What Apex Leadership does

Apex Leadership Co., LLC (DBA Apex Fun Run) is a privately held, franchise-based school fundraising company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The company serves elementary and middle schools across 32 U.S. states, offering a two-week program that combines a digital fundraising campaign with an on-campus fitness event — flagship Apex Fun Run for elementary schools, plus variants Apex Glow Run, Apex Obstacle Course, Apex Remix, Apex Color Games (for middle schools), and Apex Virtual for remote/hybrid environments. The service is wrapped around a PBIS-based annual leadership curriculum delivered as daily lessons by an athlete team, with the 2026-27 theme called Apex Super Heroes.

The underlying technology is the myapexevent.com platform, which handles online pledge collection, sponsor payments, and real-time donation tracking. Key features include Quick Collect (contactless payment with a claimed 99%+ collection rate), Share Wizard (digital outreach to maximize donor reach), Family Pledging (single-link management for multi-student households), and payment integrations via Square, WePay, and ApexPay. The platform is not a public consumer app; it is operated as a service layer consumed by schools during the two-week event cycle.

Apex monetizes through two revenue streams: per-event service fees from schools (a transaction-fee model on the funds raised), and franchise fees from Area Directors and Local Directors who operate in defined geographic territories. The company has no publicly disclosed revenue, funding rounds, or institutional investors, and is described as founder-led (co-founder Amy Donnell, a former first-grade teacher). Scale commentary cites 5,000+ schools served, 3.2 million students reached, and over $80 million raised for schools since inception, and a 70% performance uplift claim versus prior fundraisers used by the same schools.

Name

Apex Leadership

Legal name

Apex Leadership Co, LLC

Website

https://apexleadershipco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Apex Leadership Co. is a franchise-based school fundraising company serving elementary and middle schools across 32 U.S. states with a digital pledge platform, on-campus fitness events, and PBIS-based leadership curriculum.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School Fundraising Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support (EDALAIAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ), Behavior, Discipline, PBIS/MTSS & Intervention Tracking (EDAFAEAJ)

Keywords

• School fundraising programs
• Fitness fundraising events
• PBIS leadership curriculum
• Online pledge platform
• Franchise fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

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, Others

Revenue model

1. School Fundraising Event Services: Apex provides a two-week fundraising program culminating in a fitness event (Fun Run, Glow Run, Obstacle Course, Color Games, or Remix). Schools pay a fee for the program and Apex handles all logistics, athlete teams, and pledge collection. Schools retain funds raised minus the service fee. Revenue is generated through per-event service contracts with schools across elementary and middle school segments.
2. Franchise Fees: The company operates primarily as a franchisor (Apex Fun Run, LLC) with franchisees/Area Directors operating in defined territories. Franchisees pay franchise fees to operate the business in their assigned regions.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Apex Leadership Co. provides two-week, turnkey school fundraising programs that combine a fitness event (Fun Run, Glow Run, Obstacle Course, Remix, or Color Games) with PBIS-based leadership lessons delivered on-campus by company-employed athlete teams. Schools use the myapexevent.com online platform to collect pledges digitally, with funds deposited directly into school accounts. The company operates through a franchise model with local Area Directors serving schools across 32 U.S. states.

Product overview

Apex Leadership Co. operates a platform-plus-events model for school fundraising, combining a proprietary online fundraising platform (myapexevent.com) with in-person fitness events. The core product is the Apex Fun Run for elementary schools, supported by variant event programs (Apex Glow Run, Apex Obstacle Course, Apex Remix/Youth Fitness) and middle school-specific offerings (Apex Color Games). All programs integrate PBIS-based leadership curriculum delivered via video and in-person sessions by athlete teams. The company expanded during COVID-19 with Apex Virtual for hybrid/remote participation. Key platform features include Quick Collect for contactless payments, Share Wizard for donor outreach, and Family Pledging for multi-student households. The service operates through a franchise model with local directors across 32 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Apex Fun Run: The primary flagship event - a school fun run fundraising program combining fitness, leadership lessons, and fundraising for elementary schools.
• Apex Glow Run
• Apex Obstacle Course
• Apex Remix
• Apex Color Games
• Apex Virtual
• Apex Super Heroes

Products and services

• Apex Fun Run Flagship two-week elementary school fundraising program combining an online pledge campaign with a 45-minute on-campus fun run event where students run 26-36 laps. Includes PBIS-based leadership lessons delivered by athlete teams and culminates in a high-energy finale with pep rallies. Used by elementary schools to raise funds for technology, supplies, and programs.
• Apex Glow Run Evening/nighttime running event featuring glow-in-the-dark elements, music, and fitness activities. Students run 26-36 laps in a 45-minute high-energy session with glow accessories and upbeat playlists. Designed for elementary schools seeking a themed alternative to the standard daytime fun run.
• Apex Obstacle Course Fun run variant incorporating inflatable obstacles (maze, mountain, crawl under) around the track. Students raise pledges per obstacle completed, with the event lasting approximately one hour. Targeted at elementary schools that want a more activity-focused event format.
• Apex Remix / Youth Fitness Indoor fitness fundraising event culminating in a 45-minute glow party where students perform up to 36 fitness moves. Designed for schools preferring indoor venues, combining fitness activities with leadership lessons and fundraising.
• Apex Color Games Middle school fundraising program featuring team competitions with eco-friendly, safe, biodegradable color powder. Combines games, team battles, and fitness activities with the online fundraising platform. Positioned as an age-appropriate alternative for grades 6-8.
• Apex Virtual Virtual/adaptable fundraising solution that delivers leadership lessons via video, enables contactless payments through Quick Collect, and accommodates in-person, hybrid, or fully remote participation. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to support schools with remote or hybrid learning environments.
• Apex Leadership Franchise Territory-based franchise opportunity allowing operators to run Apex school fundraising programs in designated geographic areas. Franchisees/Area Directors serve as local sales and operations leads for schools in their state, paying franchise fees to the corporate entity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Schools raise 70% more than with other fundraisers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Boosterthon: Boosterthon is the closest direct competitor, running nationwide Fun Run-style school fundraising programs for elementary schools with similar PBIS/character curriculum and athlete-led events. Business model, target customer (K-8 schools, PTOs), and event structure are tightly aligned with Apex.
• Get Movin' Fundraiser: Get Movin' runs jog-a-thon and fun run school fundraisers with online pledge collection for K-8 schools, directly competing for the same PTA/PTO budget and using a similar hassle-free value proposition. Comparable customer base and delivery model.
• Color Guard / Color-A-Thon (school color runs): Color-A-Thon is a national school color run fundraiser operator targeting elementary and middle schools with a similar event-plus-online-pledge format. Closely comparable to Apex Color Games.

Emerging players

• 99Pledges: 99Pledges is an online pledge collection platform for school fundraisers; it competes with Apex's Quick Collect/myapexevent.com software layer but does not run on-campus events. Partial overlap on the fundraising infrastructure side.
• PledgeStar: PledgeStar provides online pledge management software for school and youth fundraisers, competing on the digital collection component of Apex's offering but without the events or curriculum. Adjacent competitor on the platform layer.

Broad incumbents

• QSP / QSP Reader's Digest Fundraising: QSP is an established magazine and product-based school fundraising incumbent that competes for the same school and PTA budget using a more traditional catalog-sales model. Represents the legacy alternative Apex displaces.
• School Pop: School Pop runs school fundraising programs including coupon books and online mall-based fundraisers, serving the same K-8 segment with an alternative fundraising format. Comparable end customer but different model.

Regional players

• Giant Steps / Big Event Co. (school fundraising): Regional school fitness fundraising operators running walk-a-thons and jog-a-thons in defined geographies, overlapping with Apex in event format and K-8 customer but with narrower geographic reach.

Others

• Bob Gurr / Character Counts-style SEL providers: Character education and SEL curriculum providers that schools may use independently of Apex. Adjacent in the PBIS/character curriculum layer where Apex differentiates, and a substitute if schools decide to source curriculum in-house.
• Classy / Givebutter (fundraising software): General-purpose nonprofit fundraising platforms that schools and PTOs could use for DIY events instead of Apex's bundled offering. Adjacent technology substitute rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/apexleaderco
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKS0GNIQzxTVMjBIvkcv2Uw
• Facebookfacebook.com/apexleadershipcompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/apexleadershipco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Apex Leadership