Read-a-Thon Planning Checklist

This is the full to-do list for a read-a-thon, in the order you need it, with one line on why each item matters. Use it to divide work among your team and to check nothing slipped. For a version with real dates, enter your first reading day in the read-a-thon planning calendar. It builds a dated timeline from this same sequence and exports it to your calendar app. For a single printable plan that also covers goals, money and roles, try the planning report generator. Quick questions that come up along the way, such as how long to run it or whether kindergartners can join, are answered in our read-a-thon questions page.

• Read-a-thon planning checklist (PDF)Every phase on one printable page, for the binder or the fridge.Download PDF

The phases assume a two-week reading period. If yours is one or three weeks, shift the "during" and "after" phases and keep everything before them the same. The reasoning behind each phase is in our read-a-thon fundraiser guide.

Six to eight weeks before reading starts

This phase is decisions and approvals. Nothing goes to families yet.

• Get the principal's or director's approval for the dates. Why: their sign-off unlocks teacher time, building use and the school calendar.
• Check the dates against testing, breaks and other fundraisers. Why: a reading period that overlaps state testing or a long weekend loses momentum.
• Name the goal in one specific sentence. Why: "new books for every classroom library" persuades donors; "general support" does not.
• Get a board vote, a membership vote if your bylaws require one, and a budget line. Why: printing, recognition and fees need approved spending, and the vote protects the volunteers. Our guide for PTA and PTO boards includes sample motion text.
• Ask about district fundraiser registration. Why: some districts require a form with a fixed lead time or cap fundraisers per year, which can set your earliest start date. The PTA and PTO guide lists the questions to ask.
• Confirm your group's tax status and who will hold the money. Why: it decides whether donors can deduct gifts and which account receives them.
• Recruit a lead organizer, a treasurer and a second counter before anything is announced. Why: two unrelated adults must handle every cash count, so you need both names before any money arrives.
• Choose the pledge options. Why: the parent letter, pledge sheet and online page all depend on it. We recommend offering a flat gift by default plus a per-minute option with a cap.
• Decide what counts as reading and whether there is a daily cap. Why: settling audiobooks, being read to and home languages now prevents arguments later.
• Decide how money will be collected: online, paper or both. Why: an online provider needs setup time, and you need to ask about fees and data before choosing.

Three to five weeks before

This phase is building materials and lining people up.

• Draft the parent letter and get it approved. Why: it is the one document every family reads, and school approval can take a week. Start from our parent letter and message templates.
• Arrange translation for families who need it. Why: a letter in a family's home language gets read. A Spanish letter and log are ready to use.
• Set up the online donation page, if you use one, and test a gift. Why: a $1 test catches broken links and missing receipts before a grandparent does.
• Agree on recognition: what readers earn for minutes and participation. Why: rewards based on dollars single out children whose families can't give. See prize and incentive ideas that reward reading.
• Order prizes and book any celebration guests. Why: shipping and schedules slip, and the finale date is already promised.
• Brief teachers with a one-page handout. Why: teachers who know exactly what is and isn't asked of them support the event. Hand out the teacher one-pager.
• Check privacy rules for posting progress and photos. Why: the school's media opt-out list and directory-information rules limit what you can share. Our student privacy checklist covers leaderboards and online providers.
• Plan the progress display. Why: a hallway chart or weekly email of combined minutes keeps energy up without naming individual students.

One to two weeks before

This phase is printing, sending and the kickoff.

• Print logs, pledge sheets and letters, with extras. Why: plan on about 10% extra for lost papers and new students.
• Sort materials into class bundles. Why: teachers can hand out one labeled envelope in a minute.
• Send the parent letter home and by email, about two weeks before reading starts. Why: families need time to line up supporters before reading begins, and the letter gives both due dates.
• Post the event on every channel families use. Why: newsletters, social media and the school sign each reach different parents.
• Send a short note to staff with key dates. Why: front-office staff field most parent questions.
• Prepare the kickoff. Why: a short assembly or announcement that reveals the goal starts reading on the right note.
• Set up the treasurer's tracking sheet. Why: our free tracking spreadsheet has one row per reader for minutes, pledged, collected and outstanding, and a class tab for each class's percentage of its goal, so reconciliation is fast.

During the reading period

This phase is keeping momentum and handling money safely.

• Hold the kickoff on day one. Why: readers who start strong keep going.
• Post a combined-minutes update at least twice a week. Why: a shared goal moving toward the finish line is the best reminder you have.
• Send a halfway message to families. Why: it brings back readers who stalled and supporters who forgot to give.
• Count and deposit any cash with two people, the same day. Why: it protects your volunteers and your group. Use the two-person count sheet.
• Plan one or two in-school reading moments. Why: a schoolwide reading break or guest reader makes the event feel shared.
• Answer family questions within a day. Why: unanswered questions turn into complaints.
• Send a final-push reminder two days before the end. Why: in our experience, many families log and give in the last few days.

After reading ends

This phase is collecting, thanking and closing the books.

• Collect logs two school days after reading ends. Why: logs left in backpacks for two weeks disappear. Logs go back through the class; money goes separately to the office.
• Total minutes by class and for the whole group. Why: the combined total is the headline of your celebration.
• Remind families to send per-minute supporters their final amount, with the money due date one week after logs. Why: per-minute pledges are billed after the event, and families already know their supporters, so you never need their contact details.
• Send families one reminder before the money deadline. Why: after the deadline, each family sends one note to any supporter still unpaid. More than that strains goodwill.
• Send written acknowledgments for any single gift of $250 or more, and a receipt to cash donors. Why: donors need one to claim the deduction (IRS Publication 1771), and cash leaves no bank record. Our donations and receipts guide explains what it must say.
• Hold the celebration after the money deadline. Why: you can announce a real total. Readers should see what their minutes achieved, and every reader should be included.
• Thank donors, teachers and volunteers. Why: the people you thank this year are the people who say yes next year.
• Reconcile and report to the board. Why: gross, fees, costs, net, minutes and participation counts close the loop and build trust.
• Build the handoff folder. Why: next year's organizer should start from your notes, not from zero.

The minimum viable read-a-thon (three weeks of planning)

If you only have about four weeks from decision to last reading day, cut the event down instead of rushing everything. This plan uses three weeks of planning and a one-week reading period, then a short wrap-up. In the planning calendar, choose 3 weeks of planning and a 1-week reading period, which gives about four weeks in total.

1. Week 1: approve and decide. Get the principal's approval and a board vote. Name the treasurer and second counter. Use flat gifts only, collected online or in a sealed envelope to the office, with no per-minute pledges to bill later.
2. Week 2: send the letter. Send the parent letter home so families have about two weeks to line up supporters, and brief teachers with the one-pager.
3. Week 3: print and announce. Print logs, sort them by class, and plan a short kickoff announcement.
4. Week 4: read. Run a one-week reading period. Post one midweek update of combined minutes. Count any cash with two people the same day.
5. Wrap-up: collect and celebrate. Collect logs two school days after reading ends. Announce the total minutes and the amount raised, send thank-yous and reconcile.

What you give up: a theme, prizes, per-minute pledges and much of the time families need to invite supporters. Expect fewer supporters than a six- to eight-week plan would bring. A small event that runs smoothly does more for next year than a big one that runs late.

What goes in the handoff folder

Put everything in one shared folder owned by the group, not by a volunteer's personal account. Build it the week after the celebration while details are fresh.

Item	Why next year's team needs it
Final timeline with actual dates	Shows how long each step really took
Every letter and message as sent	Saves rewriting and keeps the voice consistent
Budget vs. actual spending	Gives the board a real starting point
Results: gross, fees, costs, net, minutes, readers, supporters	Sets a realistic goal based on your own history
Signed count sheets and deposit records	Supports the audit and the annual tax filing
Online provider settings and fee terms	Lets the next treasurer compare options
Printing quantities and leftovers	Avoids over- or under-printing
Prize and celebration notes with costs	Shows what readers loved and what it cost
Contact list of roles (not personal details of families)	Tells the next team who to ask
"Change next year" list	The most valuable page in the folder

Sources

1. Internal Revenue Service, Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements. irs.gov (accessed October 19, 2026)