The days of students going out with teammates or classmates to raise money door-to-door for a school trip or other activity are becoming a thing of the past.Â
Candy bar sales and car washes have been typical ways to raise money, yet they are environmentally challenging to do in the Arizona heat, according to Tempe businessman Angel Montemayor.
Montemayor is advancing a new way to help students raise funds school-related activities â whether it be in athletics, fine arts, or anything in between â as a fundraising representative for Vertical Raise.
A Tempe native who was a student-athlete at McClintock High School, Montemayor said he wanted to find a âhappy mediumâ between his career and his passion by helping the students and giving back to the community.Â
âIt is really the ability to give back and being able to work with the community which essentially raised me, so I took great pride in that.â
Vertical Raise is an online platform where students can use social media or send emails and text messages to family and friends, asking them to donate money to their organization.Â
It boasts of âbest-in-class email deliverability, detailed tracking and the complete personalization of every pageâ and claims that âcombining this proprietary system with experienced representatives has made us the most effective sports team and performing arts group fundraising platform available.â Â
The platform also gives tips on a variety of issues related to raising money, such as how to write a letter seeking donations, how to conduct a successful fundraising event and other matters.Â
The platform can be used by students in elementary through high school and even club teams.
 âThese teachers are getting so many emails from all over the place, and they canât decipher whatâs real and whatâs not,â Montemayor said.Â
âI think when I get in front of somebody, theyâre able to see how authentic I am and that I am really trying to help their program.â
 He said that he meets with students either before or after practice and explains the whole process, from sending messages to receiving donations to the organization.
Montemayor noted the Tempe Union High School Districtâs recent decision to raise student participation fees and game ticket prices to erase a $330,000 deficit in the districtâs athletic budget/
 He specifically noted a $49,000 deficit in McClintock High Schoolâs athletic program, stating, âthat is absurd.â
 âIt really hurts your feelings because you look at these numbers and ask yourself how are these kids supposed to get the necessities and the things that they need, such as equipment for safety?â Montemayor said.
The district projects that its fee and ticket price increases will bring in an additional $63,850 in student pass sales, an additional $128,682 in single-game ticket sales and $328,700 in athletic participation fees.Â
Even if the district only received full participation fees from those not on a free and reduced lunch program â which officials estimate would be about 30% of the all athletes in the district â the increases will not only erase the Account 11 deficit but provide a surplus of $50,000 to $80,0000.Â
Although the Vertical Raise platform does come with a fee, it has noted fundraising campaigns have exceeded expectations.Â
In 2022, the Marcos De Niza High School Baseball team had a fundraising goal of $8,500 and raised $11,000 for its program. Last year, the Mountain Pointe Volleyball team launched a drive to raise $8,000 â and ended its campaign with almost twice that much.
âTypically, we do exceed the coachâs expectations and goals but also want to make sure we are realistic,â Montemayor said.
Vertical Raise wants to help fundraising not be a challenge for coaches, athletic directors, and even parents by creating a passive platform, he said.
 âI think itâs really important that we want to remove this from the coachâs plate,â he said. âBut at the end of the day, we are definitely here to help the kids.â
For more information, Montemayor can be reached at angelm@verticalraise.com.
