Orientation for faculty, coaches, and club leaders

To make sure SuccessFund and card readers run smoothly, it’s important that your organization’s network and email settings don’t block required services. Restrictions like firewalls, content filters, or email security tools can prevent payments from processing, files from uploading, or alerts from being delivered.

For in-person payments, the device running the SuccessFund mobile app must have an active internet connection. Without it, card readers will not be able to process transactions.

Your IT team should also add the following to the allow list:

• Core services: successfund.com, intercom.com, success-fund-fundraiser-files.s3.amazonaws.com
• Payment providers: zettle.com, izettlepay.com, izettle.com, sumup.com, paypal.com, paypalobjects.com
• Media & assets: images.unsplash.com, ik.imagekit.io

And for system notifications and alerts, allow emails from:

• @alerts.successfund.com
• @successfund.com
• @successfundteam.com

Taking these steps ensures that your district can process payments, use card readers, upload files, and receive important alerts without interruption.

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Where a campaign exists

When a campaign is created, it belongs to the school or group that the organizer was in at the time of creation.

• The campaign’s location shows on the campaign page.
• That location determines who reviews the approval request, which administrators have visibility, and which bank account SuccessFund will default to for deposits (deposits are always confirmed before final approval).

Ways to move a campaign

1. From the Edit tab

• Open the campaign.
• Click Edit.
• In the Owner Info section, you can change the School/Group field to move the campaign to another school or group.
• Save your changes.

2. When removing a user

• Go to the Users tab.
• If you remove a user who owns campaigns or approvals, the system will prompt you to either:
  • Move those campaigns to another user, or
  • Delete them.

Who can move a campaign?

• Typically, district administrators have this ability.
• The user’s role must include the permission to View/Edit All Organization Campaigns.
• If the user does not have this permission, the School/Group dropdown will be disabled, and the following message will be displayed:
  “You do not have permission. Only administrators can change the school/group.”

Can a non Administrator move a campaign?
If you don't have the administrator ability to move a campaign, you'll have to create a new campaign from the new group. You can change where your user exists by clicking on your profile picture in the top right. Once you're in a new school/group, you can duplicate your old campaign. The new campaign will be in the new group.

Can I change the owner of a campaign?
If you want the campaign to be owned by a different person, add them as a collaborator (from your campaign page, click on "Collaborators"). Then, the new owner can duplicate the campaign (on the "All Campaigns" page, locate the campaign and click the three-dot menu on the right). The duplicated campaign will then belong to the new owner in their current school or group.

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Leaderboards & Goals FAQ

Leaderboards are built for any fundraiser where people help raise money — students, classes, teams, groups, or individuals. They work because they motivate participants to share, give them clear goals, and keep momentum going throughout the campaign.

If your fundraiser has participants, you should use a leaderboard.

Why Use a Leaderboard

Participants do the sharing

Each participant gets:

• A personal share link
• A personal results page
• Real-time text updates as donations come in

This shifts promotion from a single organizer to every participant.

Supporters know who they are helping

At checkout, supporters can choose who they are supporting. Participants can personalize their results page with a message and optional photo, helping supporters feel connected to the person or group they are supporting.

Goals create momentum

Leaderboards include participant goals that give people something concrete to work toward.

Tiered goals:

• Encourage early sharing
• Keep participants motivated after hitting an initial goal
• Provide clear “what’s next” milestones

Participants are notified when they reach a goal and are encouraged to push toward the next tier.

How Leaderboards & Goals Work

What happens when you enable a leaderboard

• Participants appear on the leaderboard
• Each participant has a personal results page and share link
• Donations are automatically attributed
• Supporters can select who they are supporting at checkout
• Participant progress updates in real time

Leaderboards are optional, but participant goals are required once you choose to use one.

How Goals Work

Campaign goal

The campaign goal is the total amount you want to raise overall.

Participant goals and tiers

Participant goals are milestones for individual participants.

During setup:

• You enter a campaign goal
• You estimate how many participants you expect
• A starting per-participant goal is calculated
• Goal tiers are created (for example: Base, Epic, Legendary)

Organizers can:

• Change goal amounts
• Rename tiers
• Add or remove tiers
• Change emojis
• Edit motivational messages

Who sees goals?

Participants see their goals, progress, and next tier.
Supporters do not see participant goal amounts, rewards, or motivation text. Supporters may be prompted to help a participant reach their next tier.

Editing goals and tiers

Goals can be edited at any time.

From the Leaderboard page, click the target icon to:

• Update goal amounts
• Rename tiers
• Add or remove tiers
• Change emojis
• Edit messages

Changes take effect immediately, and participant progress updates automatically.

Goals do not auto-adjust if your participant count estimate changes. You must edit them manually.

How to Set Up a Leaderboard

Step 1: Open the Leaderboard tab

Any campaign can add a leaderboard. It is not tied to a specific template.

Step 2: Click “Get Started”

This begins the leaderboard and goal setup flow.

Step 3: Set your campaign goal

This is your overall fundraising target. You can change it later.

Step 4: Estimate participants

This number is used to calculate starting participant goals. It is only an estimate.

Step 5: Review and save goal tiers

Default tiers are created for you. You can customize them now or later.

Step 6: Add participants (optional)

You can paste in participant names now or let participants add themselves during enrollment.

Step 7: Invite participants to enroll

Share the enrollment link so participants can:

• Claim their spot
• Verify their phone number
• Receive their personal share link
• Access their personal results page
• Add parents or helpers

Campaign Status and Enrollment

Participants can enroll before a campaign is live.

If participants share their personal links while the campaign is still in draft:

• Supporters will see a message that the campaign is not quite ready
• Donations will not go through yet

Once the campaign is live, those same share links work immediately.

Best practice

1. Go live
2. Invite participants
3. Promote publicly

Participant Experience

After enrolling, participants:

• Receive a text with their personal share link
• Receive a text with a link to their results page
• Can customize a message on their results page
• Can upload an optional photo
• See total raised, rank, and goal progress
• Get a text every time someone donates
• Get notified when they reach a goal and what comes next
• Can access their share link anytime from their results page
• Can add up to two parents or helpers

Participants can also open individual transactions on their results page to thank supporters by email, call, or text when contact information is available.

Sharing the Fundraiser

For organizers

• Share the enrollment link with participants
• Share the general campaign link publicly

For participants

• Share only their personal share link
• Do not share the enrollment link

Personal links ensure donations are attributed correctly.

Using Tags (Teams, Classes, Groups)

Tags let organizers group participants and view aggregated results.

You can:

• Assign tags individually or in bulk
• Click a tag to see totals for that group

Tags are for organization and reporting and do not affect goals.

Managing Participants

Organizers manage participants from the Leaderboard page.

Common actions

• Edit a participant’s name
• Copy a participant’s share link
• View a participant’s results page
• Add or edit tags
• Remove a participant

Bulk actions

Select multiple participants to:

• Assign or change tags
• Unenroll participants
• Remove participants
• Merge participants

Unenroll vs remove

• Unenroll – Removes participant access to their results page and updates, but donations can still be attributed
• Remove – Deletes the participant from the leaderboard entirely

Merging duplicate participants

If the same participant is accidentally added more than once, organizers can merge them.

From the Leaderboard page:

1. Select the duplicate participants
2. Click Actions
3. Choose Merge Together
4. Select which participant to keep

All purchases from the merged participants will be combined under the selected participant, and the duplicates will be removed from the leaderboard.

Leaderboard Settings

Organizers can control:

• Leaderboard visibility (Only organizer or public)
• Whether supporters must select a participant at checkout
• The label shown at checkout

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a special campaign type to use a leaderboard?

No. Any campaign can add one.

Should I use a leaderboard for small fundraisers?

Yes. Even a few participants benefit from personal links and goals.

Can I customize or add goal tiers?

Yes. You can add, remove, rename, or change goal tiers at any time.

Can I change goals mid-campaign?

Yes. Participant progress updates automatically.

Do supporters see participant goals or rewards?

No. Supporters do not see goal amounts or motivation text, but they may be prompted to help reach the next tier.

Can participants personalize their page?

Yes. Participants can add a message and an optional photo.

Can participants enroll before the campaign is live?

Yes. They can enroll and get their links, but donations will not work until the campaign is live.

Why can’t supporters donate?

The campaign is likely still in draft.

Why aren’t goals showing?

Participants must enroll to see goals and progress.

Why don’t goals auto-adjust when fewer participants join?

Goals are intentionally manual so organizers stay in control.

Someone is missing from the leaderboard. What should I do?

Participants can add themselves during enrollment, or the organizer can add them manually.

Why is a participant still selectable?

They may be unenrolled but not removed.

What if a participant appears twice?

Duplicate participants can be merged so all purchases count toward a single participant.

What If I Want Tracking Without a Leaderboard?

Leaderboards and goals are motivation tools.

If you only want back-end tracking, and you do not want:

• Participant sharing
• Goals or rankings
• Participant pages or updates

Then you do not need to use a leaderboard.

Instead, any campaign can add product or checkout questions to collect information with each donation or purchase, such as:

• Student name
• Class or grade
• Group or team

This information is captured internally for reporting without exposing it publicly.

If you want motivation and sharing, use a leaderboard.
If you only want tracking, use checkout questions.

See the FAQ on Questions for more details.

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Crowdfunding and Donations:
Yes, you can run crowdfunding or donations-only fundraisers on SuccessFund. These are ideal for collecting donations of any amount from supporters, as donors can enter their contribution amount directly.

Product or Service Sales:
Absolutely! You can list and sell any product or service that complies with district and SuccessFund policies, as well as federal, state, and local laws. You can configure prices, quantities, and product variations. Supporters who prefer to donate without receiving a product can use the “donate” button on your fundraiser.

Event Tickets:
Yes, SuccessFund is well-suited for selling event tickets, both for pre-sales and door admissions. While it doesn’t offer individually assigned seating, you can create seating sections with limited availability and different price points. Buyers receive an email receipt with a QR code, which can be scanned using the SuccessFund mobile app for easy ticket verification.

Concessions:
You can sell concessions using SuccessFund, especially through its in-person card readers. This is a great option for events and activities requiring immediate, on-site payment processing.

Banners and Sponsorships:
Yes, you can sell banners and other sponsorships. SuccessFund tracks all sales, allowing you to manage orders and provide details to suppliers. Additionally, using the 'Banner Fundraiser (Fulfilled by SuccessFund)' template, SuccessFund can handle the entire process, including printing and delivery.

Auctions:
You can run auctions on SuccessFund. While it doesn’t support live online bidding, you can manage payments for winning bids through your SuccessFund campaign. Winners simply enter their bid amount and complete their transaction via SuccessFund.

PTA Memberships:
Yes, PTA memberships can be sold through SuccessFund. Be sure to note that any transaction fees are additional and separate from the membership price set by your local PTA bylaws.

Event Registrations:
You can sell registrations for events like athletic camps, skills clinics, or golf tournaments. SuccessFund allows you to customize registration forms, include waivers or liability agreements, and gather important participant details such as dietary restrictions or t-shirt sizes.

Pledge Drives or “A-Thons”:
While SuccessFund does not track pledges in real-time, you can use it to process payments once pledge amounts are finalized. Patrons can make their contributions through the “donate” button by entering their final pledged amount.

SuccessFund provides a versatile platform to manage various types of fundraisers, making it a flexible solution for your fundraising needs.

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To add a collaborator to your campaign, go to the "Collaborators" tab on your campaign page.

• Existing SuccessFund User: If the person has already created a SuccessFund account, simply select their name from the list of available users.
• New SuccessFund User: If they haven't used SuccessFund before, send them an invitation link from the "Collaborators" tab.
• In-Person Payments: To give someone access to take in-person payments using the SuccessFund mobile app and a card reader, generate a Volunteer Code on the "Collaborators" tab. Anyone that already is a SuccessFund user and has access to the campaign can simply log in on the mobile app to take payments without using the Volunteer Code.

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SuccessFund only sends funds to bank accounts owned and managed by schools, districts, or other approved organizations. Funds are deposited on a weekly basis, and in most cases, districts allow donation dollars to be used immediately after the deposit arrives — but always follow your district’s specific use-of-funds process when requesting access.

Here’s how the payout process works:

• Contributions are aggregated over a 7-day period, then SuccessFund initiates a transfer.
• Transfers typically take 3–5 business days to arrive in the designated account.
• Most deposits arrive on Fridays, and on average, the total time between a transaction and a deposit is about 8 days.

To view your payout status at any time:

1. Go to your campaign and click the Results tab.
2. Click on the Payouts report to see a detailed list of all transfers, including dates, amounts, and payment status.