Online Fundraising Platform for Student Councils
- Raise money without the hassle: set up a council fundraiser in minutes and share a single link with the whole student body.
- Collect from everyone in one place: donations, dance tickets, spirit wear, and charity drive gifts live under one page.
- Get paid securely: bank-level security and PCI compliance protect every transaction.
- Skip the cash and checks: no more selling tickets from a cash box at lunch.
Why Student Councils Choose Cheddar Up
vs Traditional Payment Methods
vs Generic Payment Platforms
Made for Student Council Fundraising
Frictionless Payments
No apps. No accounts. Families can pay in seconds from any device.
Automatic Tracking
See every payment and response in real time. Export data anytime. No spreadsheets required.
Payments + Forms
Gather payments and information in the same place, from t-shirt sizes to waivers and registrations.
One-Stop Solution
Manage events, spirit wear sales, fundraisers, and registrations all in one easy-to-use platform.
How it works
Step 1
Create Your Student Council Fundraiser
Build a collection page and customize it with your school name, colors, logo, and fundraising goal. Add dance tickets, spirit week items, or charity drive donations.
Step 2
Share Your Link
Send your custom link by school app, email, morning announcements, or social media, and post it in class group chats. Students and parents can pay in seconds.
Step 3
Track and Get Paid
Watch ticket sales and donations arrive on a live dashboard, then transfer funds to your student council's bank account for free. Automated receipts keep your advisor's records clean.
Complete Fundraising Solutions for Every Student Council Need
Donations
Donating on Cheddar Up is simple with no awkward tipping at checkout.
Volunteer Sign Ups
Wow your community with elegant, ad-free sign ups.
Dues and Fees
Collect one-time fees or recurring dues from your community.
Group Gifts
Group collections for a teacher, coach or coworker with zero lifting.
Registrations and Waivers
Move camps online with payments, forms, and waivers in one spot.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers
Give participants their own pages to share your cause and rally donations.
Group Website
Highlight your organization’s mission, team members, sponsors and more.
What Student Council Leaders Say About Cheddar Up
“Super easy to use for our PTO. User-friendly and more affordable than the clunkier software we used last year. Very happy that our team can work together to build a site that works great for our school needs.”
– Eva D., PTO President
“Easy to implement and use, and the reporting is exactly what I need. Also, I’ve reached out twice to Cheddar Up support with questions, and they’ve responded promptly and thoughtfully both times.”
– Heidi H., PTA Vice President
“I love how user-friendly it is! It’s easy to use on your phone, so our parents are able to fill forms out and make payments super easy from wherever they are!”
– Kaitlin S., PTO Member
Frequently Asked Questions About Student Council Fundraising
How does online payment collection benefit education organizations?
Online platforms dramatically reduce volunteer workload by automating tracking and eliminating cash handling. They also increase participation by offering parents a convenient, mobile-friendly way to pay, leading to higher fundraising totals and more timely fee collections.
Is Cheddar Up secure for school payment collection?
Absolutely. Cheddar Up is secure and PCI compliant. In addition, Cheddar Up never sees or stores any financial-related information. Information is sent directly and securely to our payment partner, Stripe, which processes billions of dollars annually, using Transport Layer Security (TLS).
What types of payments can education organizations collect?
Organizations can collect for virtually any need, including fundraisers, event tickets, spirit wear sales, field trip fees, club dues, PTA memberships, and teacher gifts. Our platform is flexible enough to handle simple payments or complex collections with multiple items and forms.
How does Cheddar Up compare to other payment platforms for schools?
Unlike generic platforms, Cheddar Up is built specifically for the needs of school communities. We offer education-specific templates, robust tracking, and features for volunteer coordination that other platforms lack, all without a complex setup.
Can we integrate Cheddar Up with our school management system?
While direct API integrations are not included in our standard plans, Cheddar Up’s reporting tools make it simple to export your data. You can quickly download transaction and payer details in CSV or Excel format for easy import into most school management or accounting systems. For even more connectivity, the Team Plan includes Zapier integration, allowing you to automate workflows and connect with hundreds of other apps.
What support is available for education organizations?
We offer dedicated support from a team of experts, many of whom have experience as PTA leaders and school volunteers themselves. Support is available via live chat and email, and we provide a rich library of video tutorials, best-practice guides, and live demos to help you succeed.
What is the best online fundraising platform for student councils?
Cheddar Up is built specifically for group and school fundraising. Unlike personal payment apps, it combines donations, dance tickets, spirit wear, and dues in one organized page, with automatic tracking and no app required for supporters, making it an ideal online fundraising platform for student councils.
How much does it cost to fundraise online with Cheddar Up?
Creating a council page is free. Cheddar Up charges a small transaction fee per payment, and you can choose to pass that fee along to buyers so the platform is effectively free for your council. Standard transfers to your bank account are free.
Can we sell dance tickets and collect donations on the same page?
Yes. You can combine donations, event tickets, spirit wear, and dues on a single council page, each with its own custom form fields.
Can council members and homerooms run their own individual fundraisers?
Yes. With peer-to-peer fundraising, each participant gets a personal share page that rolls up to your council total, complete with leaderboards and real-time progress tracking.
Can we set a fundraising goal and show progress?
Yes. You can display a live goal thermometer so the whole student body can see how close your council is to its target.
Can we collect permission slips and guest information too?
Yes. Add custom questions and file uploads to collect permission slips, dance guest forms, sizes, and more right alongside payment.
Ready to start?
Kick the tires
Create a free account and build a collection to see how easy it is to collect money.
Watch a demo
Join us for one of our live demos and learn from our product experts in real time.
