy. Payment information is securely processed through Stripe, which maintains PCI compliance for payment security. The platform does not sell donor information and uses appropriate safeguards to protect personal data. Student information is limited to what is necessary for campaign participation, helping schools support privacy best practices while maintaining secure fundraising operations.