School Payment Platform Cheddar Up Unveils Deep Results of Nationwide Fundraising Survey

Substantial findings point to tailored innovative technology as transformative for fundraising strategies

DENVER, Aug. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheddar Up, the leading software platform in school payment processing, revealed the results of a nationwide survey focused on the state of school fundraising in the US. Conducted from June 15, 2023 to June 30, 2023, the survey asked parents, teachers and administrators at all grade levels and school types how they fundraise to provide added academic and social-developmental growth opportunities for students.

The findings are dramatic. These include the understanding that schools are heavily dependent on supplemental fundraising for critical components of a child's education. However, there exists a drastic disparity as public schools, most dependent on these funds, raise 75% less than private schools.

Additional findings are also notable. Ninety-six percent of respondents reported their school holds at least one fundraiser per year. Nearly half rely on this support for basic classroom supplies and projects, but proceeds also go to fund staff development, classroom technology and extracurricular programs – programs that are often the first slashed from budgets and overlooked as essential for long-term student success.

"The survey results indicate there is a dire need for enhanced fundraising strategies within our educational system, especially as schools seek effective ways to raise more money with fewer resources," said Nichole Montoya, co-founder and CEO of Cheddar Up. "Despite what may seem a bleak situation, we see there are very clear steps to break through the myriad fundraising challenges. These include reducing third-party fundraising sales, improving transparency and, perhaps most importantly, tapping into innovative technology tailored to the specific needs of schools, PTOs and booster clubs. The future of education is in our hands."

Cheddar Up leads the way in equipping the educational system with the tech tools they need to improve fundraising capabilities, specifically related to robust payment processing. These include:

• A quick and easy platform to implement
• Collection of payments for school dues, fundraisers, events, afterschool enrichment, spirit wear and more
• Gathering of information in combination with payments, such as grade and classroom teacher
• Built-in reporting and automation to ease administrative burdens
• Can be combined with Bluetooth card readers and mobile apps for integrated online and in-person payments
• Seamless year-over-year account hand-offs to make it simple for new volunteers to leverage previous years' online collecting pages
• Collection of monthly donations on an automated basis from donors

The survey offers up many more insights, including details around volunteer supply and demand, reported funding gaps, fundraising responsibility breakdowns and preference of fundraising type.

To access the full survey, please visit: https://www.cheddarup.com/school-fundraising-report/ 

About Cheddar Up:

Cheddar Up helps group organizers collect payments and forms online, for free. Every day groups find and use Cheddar Up in new and creative ways to collect payments and information from their communities. Membership fees, HOA dues, tuition, spirit wear, troop dues, group gifts, after-school programs, events, fundraisers and beyond. Organizers can create a page for anything in minutes. Cheddar Up offers communities seamless online payments they can make from anywhere. No instructions, app or account necessary. Cheddar Up's purpose-built platform has the features group organizers need, including robust tracking and reporting, fundraising and ecommerce add-ons, messaging, forms, waivers, sign ups, point of sale, year-over-year hand off and more.

Media Contact:
Digi Ink Public Relations
Chelsea Kershaw
[email protected]
909-573-7237

SOURCE Cheddar Up