How One PTO Raised $17K+ with a School Color Run

Turning a School Run into Something Bigger

Melissa Knox is part of the CECA PTO at a TK-8 charter school in California. While her role focuses on social media and communications, she ended up taking the lead on one of the school’s biggest fundraisers: a Color Run Against Cancer.

The idea started with the school principal, who had previously helped organize a district-wide runathon for the American Cancer Society. The event had a great mission, but because it was held on a Saturday, turnout was low and fundraising results were limited.

The PTO saw a chance to make the event easier for families to join. Instead of asking students and parents to show up on the weekend, they brought the event right to campus during the school day. That way, every student could participate, whether they fundraised or not.

The first year, the school hosted a fun run. The next year, they added color powder and turned it into a full color run. It was simple, exciting, and easy for kids to love.

The fundraiser also tied into a larger message around healthy living. Since a portion of the money supported the American Cancer Society, Melissa and the PTO chose prizes that encouraged kids to get outside and stay active.

Incentives included jump ropes, sports balls, smoothie shop gift cards, roller rink passes, bowling gift cards, and other activity-based rewards. Every student also received a pair of sunglasses donated by a local orthodontist, so every child walked away with something fun.

To make the fundraiser easy to share beyond the school community, the PTO leaned on Cheddar Up’s peer-to-peer setup. Families could quickly pass along their pages to relatives, friends, and supporters without creating extra work for the PTO.

Keeping Fundraising Simple for Families

For the fundraiser itself, the PTO used Cheddar Up’s peer-to-peer fundraising tools. Families could create their own fundraising pages and share them with friends, relatives, and supporters.

Melissa and the team chose flat donations instead of per-lap pledges. That decision made the process much easier for volunteers because payments were collected up front. No one had to track laps, calculate totals, or follow up for money after the event.

To spread the word, the PTO shared the fundraising link in several ways. Melissa sent invites to families already in the PTO’s email list, the principal shared the link through school communications, and the PTO promoted it on social media. They also used yard signs in the pickup line and sent paper reminders through teacher mailboxes.

That mix helped them reach families in the places they were already looking.

The event also included t-shirt sales as a separate fundraiser. Students could buy a fun run shirt to wear on event day, but it was not required. Kids could also wear a plain shirt since the bright powder showed up well on almost anything.

On the day of the run, the entire school participated. Students ran by grade-level groups, with about 100 kids on the course every 30 minutes. Some kids ran, some walked, and some took breaks. The goal was simple: get students outside, moving, and having fun.Stickers, Volunteers Color, water bottles, course

How Cheddar Up Helped Everything Stay Organized

For Melissa, one of the biggest benefits of using Cheddar Up was having everything in one place.

The PTO could manage donations, sign-ups, t-shirt sales, and parent communication without managing a bunch of different tools. That made the fundraiser easier to run, especially for a volunteer team with a lot of moving parts.

Cheddar Up also made it easy for Melissa to monitor fundraising progress. She used the progress bar to create quick social media updates and encourage more donations.  Instead of building a separate fundraising graphic or thermometer, she could take a screenshot of the progress bar and share it with families. It was a simple way to build momentum and remind the community that they were getting closer to their goal.

Volunteer coordination was another key part of the event’s success. Instead of sending one big volunteer request to everyone, the PTO asked teachers to share private volunteer links with their own classes. Parents were more likely to sign up because they knew they would be helping during their child’s run time.

That targeted approach worked. Some sessions had more than 20 volunteers, giving the PTO plenty of help with color powder, crowd control, and cleanup.

Melissa’s biggest takeaway? Less is more.

The PTO did not need balloon arches, fancy decorations, or a complicated obstacle course. Music, color powder, a simple running loop, and excited students were enough to make the event feel special.

The result was a schoolwide fundraiser that raised more than $17,000 through peer-to-peer fundraising alone. Even better, the PTO plans to bring the color run back again.Before You Go