Tag: fundraising

Big Impact, Small District: The Power of Our Read A Thon

Tech Fun In The Library

For the past five years, our annual Read A Thon has been one of the highlights of the school year. What started as something I wasn’t quite sure would take off in our small district has grown into a positive, exciting experience for both our students and our library.

Our Read A Thon serves two important purposes: it encourages daily reading and it raises funds to support our library. As a fundraiser, it has exceeded my expectations. Families truly jump onboard and enthusiastically sponsor their students to read. We use the Read A Thon website, which makes the entire process incredibly simple. They provide the flyers, host everything on their platform, and handle all payments online. Parents register their students and submit donations directly through the website, which means I don’t have to collect, track, or manage any money. That convenience alone has been a game changer.

I always select the 80% no-prize option, which allows us to keep more of the funds raised. Instead of spending money on pre-packaged prizes, I purchase books to use as rewards. The money we raise goes right back into our library—buying new books, funding reading contest prizes, and stocking our makerspace with supplies. For a small district, this fundraiser has made a big difference.

Beyond fundraising, the Read A Thon is a powerful reading incentive. Once students are registered, they record their reading minutes each day. We offer grand prizes that require a minimum number of minutes read to qualify, which motivates students to stay consistent and build strong reading habits. It’s amazing to see the focus and excitement around reading during this time.

We celebrate our readers in big ways. Each grade level has one grand prize winner who receives a family four-pack to the zoo, museum, or local waterpark. I also select 15 students in grades K–3 for a field trip to the science museum and 15 students in grades 4–6 for a second science museum trip. Last year, I added a special bonus: the top two readers and the top two money earners enjoyed a trip to the bookstore to spend $25 on books of their choice. Watching students pick out their own books was such a rewarding experience.

We also recognize classes as a whole. The class with the most minutes read and the class with the most money raised each earn an ice cream party and an extra activity day in the library. These celebrations build excitement and create a shared goal within classrooms.

Overall, our Read A Thon has become so much more than a fundraiser. It’s a joyful, community-supported event that strengthens our reading culture while providing meaningful financial support for our library. Five years in, I can confidently say it has been one of the best initiatives we’ve implemented—and I can’t wait to see it continue to grow.

Looking for Library Fundraising? Have a Read-A- Thon!

Tech Fun In The Library

As a librarian, one of my primary goals is to encourage students to develop a love for reading while ensuring our school library has the resources it needs to continue fostering that passion. For the last 4 years I have been doing something for our library that allows me to meet both of these goals: a Read-A-Thon. The results have been incredible, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about our choice to hold a Read -A-Thon each year.

A Simple, Yet Effective Way to Fundraise

The Read-A-Thon proved to be a game-changer for our library’s fundraising efforts. We are a small district and this year we had 108 students sign up for the Read-A-Thon and log their minutes. But with 108 students participating, the total minutes read was an impressive 37,179! That was up 10,000 minutes from last year. And as if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Read-A-Thon raised over $5,000 for the library—all with very little effort on my part.

What made this event so successful wasn’t just the enthusiasm of the students, but also the simplicity of the process. The Read-A-Thon website was incredibly user-friendly, making it easy for both students and their families to get involved. No need to worry about tracking down donation checks or loose change—people could donate directly through the website, making the whole process smooth and convenient.

Encouraging Reading While Raising Funds

One of the best parts of the Read-A-Thon was that it motivated students to read even more! With the goal of logging as many minutes as possible, students dove into books with an enthusiasm that was contagious. It was so heartwarming to see them excited not just about earning money for the library, but also about the simple act of reading.

The Read-A-Thon was a perfect blend of education and fundraising. It gave students a tangible way to support their school while also developing their reading skills. Plus, they were able to share their accomplishments with their families, who were excited to support them—and the library—by making donations.

Easy, No-Hassle Fundraising

From a fundraising perspective, the Read-A-Thon was a dream. The website made everything so easy—from registering students to tracking minutes read and donations made. It was simple for parents to sign up their children and make donations online, which meant no paperwork or collection of physical money for me to handle.

Not only did this reduce my workload significantly, but it also gave families a chance to participate from the comfort of their homes. The transparency of the online platform helped everyone see how much was being raised in real-time, which sparked even more excitement throughout the event.

Prizes for Readers

While the Read-A-Thon company does provide prizes I decided to go with the option to provide my own prizes to motivate our students. The PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) was incredibly generous, also donating funds to support a special Grand Prize for each grade level—a family 4-pack to either the zoo, museum, or water park!

To keep things exciting, I also organized random drawings for those who logged minutes, offering a fun field trip to the museum as a reward.

Additionally, we wanted to recognize our top achievers: the top 3 money raisers and top 3 readers received an exciting field trip to a local bookstore, where they each received a $25 gift card to spend on books of their choice.

These prizes not only encouraged students to participate but also made the entire event more fun and engaging for everyone involved!

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for an effortless and effective way to fundraise for your school library while encouraging students to read, I can’t recommend the Read-A-Thon enough. It’s a win-win situation: students are motivated to read more, and you raise funds for your library with little hassle. The event was a success, and I’m already looking forward to next year!

If you’re interested in hosting your own Read-A-Thon, I highly suggest checking out the website. It’s an incredibly easy tool to use, and I’m confident it will help you reach your fundraising goals just like it did for us.

Happy reading! 📚