Caring Causes: Read-A-Thon

Whether schools open, go totally virtual or offer some kind of hybrid this fall, one thing will look very different – fundraising. Gone – for now – are the traditional wrapping paper drives, book fairs, and bakes sales that schools and their PTAs used to rely on for generating much needed extra cash. But there’s an immediate solution that works whether students are at home on their own time or in a more structured classroom setting.

READ-A-THON is a new turnkey alternative that helps schools all over the country to raise money safely and easily, and gets kids excited about reading again, especially after the typical “summer slack-off.” It provides a particularly good incentive for kids at home to dive into a good book. Best of all? Some schools have been able to raise more than $50K in just two weeks. Click HERE to see a recent interview with founder, Howard Gottlieb!

Read-a-thon challenges kids to commit to ten reading sessions over a two-week period. Instead of asking friends and family to buy something (and who needs more things right now?), they ask them to make a one-time donation to the school to support the reading initiative. Read-a-thon makes it simple and automatic -- providing all the materials (virtually if desired) and tracking. Teachers or administrators don’t have to record or tally anything.

Schools around the country have already been using READ-A-THON to raise funds since the program began six seasons ago — totaling more than $40 million raised to-date. 

I had a chance to interview the founder, Howard Gottlieb, to learn more.

Why was this READ-A-THON created?

Great question. School fundraising had remained essentially the same for the past 40 years. Kids were selling what were becoming more and more overpriced products. The result was less money for schools and rebellious parents who wanted no part of the process.

 

We decided to create a better way for schools to raise money by monetizing what they hopefully were already doing. The problem, from the beginning, was how best to do that.

 

So we spent two years developing Read-a-thon as a way to not only raise money, but to get kids excited about reading. Since our inception kids have logged nearly 2,000,000,000 reading minutes on our site.

 

What makes it easier than schools just doing it on their own?

A school can’t possibly replicate what we offer. From the custom, conversion optimized full color paperwork, to the management tools, to the intuitive website developed with the help of behavioral scientists to the most secure PCI compliant payment system.

 

With experience helping thousands of schools we have created a turnkey program that utilizes the best practices from the most successful schools. Our top schools raise nearly $100,000 with our program.

 

Manual programs require lots of volunteers, man hours and management.

 

How can schools help get and keep kids excited about reading?

We encourage schools to use our Instant Rewards option which includes rewards when readers reach 3 different reading goals set by the school.

 

The other obvious way it encourages kids to read is for the school to raise money for something the kids would be excited to get. Think field trips, playgrounds, technology.

 

What can parents do to help encourage reluctant readers?

They can make donations to the reader if they spend time reading. They can read with their child. They can remind them about the incentives available if they reach those reading goals. And, if the money is being used for one of the examples I outlined above they will know there is a big benefit to reading.