Nampa Christian School volunteer Sandra Skoksberg has served as her school's fundraising director for fifteen years, but she had never seen the annual jog-a-thon bring in as much money as it did this year with PledgeStar.

In 2018, Skoksberg estimated that the fundraiser brought in about $20,000 for the school. Last year, she decided to give PledgeStar a try. Needless to say, she was very happy with the outcome. Their money doubled in 2019 and tripled to almost $60,000 in 2020. Not only was Skoksberg blown away by the huge uptick in funds, but she was amazed at how simple everything was on her end as the fundraising director.

"We used to have to have flyers and paper packets that went home, but we don't even have to do that anymore. PledgeStar keeps track of money that's coming in and money that's due. It's so simple," said Skoksberg.

Skoksberg offered a few incentives for the students to participate in the online fundraiser, but she found that a little went a long way. Every student who brought in $100 or more was awarded a T-shirt and the elementary school classroom with the most money was rewarded with a pajama movie party. Even without expensive or elaborate prizes, students and families were ready and excited to donate.

"I think the families really wanted to give to the school," Skoksberg said. With the closure of movie theaters, gyms, and sports activities across the country due to COVID-19, Skoksberg believes that the Nampa community was excited to do something special for the children. "It was a huge success because of PledgeStar and, of course, the people supporting the school," she added.

Nampa Christian School is located in western Idaho and offers private education to children ages preschool through high school. With only about 765 students in its population, a $60,000 total was a huge success for the small community.

"Just having the kids run outside...it was awesome," recalled Skoksberg. She said that because it is a private school, Nampa will use the funds to help keep tuition low, pay for supplies, and fund enrichment programs for the students.