Hometown Ticketing and Schoolfundr Join Forces to Empower Schools and Drive Student Success Beyond the Classroom
The combined business, Hometown, will power the extracurricular programs for 17,000 schools, colleges, and community organizations with a suite of event management, ticketing, fundraising, and communication tools. COLUMBUS, OHIO and ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – DEC. 11, 2024—(PR Newswire)—Hometown Ticketing, a Nexa Equity portfolio company, and Schoolfundr announced today that the two companies merged to create a unified platform of complementary event management, ticketing, fundraising and communication tools purpose-built for schools. The companies will unite as Hometown (www.hometown.com) with the mission of empowering their customers with resources to support extracurricular programs, build stronger connections with their communities, and generate the funds needed to create lasting impact for students. Hometown will serve over 17,000 schools, colleges, associations, and community organizations, impacting more than 50 million students and supporters nationwide while driving over $1.3 billion of impact for schools and local communities. “Our shared passion is to amplify the impact we have on the schools and communities our customers call home,” said Hometown’s CEO Nick Mirisis. “At Hometown, our goal is to help schools achieve three objectives: promote events effectively, increase revenue, and foster community engagement. Unlike one-size-fits-all platforms, we offer schools the flexibility to choose the tools that work best for them. By combining Hometown Ticketing’s event management expertise with Schoolfundr’s fee-free best-in-class fundraising platform, we’re enabling schools to raise awareness, generate revenue, and create memorable experiences for students—on their own terms.” Innovating Ticketing and Event Management for Schools Since its launch in 2016, Hometown Ticketing has become a trusted leader in digital ticketing and event management for schools. Designed specifically for educational communities, Hometown Ticketing’s seamless, paperless platform empowers schools to promote events, streamline ticket sales, and manage gate entry with efficiency and transparency. Thousands of schools rely on Hometown’s customizable tools, including real-time reporting, mobile-friendly solutions, and personalized event pages, to maximize revenue and create exceptional event experiences. By simplifying event operations, Hometown Ticketing helps schools strengthen community engagement and deliver memorable moments for students, families, and supporters. Revolutionizing School Fundraising Since its launch in 2022, Schoolfundr has rapidly become the fastest growing K-12 fundraising company. Its fee-free, purpose-built platform has disrupted traditional fundraising models by allowing schools to raise more and keep what they raise. In the past year alone, nearly 2,000 schools have adopted Schoolfundr’s tool to enable district administrators, athletic directors, and coaches to manage, approve, track and run fundraisers with ease and transparency. By generating revenue exclusively through optional donor tips and passing on only standard credit card processing fees, Schoolfundr ensures schools retain all the funds they raise, unlike competitors who often take up to 20% of donations. “Schoolfundr was founded with a commitment to transparency and simplicity in fundraising,” said Dennis Levene, founder of Schoolfundr. “Joining forces with Hometown Ticketing allows us to expand that mission while integrating our fee-free model into a broader platform that serves thousands of school communities,” “Together, we’ll help schools raise more than ever while keeping everything they raise, providing them with the resources they need to focus on what matters most: creating engaging and memorable extracurricular experiences for students.” Introducing Hometown Engage Hometown also unveiled plans to launch Hometown Engage, a new website and communication hub set to debut in early 2025. While not required to access Hometown’s event management, ticketing or fundraising platforms, Hometown Engage provides schools with tools to manage their websites and communications while integrating seamlessly with ticketing and fundraising as well as adding links to the streaming service of their choice. This creates additional opportunities to raise awareness, deepen community connections, and manage online presence—all at no additional cost to schools or districts. “It’s no secret that resources for schools are stretched thin, threatening the sustainability of athletics, performing arts, and other essential programs,” Mirisis said. “As financial pressure on schools increases, fee-free online fundraising and website tools built specifically for the education sector, and easy to use event management and ticketing solutions, will only become more essential to supporting students in their extracurricular pursuits.” Uniting Around a Shared Vision The newly formed Hometown will be led by a combination of leaders from Hometown Ticketing and Schoolfundr, bringing together their collective expertise to deliver innovative, education-focused solutions. Together, they aim to redefine how schools connect with their communities, creating impactful and lasting experiences for students, educators, and supporters. About Hometown Hometown, a Nexa Equity portfolio company, powers the extracurricular programs for 17,000 schools, colleges, and community organizations with event management, ticketing, fundraising, and communication tools. Formed through the merger of Hometown Ticketing and Schoolfundr, the platform combines best-in-class event management and ticketing tools with a fee-free fundraising platform and website management and communication tools to empower its customers to promote events, engage their communities, and raise the funds they need—on their terms. To date, Hometown has driven more than $1.3 billion in impact for schools and local communities. Learn more at www.hometown.com. ABOUT NEXA EXQUITY Nexa Equity is a San Francisco, California-based private equity firm that partners with founder-led, rapidly scaling SaaS companies that address markets underserved by technology to create enduring value for the benefit of its investors and portfolio companies. The firm has more than $400 million in private equity capital under management. The Nexa Equity team brings substantial investing and operational experience to the table and helps management teams professionalize and scale their businesses while driving long-term sustainable growth. For more information, please visit www.nexaequity.com.
HomeTown and Schoolfundr Partner to Revolutionize Fundraising for America’s Schools
COLUMBUS, Ohio & MINNEAPOLIS –(BUSINESS WIRE)– HomeTown, the leading K-12 event management and digital ticketing company which supports thousands of U.S. schools, announced at the 2023 National Athletic Directors Conference (NADC) its partnership with Schoolfundr, the only K-12 focused online fundraising platform that lets schools and teams keep 100% of what they raise, minus standard credit card processing fees. In addition to their best-in-class online fundraising platform, Schoolfundr provides each school with a dedicated fundraising coach to help schools raise more and keep more than ever before. Together, HomeTown and Schoolfundr are committed to empowering schools with the digital tools needed to better manage events, increase engagement, expand their social media presence, collect donations, and manage funds. Leveraging HomeTown and Schoolfundr frees up time and resources for Athletic Directors, coaches, and administrators, resulting in better funded schools, programs, and teams, while providing students the opportunity to reach their full academic and athletic potential. “I was furious to find out that many schools pay fees of 20%, or more, to use outdated and cumbersome fundraising software that offers very little support,” said HomeTown CEO, Nick Mirisis. “When I saw Schoolfundr’s product, pricing model, and the level of service they provide to the schools, I knew Schoolfundr was the future of K-12 fundraising and also the perfect partner for us. Our collective goal is to ensure every school in America uses Schoolfundr, which will put millions of additional dollars back into our schools and communities.” Schoolfundr is the nation’s fastest growing K-12 focused fundraising company, having added over 1,000 new schools to their platform since the fall, and has helped schools raise millions of dollars, fee-free. Schoolfundr’s core software provides coaches and group leaders with a campaign-based fundraising platform featuring customized student pages, 1-click social media sharing, and the ability to effortlessly run activity based “a-thon” fundraisers. Instead of charging predatory fees on every dollar raised, Schoolfundr relies solely on optional donor tips to cover their expenses. “Our goal is not to take funds from students and schools like our competitors. Schoolfundr’s mission is to empower students to keep the funds they raise, so they can reach their full potential,” added Dennis Levene, Founder and CEO of Schoolfundr. “The same donors that generously support students recognize the value in our mission and product, and overwhelmingly choose to support Schoolfundr by leaving an optional tip.” The positive impact of Schoolfundr is already being felt by many HomeTown customers, including Haley Stewart, Athletic Director of East Gaston High School, who said, “I’m very excited about the partnership between HomeTown and Schoolfundr. As an experienced HomeTown customer, I’m well aware of the impact that advanced digital tools can have on my program. Our District has already had a great experience running multiple campaigns using the Schoolfundr platform. The Schoolfundr team acted as a true partner to us and made sure our campaigns were successful and of course it was nice to keep all of what we raised.” To set up a demo to learn more about the partnership between HomeTown and Schoolfundr, visit bit.ly/YouKeepIt About HomeTown Based in Columbus, Ohio, HomeTown is the leading K-12 event management and digital ticketing provider which supports thousands of U.S. schools, districts, conferences, and associations. Our comprehensive platform helps athletic & activity directors, coaches and school leaders simplify the event & activity management process, enable seamless online sales, expand their social media marketing, collect donations, and utilize real-time reporting – which results in better funded schools, and student programs. With a focus on delivering exceptional customer support and service, HomeTown is a trusted partner for educational institutions and event organizers nationwide. Learn more about HomeTown at hometownticketing.com or follow HomeTown on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. About Schoolfundr Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Schoolfundr is the premier online fundraising platform for school communities. It offers a free and simple way for coaches, teachers and parents to raise money and allows them to focus their time on students rather than fundraising. Schoolfundr is dedicated to helping raise more funds with less effort, keeping the funds raised so students can reach their full potential. Contacts For press inquiries about HomeTown, please contact Lacy Harvey, Vice President, Marketing at lacy.harvey@hometownticketing.com or 830-832-4842. For press inquiries about Schoolfundr, please contact Connor Thinnes, Chief Marketing Officer at connor@schoolfundr.org or 216-296-8272. BOOK A MEETING TODAY
