PTA
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First Step
Get every parent on board before the school year starts
First Step helps you collect donations, sign up volunteers, and build your directory in one back-to-school push. Stop chasing parents all year and get commitments when enthusiasm is highest.
Trusted by thousands of schools and organizations
Back-to-school is your best shot to get parents committed
...and most schools miss it. Schools that lock in donations, volunteers, and fundraiser info during back-to-school season raise significantly more than schools that chase parents throughout the year.
FutureFund's First Step program helps you capitalize on that window.
FutureFund's First Step program helps you capitalize on that window.
One sign-up for everything
Parents complete a single registration that covers fundraiser commitments, volunteer interests, PTA membership, and directory preferences.
Strike while the iron is hot
Collect pledges for your fall fun run, spring gala, and year-end campaign all at once. Parents say yes more often when they're in "back-to-school mode."
Build your volunteer bench early
Let parents select the roles they're interested in during registration. When you need help, you'll know exactly who to call.
Your parent directory builds itself
Contact info flows directly into a searchable, secure directory. Parents control what they share and who sees it.
Amador Valley Football
Raises $34,000 with a Lift-a-Thon
In August 2025, one school football team in Pleasanton, CA raised over $34,000 in a single two-week Lift-A-Thon. This helped them to wipe out the debt they owed their school district and provide them with discretionary funds to upgrade equipment and purchase new uniforms.
Every fundraiser is always free when you power it with FutureFund, so every pound you lift and every dollar you raise goes where you need it most.
Join over the 6,500 schools using FutureFund
Schools that sign up get full access to all of FutureFund's features—it's always free and it always will be.
Everything you need to onboard parents in one place
FutureFund combines registration, volunteer management, and your parent directory into a single platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, Google Forms, and disconnected tools.
The heart of parent onboarding. Create a single registration page where parents can sign up students, commit to fundraisers, join your PTA, and more.
- One page, multiple commitments: Show parents everything you need from them at once. Membership dues, fall fundraiser pledges, spirit wear pre-orders, and volunteer sign-ups can all live on one page.
- Custom forms and waivers: Attach permission slips, allergy forms, emergency contacts, and any other information you need to collect. Everything stays organized in one secure database.
- Student ID verification: Import your student roster and let parents verify their students during registration. Names, grades, and teachers auto-populate to save time and reduce errors.
Build your volunteer roster during registration and mobilize them throughout the year.
- Let parents choose their roles: During First Step, parents can indicate which volunteer positions interest them. When you need cafeteria helpers or event setup crews, you'll know who's already raised their hand.
- Filter and message by interest: Need volunteers for your book fair? Filter your list by parents who expressed interest in library activities and send a targeted message. No more blasting everyone and hoping someone responds.
- Track participation: See who's volunteered, how often, and for which events. Recognize your most active supporters and identify parents who might need a gentle nudge.
Give your school community a way to connect with each other—securely and on their terms. One database stores all your records: students, parents, and volunteers in one place.
- Parents control their privacy: During registration, parents choose what information to share (name, phone, email, address) and with whom (whole school, grade level, classroom only, or no one).
- Always up to date: Because directory info is collected during First Step, your directory is accurate from day one. Parents can update their preferences anytime through their profile.
- Searchable and secure: Find contact info for other parents by name, grade, or teacher. Access is limited to registered families in your school community. Browse an easy-to-navigate directory with an intuitive layout.
- Classroom rostering: Help teachers save time by creating lists of students enrolled in specific classes or clubs. Filter by grade, teacher, or custom fields you've collected during registration.
- Sell sponsorships for additional revenue: Local businesses can pay to display their name, logo, and link in your directory. Track impressions and clicks directly in FutureFund. It's a great way to thank community partners while bringing in extra funds for your school.
Empower your PTA with a platform that was made for you
FutureFund is built by former PTA volunteers and lovingly refined with feedback from our incredible users like you.
FutureFund is free for schools. We fund our platform through small fees paid by donors when they contribute. This keeps the financial burden off your school and ensures every dollar raised goes to your students.
Your free FutureFund account comes fully equipped: unlimited registration pages, donations via credit card/Apple Pay/Google Pay, PTA memberships with digital cards, custom forms and waivers, automatic parent directory, volunteer management, targeted messaging, financial reports, and 7+ languages with AI translation for 190+ more.
There's no catch. FutureFund is free for schools, made exclusively for K-12 groups. As a privately owned company founded by former PTA volunteers, we built FutureFund because we saw how much time schools waste on disconnected tools. Since 2014, we've helped more than 6,000 school groups raise over $19 million.
We're in your corner
Our platform is built around the hardworking volunteers that invest in America's next-generation of students. You work hard for them, and we work hard for you.
Our support team is here to help. Reach out via chat, email, or phone for personalized guidance. We also offer step-by-step video tutorials and written guides for every feature.
No problem. FutureFund includes ready-made templates for common registration scenarios. Customize them for your school and launch in minutes. Our support team can walk you through best practices.
FutureFund includes pre-built templates for back-to-school registration, PTA membership drives, volunteer sign-ups, and more. Each template is customizable with your school's branding, colors, and specific asks.
See why thousands of schools have switched to FutureFund
Many platforms that help school groups raise money come with monthly fees, surcharges, or both.
With FutureFund, you keep 100%. Small transaction fees are paid by donors, so every school supply kit sold, every Fun Run pledge made, goes directly where it matters most: your school.
With FutureFund, you keep 100%. Small transaction fees are paid by donors, so every school supply kit sold, every Fun Run pledge made, goes directly where it matters most: your school.
Most schools cobble together Google Forms, multiple third-party platforms (for memberships, sign ups, etc.), spreadsheets, and email lists. It works, but it's a lot of manual effort (and information gets lost when board members change).
FutureFund puts everything in one place: parent info collected once and used everywhere, no re-entering data, complete history that stays with your organization, and one login for your whole team.
FutureFund puts everything in one place: parent info collected once and used everywhere, no re-entering data, complete history that stays with your organization, and one login for your whole team.
Switching is simple. There's no contract to sign. Import your existing parent and student lists via CSV, set up your First Step pages, and you're ready. Most schools are up and running in a single afternoon.
This is one of the biggest reasons schools choose FutureFund. Add new board members, transfer admin rights, and remove outgoing volunteers from your account settings. Your registration history, parent data, and volunteer records stay with your organization—not with individual volunteers.
Parent onboarding features your PTA has been dreaming about
Unlimited First Step pages
Create separate registration pages for different grades, programs, or events
Custom forms and waivers
Collect permission slips, emergency contacts, allergy info, and more
Student ID verification
Auto-populate student info when parents register
Volunteer position management
Let parents select roles they're interested in
Built-in parent directory
Searchable contact info with privacy controls
Directory sponsorships
Sell ad space to local businesses and track impressions
Classroom rostering
Create student lists by grade, teacher, or custom fields
Multi-language support
7 languages built in, AI translation for 190+ more
Targeted messaging
Send emails and texts filtered by grade, teacher, or volunteer interest
PTA membership sales
Collect dues with digital membership cards
Corporate matching support
Help donations go further with employer matching
Automatic tax receipts
Issued to donors after every contribution
Clean financial reports
Generate them in seconds for your treasurer
Mobile optimized
Parents can register from any device
ADA compliant
Accessible for all users
Secure data storage
Bank-level security with customizable access permissions
CSV import/export
Bring your existing data and take it with you anytime
Unlimited team members
Add as many admins as you need at no extra cost
Join over the 6,500 schools using FutureFund
Schools that sign up get full access to all of FutureFund's features—it's always free and it always will be.
Frequently asked questions
Most schools have their first registration page live within 30 minutes. Once you've created your FutureFund account and connected a bank, you can customize your pages, add forms, and start collecting registrations right away.
Anything you need. FutureFund supports custom forms and waivers for emergency contacts, allergy information, photo release permissions, volunteer availability, t-shirt sizes, and more.
During First Step, parents choose what contact information to share and who can see it (everyone, grade level, classroom, or no one). This populates your online directory automatically.
Name, address, phone number, and email address when parents sign up. You can also add custom fields. Parents choose whether to make info visible to the entire school, a specific grade level, or class—or keep it private.
Only if those parents have opted to share it. Each family controls their own privacy settings.
Yes. Parents can register their children when they sign up. FutureFund collects student name, grade, and registration status, making it visible to administrators with correct permissions. This powers classroom rostering.
Your school sets sponsorship prices and reaches out to partners. When a business agrees, add them in Admin under Directory > Sponsors. Upload mobile (500x500) and desktop (320x1200) images. Track impressions and clicks in FutureFund.
List volunteer positions on your First Step page and let parents indicate interest during registration. Filter by interest later and send targeted messages to recruit help.
Yes. FutureFund accepts CSV imports. Upload existing parent and student lists in minutes.
Natively: English, Spanish, Korean, Haitian Creole, Russian, Vietnamese, and Chinese (Simplified). AI translation covers 190+ additional languages.
Built to comply with FERPA, COPPA, and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Bank-level encryption, and we never share data with third parties.
Yes, and there is no cost to add additional users. Add as many team members as you need. Assign different permission levels based on role.
Your data belongs to you. Export parent lists, registration records, and financial reports anytime in CSV or PDF format.
A small platform fee (about 2.5%) and credit card processing fees (about 2.4%) shown at checkout. Many donors cover these fees knowing 100% of their gift goes to your school.
Request a payout anytime. Funds deposit within 3-5 business days. No minimum balance required.
No. FutureFund is free for schools. No setup fees, monthly fees, or payout fees.