The PTA website for Lincoln Elementary in Corona del Mar reads, "The spirit of Lincoln encourages kindness, inclusion, and positivity. Our motto says it all: 'Kindness, it's a Lincoln thing!' We are so proud to collectively call this school our home." This motto rang true during the school's annual Jog-A-Thon.

"The school really lives up to its motto," says Addie Zinone of Lincoln's PTA. "We really try to make our event less about running and more a community event. We have a contest for the most creative outfit at the Jog-A-Thon. The kids will wear tutus or ties or crazy hats. It's a festival-type vibe. We also play music while the kids are running. The older kids get to count laps for the younger kids. And everyone gets a popsicle at the end; it's amazing how much a popsicle will motivate a kid."

Lincoln is a school that cares about the arts. "The Jog-A-Thon money always goes toward our technology and art programs. Our district doesn't provide any art programs anymore so we help pay for that, including a part-time art teacher."

Lincoln has been using PledgeStar for five years and has seen huge improvements in the success of their fundraisers. Ms. Zinone explains: "It's very user-friendly and makes it easy to break down a lot of tedious numbers into categories that are easy to understand: who earns the most money, who reads the most minutes, which class is ahead, which student is ahead. Having PledgeStar track all those numbers and organize them so we don't have to makes it easier for us to focus on just executing the event."

In the past, sorting cash and check donations had been challenging and time-consuming. Once Lincoln started using PledgeStar, keeping track of incoming funds was a breeze. "We have a lot of money coming in and it's very easy to know where on the website to input cash and checks in addition to keeping track of electronic donations," says Ms. Zinone.

PledgeStar's automatic reminder system streamlined the process and cut down on the labor-intensive elements of the fundraiser for volunteers. "If someone pledges with a check, PledgeStar automatically sends those people reminders to send in their donation so we don't have to keep track of it," Ms. Zinone says. "It does all the annoying legwork, the hard, tedious stuff." Ms. Zinone explained that the website is very "user-friendly" and that it makes it "easy to break down a lot of tedious numbers."

Lincoln implemented many incentives to keep the students motivated during the fundraiser. "Every student who raised $300 or more got a pizza party," says Ms. Zinone. "It's called 'The 300 Bucks Club.' The kids love it and it's a big motivator. The student who raised the most overall got a pair of custom Nike shoes."

"We were hoping for $20,000 and ended up making more than $32,000," Ms. Zinone raves when asked if PledgeStar increased the amount of incoming funds for Lincoln's Jog-A-Thon. "If we didn't use PledgeStar, we wouldn't have been able to do all the outreach and make that much money. I know our students would have a much harder time reaching out to friends and family. You can literally send the information to anyone in your friends and family contacts, wherever they are, with PledgeStar."

Ms. Zinone goes on to explain why Lincoln parents love the fact that the PTA uses PledgeStar. "It's just so easy for the parents," she says. "What's so great about using PledgeStar is that I just send a quick note to parents outlining the simple steps to get registered and enter contact information for your friends and family. Once you've set up your page, you don't have to re-enter it the next year. It's already there. Parents don't always have the time or energy for working on fundraising anymore, so it's great that PledgeStar streamlines the process so much!" Parents can get signed up and start collecting money in less than 10 minutes.