Find the top fundraising platforms for PTAs that keep more money in your school. Compare fees, features, and ease of use for your next campaign.
Your PTA needs money. School budgets keep shrinking while classroom supply costs climb higher.
Field trips cost more.
Technology upgrades seem impossible. Art programs hang by a thread.
The solution sits in choosing fundraising platforms for PTAs that actually work for your volunteers and your budget. The wrong platform can swallow 5% or more of every dollar you raise.
That adds up fast when you’re trying to fund a $10,000 playground renovation or buy 30 new Chromebooks.
I’ve researched the platforms that PTAs actually use and keep coming back to. These five stand out because they solve real problems: keeping fees low, making setup simple for busy volunteers, and supporting the types of fundraisers your community wants to run.
Zeffy: Keep 100% of Every Dollar Raised
Zeffy runs on a zero-fee model. Your PTA keeps every dollar unless donors voluntarily add a tip to support the platform itself.
The platform was designed specifically for nonprofits and PTAs. This means the features match what you actually need as opposed to forcing you to adapt generic fundraising tools.
You can run membership drives with tiered levels and automatic renewal reminders.
Parents love this because they don’t have to remember to rejoin every year.
Teacher Wish Lists work exceptionally well on Zeffy. Teachers list specific supplies they need. Parents fund individual items and watch a real-time progress bar fill up.
Seeing that you just bought the last box of colored pencils Mrs. Johnson needs creates emotional connection to the donation.
The platform handles peer-to-peer campaigns where parents rally their own networks. It manages event ticketing.
It processes recurring donations.
It runs online stores. More than 50,000 nonprofits have used Zeffy to raise over $800 million.
Try Zeffy for Your Next PTA Campaign, Start Free →
Here’s a pro tip that increases donations: Use the real-time progress bars on everything. Parents respond to visual markers.
When they see you’re 85% of the way to funding new playground equipment, they feel compelled to help push it over the finish line.
Short paragraphs keep parents reading instead of skimming past your fundraising ask.
OneCause: The All-in-One Event Platform
OneCause has powered over 60,000 fundraisers and helped organizations raise more than $6.5 billion worldwide. The platform excels at complex events that mix many fundraising elements.
Your spring gala with a silent auction, live bidding, ticket sales, and donation appeals? OneCause handles all of it from one dashboard.
What sets this apart from other fundraising platforms for PTAs is the support system. OneCause provides live training sessions.
You get access to resource libraries.
Consultants help you plan large-scale events. This matters because most PTA volunteers haven’t run a $50,000 gala before.
The learning curve exists. You’ll invest time upfront.
But once you understand the system, you can manage intricate fundraising events without juggling five different tools.
Your auction committee uses one interface. Your ticket sales team uses the same system.
Your donation tracking happens in the same place.
Everything connects.
Get Started with OneCause for Your Next Event →
The platform shines when you’re running complicated fundraisers. It falls short if you just need a simple donation page for a teacher appreciation fund.
99Pledges: Built for A-Thons
Walk-a-thons. Read-a-thons.
Dance-a-thons.
Jump rope-a-thons. Any event where kids collect pledges based on their participation works perfectly on 99Pledges.
The platform creates a central school fundraising page. Then each student gets their own personal page.
Kids share their page with family members, neighbors, and parents’ coworkers.
Pledges roll in. Money goes directly to your school’s initiatives.
Setup costs nothing. Platform fees don’t exist.
Transaction fees run 3.49% plus 49 cents per transaction.
You get real-time reporting that shows which students are raising the most. Built-in messaging let’s you talk with families.
Leaderboards create friendly competition.
Here’s what works brilliantly: Kids get motivated by leaderboards. They want to climb the rankings.
They ask more people for pledges.
Your fundraising total climbs higher.
Combine leaderboards with parent matching offers. Tell parents you’ll match 50% of whatever their child raises up to $100.
Watch participation rates soar.
Launch Your Next A-Thon on 99Pledges →
The platform focuses exclusively on pledge-based events. You won’t use this for your annual auction or holiday gift wrap sale.
But for a-thons, nothing works better.
DonorsChoose: Direct Classroom Funding
DonorsChoose operates differently than other fundraising platforms for PTAs. Teachers create projects for specific classroom needs. Art supplies.
Books.
Technology. Science equipment.
Donors fund these specific projects. DonorsChoose handles the ordering and shipping.
Teachers receive materials within two weeks through 12 distribution centers across the United States.
The connection between donor and impact shows up clearly. You’re not asking for general school funds.
You’re funding 25 copies of “Wonder” for Mrs. Anderson’s classroom library.
You’re buying a document camera for Mr. Kim’s science demonstrations.
First-time fundraisers get a Teacher Friends & Family Code. Donations up to $50 receive dollar-for-dollar matching for one week after the project goes live.
Eligible teachers set up projects for free.
Ninety-five percent of funds raised go toward program services and actual item purchases. Five percent covers administrative costs.
The platform has funded over 2 million classroom projects and helped nearly 1 million teachers access resources.
This works best when your PTA wants to support individual teacher needs as opposed to school-wide programs. Your technology initiative to buy 40 tablets?
DonorsChoose isn’t the right fit.
Helping Ms. Rivera get flexible seating for her classroom? Perfect use case.
Fund a Classroom Project on DonorsChoose →
Parents appreciate knowing exactly what their money bought. Teachers appreciate not having to handle purchasing and reimbursement paperwork.
BetterWorld: Simple and Effective
BetterWorld has supported over 100,000 nonprofits since 2013. The platform charges zero platform fees.
Credit card processing runs 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction.
Many donors choose to cover this cost so your school keeps 100% of contributions.
The platform includes customizable donation forms. Online fundraising pages take minutes to set up.
Peer-to-peer fundraising let’s parents create their own campaign pages.
Alumni engagement tools help high schools tap into graduate networks.
BetterWorld gets supported by optional contributions from donors who believe in the mission. Ninety-seven percent of organizations using the platform plan to use it again.
The strength here is simplicity combined with versatility. You’re not paying for enterprise features your small PTA will never use.
The interface doesn’t need extensive training.
Any volunteer can set up a campaign in 15 minutes.
Start Fundraising with BetterWorld Today →
This platform works exceptionally well for PTAs new to online fundraising or those without technically-skilled volunteers.
Choosing the Right Platform for Your PTA
| Platform | Platform Fees | Transaction Fees | Best Use Case | Setup Time |
|---|
| Zeffy | 0% | Optional donor tips | Maximum revenue retention | 15 minutes |
| OneCause | Varies | Varies | Complex multi-element events | Several hours |
| 99Pledges | 0% | 3.49% + $0.49 | Pledge-based a-thons | 30 minutes |
| DonorsChoose | 0% | 5% admin | Individual classroom projects | 20 minutes |
| BetterWorld | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 | General fundraising | 15 minutes |
Your choice depends on three main factors: the type of fundraising you’re running, your volunteer capacity, and how much you can afford to lose to fees.
If You Need Maximum Revenue Retention
Choose Zeffy or BetterWorld. Both charge zero platform fees.
The difference comes down to transaction handling.
Zeffy relies on voluntary donor tips. BetterWorld includes small transaction fees that donors often cover voluntarily.
Over a $50,000 fundraising year, saving 5% in fees means keeping an extra $2,500. That pays for field trips for 50 kids.
It buys five new Chromebooks.
It funds art supplies for 200 students.
If You Run Complex Fundraising Events
OneCause combines everything. Your silent auction runs through the same system as your ticket sales, live bidding, and donation appeals.
Everything connects.
Reports show finish financial pictures.
You’ll invest time learning the platform. You’ll work with their support team.
But you won’t juggle five different systems trying to track where money came from and where it went.
If Your Community Loves A-Thons
99Pledges was built for pledge-based events. The student pages, leaderboards, and progress tracking create engagement beyond just collecting money.
Kids join actively in fundraising instead of just handing parents a pledge sheet.
The social element works. Kids share their pages on social media (with parent permission).
Extended family members across the country can support their niece’s read-a-thon.
Friends and neighbors see updates about progress.
If Teachers Need Classroom Supplies
DonorsChoose creates direct connections between donors and classroom impact. Teachers avoid purchasing and reimbursement hassles.
Donors see photos of students using the materials they funded.
Your PTA can spotlight different classroom projects each month. Teachers feel supported. Parents see their money creating tangible improvements.
The emotional connection to specific classroom needs drives higher donation rates than generic “support our school” asks.
If You’re New to Online Fundraising
BetterWorld removes complexity. The platform gives you reliable tools without overwhelming features you’ll never use.
Any PTA volunteer can create a campaign page.
Parents can donate in under a minute.
Starting with a simple platform let’s you test online fundraising without committing to complex systems. You’ll learn what your community responds to.
You can always switch to more sophisticated platforms later if your needs grow.
Advanced Strategies for PTA Fundraising Success
Choose one platform and master it before expanding. PTAs operate with limited volunteer capacity.
Juggling many systems creates confusion about where donations went and which campaign raised what amount.
Run your first campaign on one platform. Learn its workflow.
Understand its reporting.
Train your volunteers. Then evaluate whether it meets your needs or you should try something different.
Track metrics beyond total dollars raised. Look at average donation size. Watch how many donors gave more than once.
Note which campaign types got the most participation.
These metrics tell you what resonates with your community.
Time your campaigns strategically. September and October see high participation because parents are engaged with school at the start of the year.
November and December compete with holiday expenses and charity appeals.
January and February work well for new campaigns. March through May catch families before they mentally check out for summer.
Match campaigns to what your community actually wants. Surveying parents about their preferred fundraising types prevents launching campaigns nobody joins in. Some communities love buying products.
Others prefer direct donations.
Some families get excited about events while others want simple online giving.
Make donation amounts specific and purposeful. Asking for $50 feels arbitrary.
Asking for $47 to buy a class set of scissors and glue sticks feels intentional.
Parents respond better when they know exactly what their contribution funds.
Thank donors personally and specifically. Generic email receipts meet legal requirements but don’t build relationships.
Personal thank you notes from students who benefited from the donation create emotional connections that lead to repeat giving.
Share impact stories throughout the year. Photos of students on the field trip your fundraiser funded remind families why they gave.
Videos of kids using new playground equipment show donations at work.
These stories set up your next campaign for success.
Common PTA Fundraising Platform Mistakes
Choosing platforms based on features as opposed to usability causes problems. A platform with 50 features you’ll never use just makes training harder.
Simple platforms that do three things well often outperform complex systems that do 20 things adequately.
Ignoring mobile experience costs you donations. Over 60% of online donations happen on mobile devices.
Test your donation page on phones before launching.
If the form needs zooming or lots of scrolling, you’ll lose donors who give up mid-transaction.
Forgetting to set up recurring donations leaves money on the table. Monthly donors give more over time than one-time donors.
Setting up recurring options takes five minutes but creates predictable revenue streams that fund ongoing programs.
Neglecting to promote employer matching programs means missing free money. Many companies match employee charitable donations.
Including matching gift information in donation receipts can double contributions from eligible donors.
Starting campaigns without clear goals makes success impossible to measure. Vague goals like “raise money for school” don’t motivate donors.
Specific goals like “raise $8,500 to fund outdoor education for all 5th graders” create urgency and purpose.
Making Your Choice and Moving Forward
The best fundraising platforms for PTAs keep more money in your school, make volunteer work easier, and support the campaigns your community wants to join in.
Start with one campaign on one platform. Learn the system.
Train your core volunteers.
Document your process so next year’s PTA board can replicate your success.
Track what works. Note which donation amounts people chose most often.
Pay attention to which campaign messages got the most engagement.
Watch which times of day saw the most donations.
Build on success as opposed to constantly switching strategies. Running the same successful campaign annually creates tradition and expectation.
Your community starts planning for it.
Participation grows because families know what to expect.
Your school needs resources. Your students deserve enrichment programs, field trips, technology, and supplies.
The right platform makes fundraising easier so you can focus on supporting students instead of wrestling with confusing software.
Choose your platform based on your specific needs as opposed to trying to pick an objectively “best” option. The best platform for your PTA is the one your volunteers will actually use and your community will actually donate through.