All pre-filled numbers are example inputs chosen to make the arithmetic easy to follow. They are not benchmarks.
What one donor owes
| Structure | Light (120 min) | Typical (400 min) | Avid (1500 min) | Expected collected, typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat gift, paid when pledged | $20.00 | $20.00 | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Per minute, no cap | $6.00 | $20.00 | $75.00 | $18.00 |
| Per minute, with a cap | $6.00 | $20.00 | $30.00 | $18.00 |
| Per finished book | $4.00 | $12.00 | $50.00 | $10.80 |
Highlighted: the highest expected collection for a typical reader at your inputs. The cap is reached at 600 minutes. The spread between light and avid readers shows how unpredictable each structure is for a donor: a flat gift never changes; an uncapped per-minute pledge can surprise someone.
This calculator answers two questions boards argue about. The first tab, Compare pledge structures, shows what one donor would owe under four pledge types for a light, typical and avid reader. The second tab, Compare fundraiser types, puts a read-a-thon next to a product sale and a ticketed event on net, net per family and net per volunteer hour. All the pre-filled numbers are example inputs chosen to make the arithmetic easy to follow. They are not benchmarks.
Tab 1: Compare pledge structures
Enter three reading totals for the whole event (light, typical and avid reader), then the terms of each pledge type. The table shows what one donor owes at each reading level under four structures:
- Flat gift, paid when pledged: the flat amount, whatever the minutes.
- Per minute, no cap: rate × minutes.
- Per minute, with a cap: the smaller of rate × minutes and the cap.
- Per finished book: rate per book × whole books finished, where books finished = minutes ÷ minutes to finish a book, rounded down.
The last column, Expected collected, typical, is what you would expect to receive from a typical reader's donor. Flat gifts are counted in full because they are paid up front. The three variable structures are multiplied by your After-event pledges collected rate, because they are billed after reading ends. The highest expected collection is highlighted. The note under the table tells you the minute count at which the cap is reached (cap ÷ rate, rounded up).
Read the light-to-avid spread as a measure of surprise. A flat gift never changes. An uncapped per-minute pledge can produce a bill the donor didn't expect, which is one reason some per-minute pledges go unpaid.
Tab 2: Compare fundraiser types
The second tab uses one shared input, Families in your community, and separate inputs for each fundraiser. The formulas are the ones printed under the results table:
- Read-a-thon net = families × share with a donor × donors per family × average gift, less fees (as a percentage) and costs.
- Product sale net = families × share who sell × sales per family × the share you keep, less other costs.
- Ticketed event net = tickets × (ticket price − cost per attendee) − fixed costs.
Gross is the read-a-thon's collected donations, the product sale's total sales, or the event's ticket revenue. Net per family divides net by your families input. Net per volunteer hour divides net by the volunteer hours you enter for that fundraiser, shown to the cent, and shows a dash if hours are 0. The fundraiser with the highest net is highlighted.
Why net per volunteer hour matters
A small PTA's scarcest resource is usually volunteer time, not money. Two fundraisers with similar net can be very different jobs. One might need 40 hours from a handful of people, while the other needs 100 hours of sorting, delivery or setup. Net per volunteer hour makes that visible. If your board keeps losing volunteers to burnout, give this column as much weight as the net.
Use real quotes, not guesses
The product sale and event results are only as good as your inputs. The share you keep from a product sale comes from your vendor's quote, not from a typical figure. Ask the vendor directly what percentage of each sale your group keeps. Event costs per attendee and fixed costs should come from actual quotes for food, venue and supplies. For the read-a-thon, ask your payment provider for the all-in fee percentage. Count every volunteer hour, including delivery day, cleanup, log totaling and the hours the treasurer and second counter spend counting and reconciling.
Choosing your inputs
| Input | What it means | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Light, typical, avid reader minutes | Total minutes over the whole event | Last year's logs (low, middle, high); or daily goal × days |
| Flat gift; per-minute rate; cap | The pledge terms you plan to offer | Your draft pledge sheet |
| Per finished book; minutes to finish a book | Book-based pledge terms | Varies hugely by age: a picture book vs a novel |
| After-event pledges collected | Share of variable pledges actually paid | Your own past collection; an assumption |
| Families | Households you would ask | Enrollment by family, or your mailing list |
| Read-a-thon share, donors, gift, fees, costs | Your read-a-thon assumptions | Past records; the read-a-thon fundraising calculator models these in more detail |
| Product sale share, sales, share you keep | Your sale assumptions | Vendor quote and past sale records |
| Event tickets, price, costs | Your event assumptions | Venue and catering quotes; past attendance |
| Volunteer hours (each) | Total adult hours to run it | Past sign-up sheets; ask last year's chair |
Worked example with the default inputs
Example These are the tool's pre-filled values, worked through by hand.
Pledge structures
Light reader 120 minutes, typical 400, avid 1,500. Flat gift $20; 5¢ per minute; cap $30; $2 per finished book at 60 minutes per book; 90% of after-event pledges collected.
| Structure | Light (120 min) | Typical (400 min) | Avid (1,500 min) | Expected collected, typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat gift, paid when pledged | $20 | $20 | $20 | $20 (paid up front) |
| Per minute, no cap | $0.05 × 120 = $6 | $0.05 × 400 = $20 | $0.05 × 1,500 = $75 | $20 × 90% = $18 |
| Per minute, with a cap | $6 | $20 | $75 capped to $30 | $20 × 90% = $18 |
| Per finished book | 2 books × $2 = $4 | 6 books × $2 = $12 | 25 books × $2 = $50 | $12 × 90% = $10.80 |
Books finished are whole books only: 120 ÷ 60 = 2, 400 ÷ 60 = 6.67 rounded down to 6, and 1,500 ÷ 60 = 25. The cap is reached at $30 ÷ $0.05 = 600 minutes. The flat gift is highlighted because $20 collected beats $18. Notice that the capped and uncapped per-minute rows are identical for a typical reader. The cap only matters for the avid reader, where it cuts a $75 surprise to $30.
Fundraiser types
400 families. Read-a-thon: 50% with a donor, 3 donors, $25 gift, 3% fees, $600 costs, 40 volunteer hours (count the treasurer's and second counter's hours in that figure; with 60 hours, the read-a-thon still nets $13,950 ÷ 60 = $232.50 per hour). Product sale: 40% sell, $80 sales each, 40% kept, $0 other costs, 60 hours. Event: 250 tickets at $15, $6 cost per attendee, $500 fixed costs, 100 hours.
| Fundraiser | Gross | Net | Net per family | Net per volunteer hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read-a-thon | 400 × 50% × 3 × $25 = $15,000 | $15,000 × 97% − $600 = $13,950 | $13,950 ÷ 400 = $34.88 | $13,950 ÷ 40 = $348.75 |
| Product sale | 400 × 40% × $80 = $12,800 | $12,800 × 40% − $0 = $5,120 | $5,120 ÷ 400 = $12.80 | $5,120 ÷ 60 = $85.33 |
| Ticketed event | 250 × $15 = $3,750 | 250 × ($15 − $6) − $500 = $1,750 | $1,750 ÷ 400 = $4.38 | $1,750 ÷ 100 = $17.50 |
With these example inputs the read-a-thon nets the most, mainly because a donation-based event keeps nearly all of each gift while a product sale keeps only its margin. Change the share you keep, the gift or the hours to your real figures and the order can change. A ticketed event can also do things the others can't, such as bringing families together, which the table doesn't measure. Trade-offs for each type are on our page comparing a read-a-thon with fun runs, product sales and book fairs.
Method note: This tool does arithmetic on your inputs. The defaults are examples, not averages, and nothing in it is drawn from other groups' results. We found no independent, method-disclosed benchmark for read-a-thon totals, product sale margins or event attendance. What documented read-a-thons reported is on our read-a-thon fundraising economics page.
Privacy
Everything runs in your browser. The tool saves nothing and sends nothing. Reloading the page restores the example inputs.
Next steps
- Pick pledge terms and suggested amounts with our read-a-thon pledge guide.
- Estimate a full event total, including mixed pledges and a collection rate, with the fundraising estimate calculator.
- See where read-a-thons fit among other fundraisers in our fundraiser comparison guide.
- Plan your event with the complete read-a-thon guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a flat gift highlighted even when per-minute pledges look bigger?
The highlight compares expected collection for a typical reader, not the pledged amount. A flat gift is paid when pledged, so it counts in full. Per-minute and per-book pledges are billed after reading ends and are reduced by your collection rate. With the default inputs, a typical reader's per-minute donor owes $20 but $20 × 90% = $18 is expected to arrive, so the $20 flat gift comes out ahead.
Why are per-book pledges so low for young readers?
Per-book pledges depend on how long a book takes, and the tool counts only whole books finished. A reader who finishes picture books in 10 minutes earns far more per minute than a reader working through a 60-minute chapter book. That unfairness across ages is why minutes are usually the better measure. Try changing minutes to finish a book to see how much the result swings.
Should we count paid staff time in volunteer hours?
Count it separately if you can. The volunteer hours field is meant for unpaid parent and community time, because that is what usually limits a small group. If school staff spend significant time on one fundraiser, such as sorting product orders, note it alongside the result. A fundraiser that looks efficient on volunteer hours but leans on teachers has a hidden cost.
What product sale margin should we enter?
Enter the share your vendor's written quote says your group keeps from each sale, after the vendor's cost. Don't use a figure from another school or a marketing brochure. If the quote includes free product, prizes or shipping charges, subtract those costs in the other costs field. The default 40% is only an example to make the arithmetic easy.