Case study · Marching band
You don't need big checks. You need everyone's network.
$469,982
across four straight seasons
8,263
individual donations
85%+
participation at 400+ students
$90K → $128K
season growth since 2022
| Raised | Donations | Donors | Avg gift | Participation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $90,371 | 1,773 | 1,574 | $50.97 | 78% |
| 2023 | $125,165 | 2,181 | 1,924 | $57.39 | — |
| 2024 | $126,503 | 2,236 | 1,894 | $56.58 | 87% |
| 2025 | $127,944 | 2,073 | 1,778 | $61.72 | 85% |
Participation at scale. With over 400 students, the hard part isn't the software — it's getting nearly every kid, and the community around them, to actually show up for the campaign. At this size, a fundraiser where half the roster sits out leaves six figures on the table.
POP solved it with a tradition: the fundraiser kicks off at the band's beginning-of-season lock-in party. The price of admission? Every student shows the contact list of people they're going to reach out to for the fundraiser. Contacts loaded, the campaign launches — and then the party runs late into the night, celebrating the start of the season and the kickoff in one shot. Director engagement stays off the charts through the entire process, and it shows in the numbers.
8,263 donations across four straight seasons — the widest donor reach of any program on the platform. Participation climbed from 78% in 2022 to 85–87% at a 400+ student scale where most programs are happy with half that. The average gift is modest; the breadth is the whole story: $469,982 in four years, powered by everyone's network instead of a few families carrying the load.
“I have used RapidFundraising at three different programs.”
— Aaron Gantt, Associate Director of Bands, Pearland High School Band
Run the same playbook
Every program on this page runs the same process — and the process is public. The steps behind this story:
Corporate sponsorships · $260K · sponsor-backed
Claudia Taylor Johnson: Three Campaigns, $260K
Participation · 90% participation
McNeil Band: 90% Participation, Year After Year
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