Every school, team, and booster club wants a fundraising platform that doesn’t drain the budget. And for fact, fundraising feels amazing when every dollar counts toward your goal. That explains why many groups search for the “magic” phrase “best free school fundraising platform.” But if you dig deeper, most free options start to feel a little less free. Quiet cost shift. Pre-checked boxes.
PledgeStar takes a different route.
With PledgeStar’s fee coverage feature, schools, teams, and booster clubs can invite donors to help with platform and credit card processing costs, without ever pressuring them.
Here’s how it works:
When someone donates, they see a simple, friendly option to add a small amount to help cover fees. They can say “yes” or “no” in one click. Either way, their main donation goes exactly where they intended, supporting your event.
Let Donors Choose to Help More - Or Not
PledgeStar’s fee coverage feature invites donors to help with costs - but never forces them. When Grandma donates $20 to support her granddaughter’s Walk-A-Thon, she sees a clear, simple option: Would you like to help cover platform and credit card processing fees?
She can say yes. She can say no. She doesn’t need to hunt for a tiny “remove” link. She doesn’t need to wonder where her money went. She just gets a choice - and that changes everything.
Schools and teams using PledgeStar never pressure their communities. Instead, they trust donors to step up voluntarily. Many do.
Why It Works
Groups love flexibility. You choose your suggested coverage amount: maybe 7%, 8%, or 10%, and donors decide whether to add it. Many do, and those small extras can make a big difference.
Recent events show the power of choice: Many groups raise enough in voluntary fee coverage to offset their credit card and platform fees with money left over.
All made the same choice: offer donors the option, not the obligation. In each case, donors gave because they wanted to, and it paid off.
How about the other Free platforms?
Some fundraising companies market themselves as free. Their fine print tells a different story. Most only waive their own platform fee. The school still pays credit card processing costs, often around 3% of every donation. That’s why choosing the best free school fundraising platform matters: true zero-cost fundraising only happens when donors get the option to cover fees voluntarily.
To recoup those costs, these platforms automatically suggest donor “tips,” often between 15%–25%, and pre-select them by default. Removing the tip takes multiple steps. Many donors don’t realize they added more than they planned. And worse, the platform keeps that extra money. The school never sees it.
Not the case with PledgeStar.
Donors add coverage if they want. The school sets the suggested amount. And when donors chip in, every extra dollar goes straight to the school, team, or booster club.
Customize the Experience. Own the Outcome.
With PledgeStar, you control the donor experience. Set your own recommended coverage percentage. Want a light touch? Set it at 5%. Prefer a little more help? Try 8% or 10%.
You’ll see what works for your community. Many organizers discover that even a small suggested amount covers more than expected.
PledgeStar lets you adjust based on your event size, your goals, and your audience. No one-size-fits-all approach. Just clear options and full transparency.
Zero-Cost Fundraising? Completely Possible
Run your Read-a-Thon, Jog-a-Thon, or Booster Club campaign through PledgeStar, and your school could keep every dollar raised, no costs, no cuts. That’s why so many groups call PledgeStar the best free school fundraising platform. Because with donor fee coverage, you can actually raise funds without hidden costs.
Donors who care about your cause feel proud to support more than just the mission. They help cover the tools you use to make it happen. And If more donors step up, you can get 100% of your pledges, and even some extra bucks!
This makes PledgeStar free for you.
Bonus: You Keep Everything
When Grandma or Uncle Bob add a few extra dollars to help cover fees, PledgeStar doesn’t keep it. We don’t treat generosity as revenue. We treat it like what it is - support for your school.
That extra money goes toward instruments. Toward new uniforms. Toward buses for the championship game. You raised it. You keep it.
No other major platform offers that level of pass-through support.
PledgeStar: A Truly Free School Fundraising Platform - When Donors Choose to Help
No two fundraisers look the same. Some raise $20,000. Others raise $100,000. But across the board, donor generosity consistently offsets platform and credit card fees - when you offer the choice.
With fee coverage enabled, many PledgeStar groups hit zero-cost fundraising territory. Others walk away with extra.
The difference? You never hide anything. You never take donors for granted. You respect their choice, and that respect creates results.
Final Thought: Don’t Force Grandma to Cover the Fees. Let Her Choose.
Fundraising works best when it feels good, not just for schools, but for the people who give.
Grandma wants to help. So do neighbors, coworkers, uncles, and friends. Give them the tools to help in their own way. Let them give what feels right. Let them cover the fees - only if they want to.
That’s how you raise more. That’s how you build trust. And that’s how you turn a fundraising platform into a community-powered movement.
