PledgeStar has no upfront costs. After the event, we send an invoice in the amount of 7% of donations received through the website, whether made by credit card or check, up to a maximum of $995. There are no fees for donations received outside of PledgeStar.

The credit card processor deducts 30 cents per transaction plus 2.2% of the transaction amount for Visa, MasterCard and Discover, and 3.5% for American Express. These fees do not apply for donations made by check.

PledgeStar makes it easy and fun to solicit donations. Schools incentivize students to enter at least ten family and friends, then PledgeStar emails them pledge requests.

On average, over half of the pledge requests become donations, so instead of receiving one or two donations per family, PledgeStar users receive five or more.

Yes! We can usually get your fundraising page active and accepting donations within two days. We'll even supply you with promotional language for your pledge packets and email campaigns. Schools achieving the best results begin their promotion at least two weeks prior to the event.

Call (888) 598-7510 now or email info@pledgestar.com to get started or to discuss your specific event.

Yes, we recommend you do both. Some people may be more comfortable getting pledges the "old fashioned" way. But for those who embrace technology (generally 40% of your participants), PledgeStar helps raise more by increasing your donor base.

We don't charge fees for donations collected outside of the PledgeStar system (from pledge envelopes or sponsorships, for example).

PledgeStar even allows you to input your pledge envelope donations, so each participant's online and offline totals get consolidated in a single report to help with awarding prizes.

PledgeStar allows both flat and per unit pledges. For Jog, Walk or Swim-A-Thons, a unit might be a lap. For a Read A Thon, it might be a page. After the event, PledgeStar emails notifications to family and friends who made per unit pledges telling them how many units were completed, and linking them to the participant's fundraising page to make payment.

Yes. Family and friends who elect to pay by check will be sent "pay by check" instructions. PledgeStar will even send them a reminder if they forget to send the check.

Since PledgeStar knows the check is coming, it makes it easy for you to confirm receipt. It also automatically splits the money evenly between participants in the same family.

Checks typically account for 17% of the donations received through PledgeStar. Of course, credit card processing fees do not apply to donations made by check.

No. PledgeStar sends a single pledge request for all the participants in your family. Donations to families with multiple participants get split evenly.

Example: For your three participating children, your family and friends receive a single pledge request, and a $60 donation gets split $20 per child.

Since online credit card donations get deposiited into your account automatically, you don't need to count or deposit them.

PledgeStar provides a quick and easy online entry form that can be used simultaneously by all your counting staff to enter checks, bills and coins from your pledge envelopes. From this data, and the data collected from online donations, PledgeStar generates a deposit report, as well as a worksheet detailing donations by student for determining prize winners.

In order to accept online credit card payments, we help you get your own merchant account with our PTA approved credit card processor. It's quick and easy to do, and there are no setup or monthly charges.

When online donation payments occur, the money goes directly into your merchant account. PledgeStar never handles your money.

To get your money, simply log into your merchant account and request a check or transfer the money into your organization's checking account.

PledgeStar does not use or disclose data collected on the website in any way beyond what is needed to email pledge requests, collect donations, send notifications and provide reports.

Absolutely! PledgeStar uses industry standard SSL encryption to ensure credit card information can't be seen over the Internet, and it never stores credit card data internally.

PledgeStar provides toll-free support event staff, parents, and their family and friends. They may email questions to support@pledgestar.com or call (888) 598-7510.