Plan a Successful Read-A-Thon: Tips and Tricks

Raising money and encouraging literacy skills for young readers at the same time? Yes, please! If you’re thinking about hosting a Read-A-Thon at your school as a fundraiser there are some key things you should know to make it easier. 

Let’s go over how a Read-A-Thon works and with all these tips and tricks, you’ll find that fundraising and getting your students reading are both a piece of cake!

What Is a Read-A-Thon Fundraiser?

A Read-A-Thon fundraiser is an event that students participate in to help raise money for their school or a cause that benefits students and teachers. Students ask their parents, neighbors, friends and family to donate a specific amount of funds per page or per book they read over the course of a set period of time.

Organizing a Read-A-Thon Fundraiser

1. Establish a Theme

You could allow your students to brainstorm a theme with you, or for a school-wide event ask your volunteer leaders or PTA to agree on a theme. Although a theme is not strictly necessary for a successful Read-A-Thon event, it definitely adds to the fun. 

Here are some great Read-A-Thon theme ideas:

• Reading is my superpower
  • Students will be encouraged to read books with heroic characters and inspiring protagonists who demonstrate bravery, and resilience. 
  • Alternatively, instead of dictating the type of book students read, this theme could relate to the fact that each student’s super ability is to read, which raises funds for their cause.
• Read around the world
  • Ask students to read books about different cultures or set in different locations worldwide.
  • This is also a great theme if your fundraising efforts are in support of any kind of student travel.
• Book Bingo
  • Create a bingo sheet with various types of books for students to read. As they read different genres (or books with specific characters or authors) they can cross off squares on their bingo sheet.
  • This theme makes for a great additional incentive if you’d like to reward students with small prizes for filling up their bingo sheets.
• Mysteries & Detectives: The Case Of The (Class Name) Read-A-Thon
  • There’s a new mystery at school these days! How are we going to raise funds? Students are encouraged to join forces and use their skills to find pledges and read books to meet their goals.
  • This theme could also require students to read mystery novels and detective stories.

2. Create and Clearly Define Your Goal

Do you have a specific amount of money you’d like to raise? What is the purpose of your fundraiser and how will it make the lives of students and teachers easier or better? 

In exchange for donations, will your students track the number of pages they read or, the number of minutes they log and read for? Alternatively, will donors be asked to pledge a flat rate upfront based on student participation?

Knowing what your goal is will help you understand suggested donation amounts that will help you reach it. 

Create a Tracker to Track Goal Progress

However you choose to collect funds for your Read-A-Thon, use a tracker so students can remain motivated and see their goal start to become a reality. It can be beneficial to have a goal tracker for your fundraiser as donations start rolling in.

You’ll also need reading logs for students to use that will help them track how many books or pages they have read, or how many minutes they’ve spent reading during the Read-A-Thon. 

3. Set a Timeline

Decide when your Read-A-Thon will start and when reading logs will need to be turned in. You will need to know when you’d like to start collecting funds and when you will give your sponsors a final update. 

If you start preparing your students 2 weeks before your event starts, that’s a good amount of time for them to speak with their parents, extended family members and neighbors to collect pledges and find sponsorship. Older students may even want to work in pairs or teams to canvas their community businesses for donations. 

Your Read-A-Thon should last for a set amount of time and potential donors should understand the length of your event before donating. For instance, some events take place over the course of two weeks and students may be capable of reading multiple books. Other events are short one-day or one-evening fundraisers.

4. Set an Event Date

Long-Format Read-A-Thon

If you’re having a longer event, set the dates and try to pick a week that coincides with your school book fair. You might suggest ten half-hour sessions over the course of two weeks. Giving your students time to read while they’re in class will also encourage participation and guarantee more success than leaving them to do all their reading at home.

One-Day Read-A-Thon

For a one-day event, pick a day that doesn’t interfere with exams or holidays. A short event like this is easier to build up a lot of anticipation for and create excitement. The drawback to a short event is that it doesn’t promote student reading over a longer period of time. 

5. Have Sign-Ups

Once your dates are set, students can start signing up to participate. Have multiple opportunities for students to sign up before your event starts.

Collect Appropriate Paperwork

Students will need pledge forms, to track their donations and information about their donors so that after the event is over it is easy to announce the total amount of funds raised. Each student’s donation tracker and pledge forms should include the donor’s name, contact information, and the amount donated or pledged to donate. Specify if it’s a flat donation amount up front, or if it is based on the number of books/pages read.

6. Encourage Participation With Incentives and Prizes

Students will be proud to participate in fundraising efforts for their school or classroom and there is the added benefit of friendly competition among peers during a Read-A-Thon. An incentive like prizes can help boost participation numbers and encourage students to reach their reading goals.

You could have special bookmarks for every student who signs up and allow them access to a reading-nook area in your classroom. Another great option is to set aside small prizes and award them as students hit their reading goals and a larger prize for one specific student who is the top reader of your event.

7. Advertise the Read-A-Thon School Fundraiser

Getting the word out about your Read-A-Thon is crucial! You’ll want students to let their family and friends know about the event and how to donate.

Here are a few ideas to help you advertise:

• Signs near student pick up and drop off areas
• Posters throughout the school
• Flyers sent home with students
• Emails to parents
• Announcements on your school website, Facebook, and other social media accounts.

Use this free, editable Read-a-Thon flyer template free, to get the word out about your fundraising event. The invitation template is completely customizable with a free Canva account!

The options are endless on how to advertise for your Read-A-Thon. Advertisement of the event is critical to ensure maximum student participation.

8. Assign Volunteer Roles and Responsibilities

Arranging for promotional materials to be distributed, helping to sort books into reading level or grade level specific categories, compiling data from donor sheets so you can email them with the results of the fundraiser, and distributing prizes are all tasks that a committee of volunteers can help with. Assign your volunteers to specific roles so there is less pressure on the coordinator of your event.

9. Collect Materials (Books)

The library of your school is a great place to start collecting books. If you’re collecting additional books from your community’s library or students’ homes, consider keeping them separate or labeling them with removable stickers.

You may want to set aside books that are appropriate for students’ reading levels and interests so there is a collection for them to choose from during the event. 

Additional Considerations

Elect a Committee 

Although a Read-A-Thon requires fewer volunteers than some more complicated types of fundraisers, having a committee of volunteers can be helpful for planning and completing some key tasks.

Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships

If you’re using a Read-A-Thon as a fundraiser in hopes of raising significant amounts of money, securing a corporate partnership to match donations or asking for a local business to sponsor your event are both great ways to boost income. 

Don’t Forget to Budget

Printing flyers or signs as well as student reading trackers may require a small budget. If you choose to offer prizes as a student incentive, that should be budgeted for as well. 

Use a Fundraising Platform

You could use a fundraising platform like read-a-thon.com or popular sites like GoFundMe.com to help collect donations for your event. Although digital platforms often collect a fee or percentage of donations, people are less likely to carry cash or write checks than they used to. So, having a digital fundraising platform can help ensure more donations are made. 

99 Pledges is another site designed to help organize Read-A-Thons and other school fundraisers. You can check out the Ultimate Guide to 99 Pledges here.

For a large-scale Read-A-Thon, using a digital fundraising platform is also a more secure way to keep track of donations than cash is.

Thank Your Volunteers, Donors, and Participants

Whether you’re sending out an email to everyone involved or mailing out cards, thanking your community for their participation, volunteer commitment and/or donations is a great way to wrap up a Read-A-Thon event. 

Make sure that you include information about how much money your event was able to raise and how many total books (or pages) students read during the event to let everyone know that a great job was done.

Low or No-Cost Read-A-Thon Prizes

Wondering what type of prizes you can add to your Read-A-Thon to help get students excited to participate? Here are some fantastic low-cost and no-cost prize options and incentives to help encourage students to join the event and do their best.

Individual Student No-Cost Prizes:

• Certificate of Participation
• Free homework pass
• Extra recess
• Extra free time
• Student chooses what games to play in gym class/physical education class
• Announcing winners over the school intercom system

Full-Class No-Cost Prizes:

• Pizza Party
• Pajama day
• Dress up day
• In class movie
• Dance party
• Extra technology time
• Sit where you want day

Low-Cost Prizes:

• Ribbons
• Trophies
• Candy
• Ice Cream sundaes
• Hot chocolate & marshmallows
• Keychains
• Bookmarks
• Dollar store toys
• Gift card

Benefits of Read-A-Thon School Fundraisers

There are many advantages of hosting a Read-A-Thon; they can be successful fundraising events and have an educational benefit for students that other types of fundraisers typically do not. 

Here are some of the greatest reasons to host a Read-A-Thon:

• Promote a love of reading
• Present new genres and authors to students 
• Increase student literacy skills
• Encourage student achievement and develop goal-setting skills
• Available to every age range
• Builds community connections
• Minimal cost to host & prepare
• Requires a small number of volunteers 
• Does not involve selling products

Read-A-Thon Rules

Set your rules before starting your event so students and donors know what is expected. You may need a few ground rules for what types of books are acceptable for the age range of students who are participating. 

For instance, 20-page picture books might be appropriate for young students to read but novels are expected of middle school students. Know your audience and set appropriate guidelines for the best results. 

The biggest rule for students to abide by will be that they are honest with how many books or pages they’ve read and use their tracker properly. Some parental oversight may be requested. 

FAQs

How Much Money Can You Expect to Raise With a Read A Thon Fundraiser?

How much money you can raise with a Read-A-Thon greatly depends on the number of students who are participating and the average number of donors each child is able to sign up. It can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. 

For example, if you have a class of 30 students and each of them finds three donors who pledge $20 each, you’ll end up with $1800.

For a school of 300 students, if each of them finds three donors with $20 to pledge each, you’ll end up with $18,000. 

It is helpful to know how much you’re hoping to raise up front so you can make a ‘suggested donation amount’ for students to ask donors for. Keep in mind that some students will find many donors and others won’t and your donation amounts will vary.

How Do You Pick a Read-A-Thon Theme?

Picking a Read-A-Thon theme that appeals to your students can be key to securing more student sign ups. Choose a theme that is interesting for the age group you’re targeting, and keep in mind their interests, reading levels, current trends and educational goals. 

What Age Groups Are Read-A-Thons Good For?

Read-A-Thons are usually held by elementary schools when reading skills are first developing but they can be successful with other age ranges too. 

For preschool and kindergarteners, expect that parents or volunteers will be needed to read alongside students. For older kids and students in middle school or high school, note that the focus of your event can be on exploring different genres, cultures and personal growth of students. Read-A-Thons foster a love of reading at any age and encourage life-long learning.

Read-A-Thon – The Bottom Line

Hosting a successful Read-A-Thon means organizers can harness the power of reading to inspire and educate. Proceeds can be used for important causes such as library improvements, school supplies, PTA support, or teacher appreciation efforts. Students develop valuable reading skills while contributing donations by setting reading goals, tracking their progress and celebrating their hard work and achievements.