Fundraising University

What Fundraising University does

Fundraising University, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Gilbert, Arizona, operates a franchised digital fundraising platform serving K-12 school athletic programs and activity groups (primarily U.S. high school sports teams, marching bands, and similar extracurricular programs). The company's core product is a proprietary digital platform that enables students to run managed, donation-based fundraising campaigns through personal outreach, secure digital messaging, real-time donation tracking, SMS-delivered discount cards/tickets, and automated parent communication. Campaigns follow a structured "Plan-Brief-Execute-Debrief" execution framework, with reported results of $325+ per participant and completion in 2-3 hours or 7-10 days depending on format. The platform is COPPA, WCAG 2.1 Level A, and Section 508 compliant, with student data encrypted in transit and at rest and explicitly not shared with third parties — a positioning that is directly relevant to K-12 district procurement standards.

The company monetizes through three revenue streams: (1) one-time initial franchise fees paid by new franchisees (~$50,000 liquid capital recommended as the total startup investment); (2) ongoing royalties on franchisee gross sales plus potential marketing fund contributions from the 70+ operable franchise territories across the United States; and (3) a 5% convenience fee on online donations processed through the platform, covering credit card processing and platform costs. Schools themselves pay no upfront costs and face no minimum order requirements, with a $35 minimum donation applied only to donation-only campaigns. The business operates exclusively through franchise-based distribution — franchise owners serve designated territories with two ownership paths (Owner-Operator and Empire Builder) and approximately 150 sales representative opportunities feed the franchise pipeline.

Fundraising University reports serving 2,500+ schools with a 92% residual retention rate (many relationships exceeding 15 years) and enabling cumulative fundraising of $270 million+ for student-athletes. The company began franchising in 2020 and has earned the #1 ranking in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 Fundraising category for three consecutive years (2024, 2025, 2026). Leadership includes Founder & CEO Mike Bahun, President of Sales Michael Effinger, Director of Sales Dan Cougill (appointed November 2025, formerly President of Wilson Team Sports and Riddell Sports), Marketing Director Natalie Carpenter, and JR Lofton as the first Franchise Business Coach. The company is privately held, bootstrapped, and founder-owned, with no disclosed institutional investment; in 2025 it entered a strategic partnership with Limitless Franchise Growth (LFG) to accelerate national franchise expansion.

Name

Fundraising University

Legal name

Fundraising University

Website

https://fundraisingu.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fundraising University is a Gilbert, Arizona-based franchisor of a digital school fundraising platform serving U.S. high school athletic and activity programs through 70+ franchise territories, monetizing via franchise fees, royalties, and a 5% donation convenience fee, with $270M+ cumulative raised for student-athletes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School & Youth Sports Fundraising Services

NAICS

Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

akta.pro primary industry

Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support (EDALAIAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK), Advancement Services & Donor Operations (CRM, Gift Processing, Stewardship) (EDALAOAD)

Keywords

• School fundraising services
• Youth sports fundraising
• Fundraising franchise opportunities
• Digital fundraising platform
• Discount card fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Overland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Franchise Royalties: Franchisees pay ongoing royalty fees (flat rate of gross sales) and potential marketing fees to Fundraising University in exchange for brand access, systems, training, and support.
2. Franchise Fee: Initial franchise fee included in startup investment covering brand, business model, and support systems access.
3. Fundraiser Service Fees: Schools and athletic programs pay for professional fundraising services. The 5% convenience fee covers credit card processing and platform costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fundraising University provides turnkey school and youth-athletic fundraising programs delivered through a proprietary digital platform, covering program design, sales materials, digital payment processing, and real-time campaign tracking. Since 2020 it has scaled distribution through a franchise model, enabling entrepreneur-owners to operate exclusive territories selling these programs to schools, booster clubs, and youth sports teams nationwide.

Product overview

Fundraising University operates as a unified fundraising platform providing school sports and activity programs with professionally managed fundraising solutions. The core offering consists of a Student Fundraising Platform that enables student-athletes to conduct time-efficient campaigns through personal outreach and digital donation collection, complemented by Sports Fundraising Programs covering various athletic teams. The company extends its services to music programs through Marching Band Fundraising, and offers specialized support for field hockey and golf teams. A Discount Card/Ticket Program provides donors with merchant offers as a value-add to their contributions. Fundraising University also operates a Franchise System for entrepreneurs seeking to build a business around the company's proven fundraising model, along with a Sales Representative Program offering career advancement pathways. The platform is distinguished by its commitment to no upfront costs for schools, managed execution with minimal coach interference, and results that reportedly exceed industry averages by 115%.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student Fundraising Platform Turnkey school fundraising program delivered via a proprietary digital platform with real-time tracking and digital payment processing, designed for K-12 schools and student groups to raise funds with minimal volunteer burden.
• Sports Fundraising Programs Sport-specific fundraising programs (e.g., football, basketball, baseball, etc.) for high school athletic teams and booster clubs, providing turnkey campaign execution, materials, and digital tracking.
• Marching Band Fundraising Specialty fundraising program tailored for school marching band programs, providing campaign materials and digital fundraising tools to fund instruments, travel, and uniforms.
• Field Hockey Fundraising Sport-specific fundraising program for school and youth field hockey teams, providing turnkey fundraising execution to support equipment and program costs.
• Golf Fundraising Sport-specific fundraising program for school and youth golf teams, providing turnkey campaign execution to fund team expenses.
• Discount Card / Ticket Fundraising Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Results surpass industry averages by 115% while completing projects in half the time
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Limitless Franchise Growth (LFG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Strategic partnership combining Fundraising University's proven fundraising system ($270M+ raised) with LFG's expertise in scaling franchise brands nationally. LFG specializes in identifying strong, values-driven franchise concepts and helping them expand strategically. The partnership aims to accelerate Fundraising University's national expansion and provide more resources to schools and franchisees.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• GoFundMe: GoFundMe is the largest consumer crowdfunding platform and increasingly used by teams and schools for athletic fundraising. It serves the same end-customer need (raising money for a team) but operates as a broad-purpose platform rather than a school-specialized offering.
• Bonterra (Network for Good / CauseCraft): Bonterra provides nonprofit and school fundraising software including donation forms, event management, and CRM. It overlaps with FundU on the donation-processing infrastructure layer but targets nonprofits broadly, not specifically high school athletics.
• QSP / Quality Service Programs: QSP is a long-established magazine and catalog fundraising company serving K-8 schools, part of the larger school fundraising incumbent landscape. Comparable to FundU as a fundraising-channel vendor to US schools, though operating in the legacy product-sale category rather than digital/donation campaigns.
• World's Finest Chocolates: World's Finest Chocolates is one of the largest school chocolate-fundraising incumbents, serving K-12 organizations through catalog/product sales. It competes for the same school fundraising wallet as FundU, but via traditional product-sale channels rather than digital donations.

Emerging players

• RallyMe: RallyMe is a crowdfunding platform focused specifically on youth and amateur sports teams. It competes for the same high school athletics fundraising wallet as FundU but as a pure crowdfunding tool rather than a managed-service franchise.

Others

• Limitless Franchise Growth (LFG): LFG is Fundraising University's named strategic partner that specializes in scaling franchise brands nationally. It is comparable as an ecosystem participant that enables FundU's franchise growth engine, though LFG is a service provider rather than a competitor.

Direct peers

• Fun Run: Fun Run is a school fitness-based fundraiser franchise that organizes run events for elementary and middle schools. It is comparable to FundU as a fundraising franchise targeting K-12 athletics/activity programs, though weighted toward younger grades.
• Booster (Boosterthon): Booster is one of the largest school fundraising franchise platforms in the US, running fitness-based fundraiser events and a digital giving platform for K-12 schools. It is the closest direct competitor to Fundraising University in the school-athletics fundraising franchise category.
• Snap! Raise: Snap! Raise is a digital fundraising platform purpose-built for school athletic teams, enabling coaches to run online campaigns. It overlaps FundU on product (digital giving) and customer (high school coaches) but uses a SaaS model rather than a franchise network.
• PledgeIt: PledgeIt provides online pledge-based fundraising tools for schools, sports teams, and youth programs. It competes for the same digital school fundraising wallet but is a software-only player versus FundU's franchise + coach model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqEuawf7UjdodFHX1BhNf3A
• Facebookfacebook.com/fundraisinguniversity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundraising-university
• Instagraminstagram.com/fundraisinguniversity
• Xx.com/FundraisingUni1

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fundraising University