We did the fundraiser and it worked great. We only let it run for the first two weeks of the program. Out of 221 students, 82 participated in collecting funds. We offered a straight donation or the option of paying a penny a minute when the challenge ends in April. We collected $3401.00 in staright donations and had 130 pledges to pay a penny a minute. We technically need our kids to each read ~4500 minutes to reach one million so we are looking at possibly getting an additional ~$6,100 to collect in pledges. This has the potential to earn us $9,500! It worked great for a first fundraiser.
Great to see you on the boards again! Thanks so much for your honest feedback on your Read-a-thon. Did you ever hear from parents why they didn't participate?
We have done a Read-A-Thon fundraiser for several years now. Quite frankly, our support and participation is dismal. We have 720+ students and have an average of 250 students who participate. This year we only had 206 kids participate. And here's the sad part: our kids are required to read 20 minutes a night. This required reading counts towards the Read-A-Thon, but we still did not have forms turned in from the remaining 500 students. We brought in just over $3500. As a supplemental fundraiser, it is great. But not as a primary fundraiser.
Re: letting people know up front that the pledge may be $45... my personal opinion is that folks would appreciate knowing ahead of time. Maybe you could word it in such a way that it doesn't discourage people from pledging... Like "Pledges may add up to $45 but any amount of donation is appreciated." That way you might get donations more or less than that amount!
Would love to hear from someone who has run a Million Minute Reading Challenge... anyone??
I have come across the million minute reading challenge and love the idea. What I am wondering is if it would be a good idea to run this as our school's fundraiser. Kids would seek donations, either a flat donation or a pledge of a penny a minute. Pledges would be made at beginning of year and collected at end of year when we finish the challenge. With 220 students we are looking at that we would need each child to read ~4500 minutes each. So the average pledge donation would be $45. Do we need to let pledgers know upfront that the children might be reading $45 worth of minutes? Also, can anyone think of any other concerns i need to take into consideration?
Thanks!
