Turn Reading into Funding in 20 Minutes with a Read-a-Thon
Pick a start date and go live in 15–20 minutes. Sponsors pledge by the minute, the page, the book, or one flat amount. Readers read. RallyUp collects every pledge. You just announce the number.
- Per minuteGrandma Ruth · $0.10 per minute$0.00
- Per bookUncle Dev · $5.00 per book, max $60$0.00
- FlatThe Okonkwo family · one-time gift$25.00
Readers log their minutes. Pledges recalculate as they go. Sponsors see exactly what they are backing.
- $0 platform fee on Free pricing
- Live in 15–20 minutes with Instant Templates
- Pledge by minute, page, book or a flat amount
How Read-a-Thons work
You do the first two. Your readers do the third. RallyUp does the last one.
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1You
Create it
Pick your dates, pick what gets counted, set a goal.
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2You and your readers
Add readers
Everyone gets their own page and link.
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3Readers and sponsors
They read
Readers log their reading. Sponsors pledge per unit or a flat amount.
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4RallyUp
We collect
Logging closes, every pledge is calculated, cards are charged.
How Read-a-Thon pledges work
Two ways to sponsor a reader: offer both
| Per-unit pledge | Flat donation | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | A sponsor commits an amount for each unit read: $0.10 per minute, $1 per page, $5 per chapter, $10 per book. | A sponsor gives a fixed amount, say $25, regardless of the final total. |
| What the sponsor owes | Calculated against the reader’s confirmed total when the window closes. | Known at the moment they give. |
| Best for | Parents, grandparents and anyone invested in how the reader does. | Out-of-town relatives and business sponsors who want a set figure. |
| On RallyUp | Pledges recalculate as the reader logs progress, then cards are charged automatically at the close. | Collected immediately, like any donation. |
Every reader gets a link. The link does the work.
A read-a-thon does not sell itself with a prize or a jackpot. It sells itself with a reading log, updating in front of the people who care about that child.
Built for campaigns where the fundraisers are children
You decide what the public can see
Most read-a-thon participants are minors, which makes public fundraising pages a real question for a school or a library. RallyUp gives you six settings to control exactly what shows up outside your community.
PS
ET
AC
LB
NKHide last names Readers appear as first name and last initial everywhere public, including at checkout.
Remove the participant list Nobody browsing your Campaign can page through your readers. A reader’s link works only for people they send it to.
Hide the Participant Center button Keeps the whole participant area private to those with the link.
Lock personal fundraising content Stop readers editing their own write-ups or adding personal photos.
Hide rankings Readers fundraise without a public position next to their name.
Hide leaderboards Turn off any or all leaderboards — useful when competition discourages more readers than it motivates.
See a real Read-a-Thon, then the same build counting something else
A Read-a-Thon counts minutes. A Math-a-Thon counts problems. Nothing else changes.
- Unit counted
- Minutes read
- Pledge options
- Per minute, per book, or one flat gift
- What to look at
- Reader sign-up, pledge form, live leaderboard
Previews are captures of the two live demo Campaigns. Open either one in a new tab to click through it.
How much can a Read-a-Thon raise?
How many readers sign up, how many sponsors each reader recruits, and what each sponsor pledges?
| If you sign up | And each reader gets | At an average pledge of | The Read-a-Thon raises |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 readers (one classroom) | 4 sponsors | $30 | $3,000 |
| 60 readers (a library program) | 5 sponsors | $40 | $12,000 |
| 200 readers (a full school) | 4 sponsors | $30 | $24,000 |
Per-unit pledges get to those averages faster than they look. A sponsor pledging $0.10 per minute, for a reader who reads 20 minutes a night across a 30-day window, owes $60 at the close.
Figures are illustrative. Actual results depend on participation, pledge amounts, and how widely your readers share their links.
Why Read-a-Thons raise more than they cost
The cheapest A-Thon to run and the hardest to derail
A Read-a-Thon has no venue, no permits, no catering and no inventory.
Keep close to every dollar you raise
$0 platform fee on Free pricing, and nothing to buy before you begin.
Your date can’t be taken away from you
Reading happens at home, so weather and venue calendars stop mattering.
Get the families who always sit out
Every reader can take part, including pre-readers with someone reading to them.
Fundraise without taking time away from learning
The activity is the thing you already want them doing.
Raise from relatives three states away
A shareable link travels further than any pledge sheet in a backpack.
One person can run it
Lightest setup of any A-Thon: no committee, no volunteer roster.
Read-a-Thon vs. walk-a-thon and other A-Thons
Event-based A-Thons buy shared energy at a higher cost and higher risk. The mechanic is identical; an organization that runs one well can run any of the others.
| Read-a-Thon | Event-based A-Thon (walk, fun run, dance) | |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | None | Route, track, hall or pool to book |
| Weather and scheduling risk | None – reading happens at home | A date that can be rained out or clash |
| Cost before you raise anything | Effectively zero | Venue, volunteers, supplies, sometimes permits |
| Who can take part | Everyone, including pre-readers | Limited by mobility and attendance |
| Shared event-day energy | Low | High — usually the bigger crowd |
| Setup effort | Lightest of any A-Thon | Heavier – a committee rather than one person |
Read-a-Thon software that does the chasing for you
Somebody has to track every reader, do the arithmetic, and go collect. RallyUp’s A-Thons does all three and more.
Pick a row, drag the slider, flip the switches. This panel is live.
- Day 11 · Charlotte’s Web+15 min
- Wed 10 · Frindle+52 min
- Tue 9 · The One and Only Ivan+30 min
The tracking does itself
Readers log minutes, pages or books as they go and every per-unit pledge recalculates against the confirmed total. No logs to collect, no arithmetic at the end.
Under the cap, so the sponsor pays exactly what the reading earned.
Nobody gets a bill they didn’t expect
Sponsors can cap a per-unit pledge up front, so an enthusiastic reader never turns into a surprise charge. Cards are charged automatically when the window closes.
Every reader becomes a fundraiser
Each participant gets their own page in the Peer-to-Peer Participant Center: their log, their sponsors, their share tools.
Readers can compete as classrooms, not just individuals
Group readers into teams so a shy reader still contributes to a total that gets celebrated. Team and individual leaderboards run side by side.
- 1Ivy O.$412Pizza party unlocked
- 2Maya R.$390
- 3Ben K.$355
- 4Theo L.$298
Leaderboard hidden. Readers still log, sponsors still pledge, nobody is ranked.
Leaderboards and prizes bring readers and their sponsors back
Show top readers, top classrooms or top fundraisers, and attach prizes to milestones. Hide any of it when competition would cost you participants.
Test every step yourself, real pledge form and all, before a single family sees it.
Launch from an Instant Fundraiser Template
Start from a built Read-a-Thon rather than a blank page, or test the whole thing end to end in Power Preview before a single family sees it.
RallyUp vs. running a Read-a-Thon on paper
Same fundraiser. Nobody is chasing anybody.
| On paper |  On RallyUp |
|---|---|
| Pledge sheets sent home, half of them lost | Each reader shares a link |
| Reading logs collected and retyped | Readers log their own minutes as they go |
| Every pledge calculated by hand at the end | Pledges recalculate automatically per unit logged |
| Volunteers chasing sponsors for money owed | Cards charged automatically when reading closes |
| Sponsors who regret an uncapped pledge | Donors set their own maximum up front |
| Only the families you can reach in person | Relatives anywhere can sponsor a reader |
| Cash and checks reconciled in a shoebox | One dashboard, one payout |
How to run a Read-a-Thon on RallyUp in 3 steps
Sign up
Create your free RallyUp account.
Build and launch
Start from a template, have us build it for you, or make it your own.
Share and collect
Readers share their links, and every pledge is charged automatically at the end.
Who runs Read-a-Thons
Run your Read-a-Thon alongside Raffles, Stores and Donations
Your Read-a-Thon does not have to fundraise alone. Add a Raffle, a Storefront for branded merchandise, a Sweepstakes, or a straight donation option to the same Campaign, at the same URL.
Supporters who will not sponsor a reader will often buy something instead and you capture both without running a second fundraiser.
You can also run more than one A-Thon at once. A Read-a-Thon for the younger classes and a fun run for the older ones, in one Campaign, on one leaderboard.
Have RallyUp build your Read-a-Thon for you
If you would rather not build it yourself, RallyUp’s fundraising experts will build the whole Campaign for you for free.
Talk to an expert
Read-a-Thon FAQs
What is a Read-a-Thon?
A Read-a-Thon is a fundraiser in which participants read as much as they can over a set period, and their sponsors give money based on the total. Sponsors either pledge an amount per unit read: per minute, page, chapter or book or give one flat donation. It is one kind of A-Thon: an activity plus pledged support over a set period.
How do Read-a-Thon pledges work?
Through a total that is tallied at the end. Each participant recruits sponsors who either commit an amount per unit read or give a fixed donation. Readers log what they read, and each per-unit pledge is calculated against that reader’s confirmed total and collected when the window closes. On RallyUp the calculation and collection happen automatically rather than by hand.
How long should a Read-a-Thon last?
Two weeks to one month, with one month the safest default. Shorter than two weeks and families do not have time to gather pledges. Longer than about six weeks and momentum fades and logs go unfilled. Quarter- and semester-long Read-a-Thons do work when the unit counted is books rather than minutes, since bigger totals need more runway.
Should we count minutes, pages, or books?
Minutes for younger readers, pages or books for older ones. Minutes are the friendliest unit for early readers and the easiest for families to report honestly. Pages and books suit older students and reward stamina, and they work better for longer windows. You pick the unit when you set up the Read-a-Thon, and every pledge is calculated against it.
How much can a Read-a-Thon raise?
It comes down to three numbers: how many readers sign up, how many sponsors each one recruits, and what each sponsor pledges. Twenty-five readers with four sponsors each at an average $30 pledge raises $3,000. Two hundred readers on the same averages raises $24,000. A sponsor pledging $0.10 per minute, for a reader who reads 20 minutes a night over 30 days, owes $60.
Can sponsors limit how much they pledge?
Yes. A donor can set a maximum on what they are willing to give, so a per-unit pledge cannot run away from them. This matters more than it sounds: an uncapped $1-per-page pledge against a child who reads 900 pages is how Read-a-Thons lose sponsors at collection time.
Do readers have to log their reading online?
No, but it saves you the most work. Participants can update their own totals from a phone as they read, which means no paper logs to collect and retype and no pledges to calculate by hand. Organizers can also enter totals on a reader’s behalf if a family prefers to track on paper.
Who can run a Read-a-Thon?
Almost any organization. Schools, PTAs and PTOs run the most, but public libraries, literacy nonprofits, youth programs, scout troops, faith groups, sports teams, individual classrooms and informal parent groups all run them. There is no requirement that the activity match your mission.
Is a readathon the same as a Read-a-Thon?
Yes; they are two spellings of the same fundraiser. You will see readathon, Read-a-Thon and Read-a-Thon used interchangeably. RallyUp uses Read-a-Thon, and the A-Thons Component supports it under any spelling you choose for your own Campaign.
What is the difference between a Read-a-Thon and a walk-a-thon?
Only the activity, and everything that follows from it. Both are A-Thons. A walk-a-thon is an event with a date, a route and volunteers, and pledges per lap or mile, and it usually draws the bigger crowd. A Read-a-Thon has no event day: reading happens at home over weeks, with pledges per minute or page. The walk-a-thon buys shared energy at higher cost and higher risk; the Read-a-Thon is cheaper, weather-proof and simpler to run.
How much does it cost to run a Read-a-Thon on RallyUp?
There is no platform fee on Free pricing. Supporters are offered an optional contribution to RallyUp at checkout. Organizations that prefer not to request supporter contributions can choose Flex pricing, which applies a platform fee instead. Standard payment-processing fees apply on both plans, and there is no contract or subscription either way.
Can RallyUp build our Read-a-Thon for us?
Yes. RallyUp’s fundraising experts can build your Campaign for you — you answer a few questions, review what comes back, and launch. Free human experts are available on chat and email on every plan.
Can we run a Read-a-Thon alongside other fundraising?
Yes. You can add a Raffle, a Storefront, a Sweepstakes or a straight donation option to the same Campaign at the same URL, and you can run more than one A-Thon at once: a Read-a-Thon for younger classes and a fun run for older ones, on one leaderboard.
Do we need to be a 501(c)(3)?
No. Unlike a raffle, a Read-a-Thon carries no tax-status requirement, because sponsors are making donations rather than buying a chance to win. A school, a PTA or PTO, a library, a team or an informal parent group can all run one.
Let the pledges collect themselves today.
$0 platform fee on Free pricing. No contracts. No subscriptions.
Start My Free Read-a-Thon