Reading logs are hard to manage at scale
Teachers collect paper reading logs from dozens of students. Some forget to fill them in, others inflate their numbers, and consolidating everything into a spreadsheet takes hours.
Read-a-thon fundraising
Per-book and per-minute pledge collection for read-a-thons
Give every student a personal fundraising page where family and friends pledge per book or per minute read. After the reading period ends, HometownLift calculates totals and collects payments automatically.
The challenge
What makes this fundraising harder than it should be
Young students cannot manage their own pledge forms
Elementary-age readers need a parent to handle pledge collection. Paper forms go home in a backpack and often never come back. The fundraiser depends entirely on parent follow-through.
Pledge math is tedious and error-prone
Multiplying each supporter's per-book pledge by the number of books read, for every student, is a spreadsheet nightmare. One mistake means chasing the wrong amount from a family member.
Out-of-town relatives are left out
Grandparents and extended family who would gladly support a young reader have no way to participate when the only option is a paper form sent home from school.
The HometownLift approach
Digital reading pledges with automatic payment collection
Per-book and per-minute pledge options
Supporters choose how they want to pledge: a dollar amount per book finished or per minute read. The system tracks the unit type and calculates the final total when results are entered.
Shareable student fundraising pages
Each reader gets a personal page that parents can text or email to family. The page shows the student's reading goal, current progress, and a simple form for supporters to pledge or donate.
Automatic payment requests after reading period ends
Once the teacher or organizer enters final reading totals, HometownLift sends each pledger an email with their calculated amount and a link to pay online. No manual invoicing needed.
Flat donations for supporters who prefer simplicity
Not every supporter wants to do the per-unit math. HometownLift lets them give a flat dollar amount alongside per-book and per-minute pledgers in the same campaign.
FAQ
Common questions
What age group works best for a read-a-thon?
Read-a-thons are popular with elementary and middle school students. HometownLift handles the payment and pledge logistics so that younger students only need to focus on reading while parents manage the fundraising page.
How do we track how many books each student reads?
The teacher or librarian enters final reading totals into HometownLift after the reading period. The platform does not replace your reading log -- it handles the pledge math and payment collection based on the numbers you provide.
Can we run the read-a-thon over multiple weeks?
Yes. Set your reading period to whatever length you choose. Pledges stay open during that window, and payment collection begins only after the organizer enters final results and triggers invoicing.
Is there a cost to the school or library?
No. HometownLift has no subscription, setup fee, or monthly charge. A 5% platform fee plus card processing is added at checkout and paid by the donor. The organization keeps 100% of every gift.
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