How PTAs & booster clubs run the whole school year from one free platform

Running a school fundraiser as a volunteer is a lot. You're coordinating a-thon logistics, chasing down PTA dues, and managing a patchwork of PayPal links, Eventbrite pages, and spreadsheets, all while holding down a full-time job and showing up to every bake sale.

Givebutter is built for exactly this: volunteer-run PTAs, booster clubs, and school foundations that need a fundraising platform they can figure out fast, without a tech background or a dedicated fundraising staff. Sign up in minutes, launch your first campaign in under an hour, and keep everything, from peer-to-peer a-thons to silent auctions to donor records, in one place.

We'll walk through how schools like yours use Givebutter to raise more and stress less, with real examples, honest answers on pricing, and everything you need to get started.

Key takeaways

• Keep more of what you raise 💸 When donor tips are enabled, schools using Givebutter pay $0 in platform fees and $0 in processing fees. With tips turned off, a flat 3% platform fee applies plus standard payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
• Every student gets their own fundraising page 🤝 Givebutter's peer-to-peer campaigns give each student, class, or team their own shareable fundraising page, perfect for a-thons and end-of-year fundraisers.
• Run the whole school year from one tool 🏆 Manage campaigns, events, auctions, dues, tickets, and payments all from one login, no juggling required.
• Carry data across board turnover 🔁 Every donor, sponsor, and payment record lives in your Givebutter CRM year after year, so the next PTA board doesn't start from scratch.
• Launch before the next fundraiser ⚡ Sign up for free in under 5 minutes, no credit card or sales call required. Your first campaign takes about 30–60 minutes to build.

Why schools switch to Givebutter

Schools often switch to Givebutter for one of four reasons: to keep more of what they raise, give every student their own fundraising page, run the whole school year from one tool, and stop rebuilding donor records from scratch every year. The sections below break down how Givebutter delivers on each one.

Keep more of what you raise 💸

With the Givebutter Guarantee, when optional donor tips are enabled, schools pay $0 in processing and platform fees. If you prefer no tips, a flat 3% platform fee applies along with standard payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

🎬 See it in action: A school raises $10K on Givebutter with optional donor tips enabled and keeps the full $10K. The same school raising $10K on Snap! Raise, which typically keeps around 20% as a managed-service cut, would keep about $8K.

Learn more

Dive deeper into the Givebutter guarantee & how it can help you raise more →

Every student or class gets their own page 🤝

Givebutter's peer-to-peer features allow each student, team, or class participating in the fundraiser to create their own fundraising page and shareable link. Participants can also join larger fundraising teams to encourage friendly competition.

Dive deeper

Launch a peer-to-peer campaign that jumpstarts school fundraising →

One tool for the whole school year 🏆

If you're running any combination of fundraising events or pledge drives, like walkathons, color runs, bake sales, or text-to-donate campaigns, you'll save time with a centralized, all-in-one giving hub.

You won't need to juggle multiple tools or manually export CSVs the weekend before a board meeting. Everything lives in one platform, with one dashboard for easy campaign management.

Get inspired

Discover 200+ school fundraising ideas that work for every grade →

Your donor data survives board turnover 🔁

With Givebutter, you won't inherit a laptop full of spreadsheets when PTA leadership changes. Instead, all your donor, membership, and sponsorship records live in your CRM, so your team can seamlessly transition through leadership turnover.

You'll also have a comprehensive list of every pledge, auction bid, and event purchase tied to a donor profile, so you won't have to build a donor list from Venmo screenshots.

💡 Pro tip: Givebutter is an all-in-one fundraising platform designed to work seamlessly alongside your school management or communication platforms. For enrollment, attendance, parent communication, or lesson planning, you'll need to pair Givebutter with a school management app or classroom platform.

More to explore

Discover how a nonprofit CRM works & how it can boost fundraising →

Givebutter features built for schools & PTAs

School fundraising looks different every year, but the headaches tend to stay the same. Here's how Givebutter helps solve the most common ones.

Real schools using Givebutter

Here's what real schools are saying, plus a look at one peer-to-peer fundraiser that beat its $60K goal.

"I use Givebutter for fundraising at a nonprofit school. It's really easy to use, and I don't have to pay anything extra, which saves a lot of money. Sending out end-of-year summaries to donors without doing it manually is probably the best feature." — Thomas M., Executive Director, Fr. Walker School | G2

Longbranch Long Run 🏃

Longbranch Elementary's annual Long Run is 100% parent-led, which means the school keeps every dollar raised. Forty-two classroom teams competed on a peer-to-peer leaderboard, collecting pledges for every minute students ran, walked, or danced in the gym. More than 1,400 supporters helped them exceed their $60K goal, all to fund a new playground.

💸 Total raised: $61.9K+ (103% of their total fundraising goal!)

🥳 Why it worked: Longbranch School customized their page with school colors and logo, added a clear event description, and set a visible fundraising goal. Every classroom had its own peer-to-peer fundraising page and leaderboard spot, which drove friendly competition and wider parent participation.

More to explore

Compare the best fundraising platforms for schools →

How to start fundraising for your school on Givebutter

With Givebutter, you can start fundraising without a sales call or lengthy onboarding. Here's how to go live before the next fundraising season.

1. Create your free Givebutter account 🪄

Sign up for Givebutter and verify your nonprofit to get started. It takes less than 5 minutes, no tech background or credit card required. Sign up for free →

2. Build your school's first campaign 🛠️

Whether you're planning an a-thon, gala, auction, pledge drive, or just need a simple giving page, add a new campaign to your giving hub and customize it to fit your event. Peer-to-peer pages, branded forms, ticketing, and donor CRM are all included.

3. Start fundraising 💸

Share your page via email, text-to-donate, and social media. Generate a QR code for the bulletin board, gym, or carpool line and let parents give on the spot.

See it in action

Book a free Givebutter demo & see how fast your school can get up and running →

Raise more for your school with Givebutter

Givebutter gives volunteer-run PTAs, booster clubs, and K–12 schools everything they need to fundraise in one place. Run peer-to-peer a-thons where every student has their own page, sell gala tickets, manage silent auctions, collect dues, and accept donations from the bleachers via text-to-give or QR code, all from one platform.

With the Givebutter Guarantee, schools pay $0 in platform fees and $0 in processing fees when optional donor tips are enabled. That means more money for the playground, the uniforms, and the field trips that make the school year memorable.

When next year's PTA board takes over, they won't inherit a laptop full of outdated spreadsheets. Every donor, sponsor, and payment record lives in your CRM, ready for whoever steps in next.

Sign up for your free Givebutter account and launch your school's first fundraiser today.

Frequently asked questions from schools

Is Givebutter free for schools?

Yes. Givebutter is free to sign up for, and all of its core fundraising tools are free to use when optional donor tips are enabled. If you prefer to turn tips off, a flat 3% platform fee applies, plus standard payment processing fees.

Schools that want advanced features like workflow automations and SMS texting can upgrade to Givebutter Plus starting at $29/month.

Can PTAs and PTOs use Givebutter?

Yes. PTAs and PTOs can use Givebutter to run fundraising events, membership drives, auctions, dues collection, and more. Your donor and payment records stay in Givebutter when leadership changes, so next year's board picks up right where this year's left off. New board members can be added for free, no matter how many you have.

Can booster clubs and athletic teams use Givebutter?

Yes. Givebutter's peer-to-peer fundraising, event ticketing, and customizable fundraising pages are a natural fit for booster clubs raising money for team travel, uniforms, tournament fees, and end-of-season banquets. Each athlete or team can have their own fundraising page, making it easy for parents to share with their networks.

Does Givebutter support private and independent schools?

Yes. Givebutter supports private and independent K–12 schools, with tools to manage annual funds, galas, auctions, alumni giving, and peer-to-peer fundraising events. Your donor, sponsor, and payment records all live in one nonprofit CRM, so you won't need to rebuild your donor list from scratch each school year.

How fast does Givebutter send funds to schools?

Once you initiate a withdrawal, standard payouts arrive in your connected bank account within 1–3 business days and are always free.

Eligible verified nonprofit accounts can use Instant Payouts to receive funds within 30 minutes, any day of the week, for a small fee. You can also set up a Givebutter Wallet as your financial home base, giving you daily access to settled funds.

How long does it take to set up Givebutter for my school?

It takes less than 5 minutes to sign up for Givebutter. Account verification takes 1–3 business days, and launching your first campaign takes around 30–60 minutes. Most schools are up and running before the next fundraising season.