Raise Money. Receive Money. Always.

Every educator who has ever created a cause on PledgeCents has received money to put toward their school or classroom! While 78% of the causes on our site meet or exceed their goal, those that don't still have access to the funds they do raise.

When we decided to start PledgeCents, it was with the goal of helping teachers and schools purchase the resources they need without spending money out of their own pockets. We knew our own friends who are teachers shelled out way more of their own money then they should have to, and we were appalled to discover that last year alone, teachers spent at least $1.6 billion of their hard-earned money on classroom supplies and resources. Huffington Post predicts it will only get worse. In fact, funding is so tight that there are whole websites like Penniless Teacher dedicated to helping teachers find ways to save money on classroom resources.

We knew we wanted to help, and PledgeCents was born.

One of the first decisions we made regarding our fundraising model was that cause creators would receive the funds regardless of whether or not they met their goal. As our CEO and Co-Founder Andyshea says, "Fundraising is fundraising...a goal is not something that should make a difference between a teacher receiving or not receiving funds." While other sites deny teachers the money they worked hard to raise if they do not meet their goal, we put those funds exactly where they belong--in the schools.

Teachers need resources to do their jobs, and, as US News and World Report points out, if their schools are not able to provide the funds, they will spend their own money to do so.

What we have found is that, on average, causes that do not meet their goal still raise about $700 dollars. Why would we want to take those $700 dollars away from a teacher doing everything in their power to provide a great education for their students when they can still put those dollars toward purchasing what they need for their classroom? Other fundraising platforms have chosen the "all or nothing" approach, leaving almost many hardworking teachers with no funds to show for weeks of fundraising efforts.

For the sake of transparency with those who choose to invest via PledgeCents, each cause contains a "plan b," which explains how the creator will spend the funds if they do not raise enough to pay for what they originally intended. We want every one who gives to a cause to know exactly where his or her money is going.

Our goal is to help teachers raise money, and, with this goal in mind, we will never deny a teacher the funds they raised simply because they incorrectly estimated the amount they would be able to raise and fell short of their goal.

We are here for the educators, and our funding model will always reflect that.