The act of bringing like-minded people together to rally around a specific cause should inherently be an enjoyable experience.
In the case of public schools, however, Alana Platt said that scenario has at times been met with challenges, particularly in more recent years as districts have grappled with funding challenges and scarcer resources.
Fundraising for school functions — particularly niche offerings — has long been a part of the educational landscape, but Platt said she grew concerned when districts struggled to keep pace with some of the most basic functions of fundraising.
Platt, who is on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s information technology department, is hoping her startup, Classmunity, will solve some of the problems districts have been facing.
The platform, which thus far is available only in Wisconsin, is designed to address several core issues where districts have come up short. Overall compliance is one key issue. Inefficient processes are another matter Platt and others are hoping to address through Classmunity.
“We want fundraising to be a positive experience,” said Platt, who began tinkering with Classmunity four years ago. A beta version was released early in 2015, and the product officially launched in the summer of 2016.
Early on in discussions with administrative-level staffers at districts across Wisconsin, Platt said it became clear many of the entities were struggling with some of the core functions of keeping tabs on fundraising.
“Some of them were still relying on paper-based forms,” Platt said. “There also wasn’t good oversight.”
Districts subscribing to Classmunity have a number of tools available through the platform. Teachers, for instance, can track a fundraiser’s progress from start to finish through a management system.
Platt said Classmunity is also aimed at streamlining the processes involved in launching a classroom or school-level campaign. The platform, by design, gives administrators the ability to approve a teacher’s proposal at the click of a button.
In the two years since its official rollout, Platt said feedback from the educational community has demonstrated the need for such a product.
“We’ve heard that it’s been very helpful,” Platt said. “We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback. We’re grateful for the support, and we’ve loved working with school districts here in Wisconsin.”
Down the road, Platt said she aspires to have Classmunity available beyond Wisconsin’s borders.
Other ideas also are percolating within the company, including the possibility of proposing different fundraising strategies that could move away from the common tactic of selling such items as wrapping paper or cookies and candy.
“We’d like to work with different businesses that might be able to offer better products,” Platt said. “There could also be an opportunity to partner with nonprofits.”
