PTA board brief · Jogathon comparison

Givebacks vs Zeffy on a $50,000 raise

Same $50,000. Two different jobs. Givebacks can bill $1 per lap after the run. Zeffy cannot. Zeffy is cheaper — and missing the pledge-per-lap engine this event needs.

Companion to the Givebacks fee brief · 500 card gifts of $100 · PTA absorbs Givebacks card fees · Sept 2026

Clipboards on empty school bleachers beside a running track

Choose Givebacks if

Sponsors will pledge per lap (or per minute), you will enter lap counts after the event, and cards should charge automatically. That is a real a-thon.

Choose Zeffy only if

The board will drop per-lap pledges and collect flat gifts now (“donate $25, jog later”). Then fees to the PTA are $0 — and laps are for prizes, not billing.

Zeffy · taken from $50,000

$0

PTA keeps the full $50,000 of intended gifts. Donors may still see an optional tip (often pre-selected around 17%).

Givebacks tip model

~$1,600

0% platform + Stripe 2.9% + $0.30. PTA keeps ~$48,400. Add $499–$599 only if the yearly plan is not already waived.

Givebacks 7.5% model

~$5,350

Use this only if you do not want a donor tip prompt. PTA keeps ~$44,650, plus any yearly plan.

Givebacks

A-thon software built for pledge-per-lap

✓
Per-lap / per-unit pledgesSponsors can pledge $1/lap, $2/lap, or a flat gift. After laps are entered, pledges convert and cards charge.
✓
Student pages and class teamsUnlimited participants. Student center to register kids and search teams.
✓
Collection after the runPer-unit or flat donations process when the a-thon ends. No paper chase for the per-lap math.
✓
PTA year-round toolsMembership, store, communications, and — in partnered states — dues remittance and good standing.
!
You run event dayNo coaches, prize cart, or emcee included. Budget prizes and volunteers separately.
!
Not freeAbout $1,600 on $50,000 (tip model) or $5,350 (7.5% model), plus $0–$599/year.

Zeffy

Fee-free donation pages — not an a-thon engine

✕
No pledge-per-lapCannot store “$1 per lap,” enter 22 laps, and auto-charge $22. That math is not in the product.
✕
No lap trackingLaps stay on clipboards. If you keep classic pledges, you collect by hand after Saturday.
!
Student pages exist — for flat giftsClass/grade teams and a money leaderboard work if grandma donates $25 now. Gifts to the main campaign do not count on the child’s total.
✕
Not a PTA operating systemNo National/State dues remittance. Shop is one item at a time, flat shipping, no print/ship.
!
Checkout tip frictionOptional tip is often pre-selected around 17%. Some nonprofits say that extra ask stalls donations. PTA still receives the intended gift if the donor sets $0.
✓
$0 to the PTA treasuryNo subscription, platform, or card fee on the $50,000. Needs an EIN and a PTA-named bank account.

Why Zeffy is a weak fit for this jogathon

  1. It cannot do the pledge you already use. A true jogathon is “$1 per lap × laps completed.” Zeffy only collects a donation amount up front. Switching to Zeffy means changing the fundraiser, not just the vendor.
  2. Post-event collection comes back. If you keep per-lap pledges on paper and only use Zeffy to take cards later, you are back to chasing unpaid pledges — the problem a-thon software is meant to solve.
  3. Student credit is fragile. A gift on the main campaign page does not count toward that student or class. Kids join the wrong team or open two pages; Zeffy support has to move donations and merge pages.
  4. Family signup is one person at a time. A family registering together goes through the form once, then joins the campaign after. Fine for a donation drive; clumsy for hundreds of elementary kids.
  5. Each child page must live under that family’s email. If the PTA builds pages under the officer’s email, families cannot edit them and will not get donation alerts. That email cannot be changed later; the team has to be deleted and rebuilt.
  6. Reporting gets messy with student names and teachers — a recurring PTA complaint, and the data you need for class prizes.
  7. The “free” checkout still asks families for extra money via a pre-filled tip. You will need a script: “Change the Zeffy contribution to $0 or a small amount.”
On $50,000 Givebacks (tip model) Givebacks (7.5% model) Zeffy
Taken from the $50,000 ~$1,600 ~$5,350 $0
Yearly plan $0–$599 $0–$599 $0
PTA keeps (plan waived) ~$48,400 ~$44,650 $50,000
Per-lap pledges + auto-charge after laps Yes Yes No
Student / class pages Yes Yes Yes, for flat gifts only
Who runs Saturday PTA volunteers PTA volunteers PTA volunteers
Best use Classic jogathon: pledge now, run, then collect Classic jogathon: pledge now, run, then collect Donate-now fun run, if the board will drop per-lap billing