Free Fundraising Leaderboard & Donation Goal Tracker
Rank donors and fundraising teams by amount raised, or track progress toward your campaign goal with a live thermometer. Display at events, embed on your website, and drive more giving, all in real time.
Free forever on the starter plan. Upgrade anytime.
Why Nonprofits and Schools Use Fundraising Leaderboards
People give more when there's friendly competition. A fundraising leaderboard ranks donors or teams by amount raised, turning your campaign into a visible, public race toward the finish line. Top contributors get recognition, and everyone else gets motivated to climb the rankings. Organizations that make donor competition visible typically see 20-40% higher totals than those relying on email asks alone.
MakeTheBoard lets you spin up a leaderboard or donation goal tracker in seconds, no spreadsheets or design work needed. Display it at your event, embed it on your campaign page, or share a link with supporters. Rankings update in real time as donations come in. You can also pair it with a fundraising thermometer to show overall progress toward your goal.
How to Create a Fundraising Leaderboard in Seconds
No design skills. No spreadsheet formulas. No IT setup. Just create, add donors, and share.
Step 1
Name Your Campaign
Pick a name ("Spring Gala Donors," "Classroom Fundraising Race," "5K Donor Wall"), choose a color theme, and you're live in seconds.
Step 2
Add Donors or Teams
Enter donor names and amounts, or add fundraising teams and their totals. Rankings auto-sort from highest to lowest as donations come in.
Step 3
Display and Share
Put it on the big screen at your event, embed it on your campaign page, or share the link in emails and social media. Everyone sees updates live.
Three Ways to Track Fundraising Progress
Choose the format that fits your campaign, or combine them for maximum impact.
Donor Leaderboard
Rank donors by amount raised
A ranked list of individual donors or corporate sponsors, sorted by donation amount. Best for galas, auctions, and peer-to-peer campaigns where you want to spotlight top contributors and spark competitive giving.
Best for: Galas, auctions, donor walls, peer-to-peer campaigns
Fundraising Thermometer
Show progress toward a goal
A classic progress bar that fills up as donations come in. Creates urgency and rallies supporters around a shared target. Perfect for capital campaigns, school drives, and church building funds.
Best for: Capital campaigns, school drives, church funds, telethons
Create a fundraising thermometerTeam Fundraising Race
Compete between groups
Pit classrooms, departments, volunteer teams, or corporate partners against each other. Team totals drive collaboration within groups and competition between them, lifting overall fundraising results.
Best for: School walk-a-thons, corporate giving campaigns, community challenges
Live Donor Rankings at Your Event
Display the fundraising leaderboard on a big screen at your gala, auction, or telethon. As donations come in, rankings update automatically and the crowd sees the competition unfold in real time.
Create a free leaderboard
Track Campaign Progress with a Thermometer
Set a donation goal and watch the thermometer fill up as contributions arrive. Embed it on your campaign page and share the link in emails. Supporters see exactly how close you are to the finish line.
Create a fundraising thermometer
Embed on Your Campaign Page
Paste the embed code on your website, GoFundMe page, or campaign landing page. Supporters check progress from home and see where they stand, driving more last-minute donations to push you over the goal.
Learn about sharing & embedding
Fundraising Leaderboard Ideas for Every Campaign
From black-tie galas to school walk-a-thons, here's how organizations use MakeTheBoard to raise more. For a deeper dive, read our complete fundraising thermometer guide.
Gala Donor Wall
Display a live donor leaderboard at your gala or auction on the big screen. As pledges come in, donors see their name climb the ranks and the room's energy builds.
School Walk-a-Thon Race
Pit classrooms against each other in a school-wide fundraiser. Each class sees where they rank and rallies parents to push their total higher.
Peer-to-Peer Campaign
Track individual fundraisers in a peer-to-peer campaign (5K, charity ride, giving day). Each person sees where they stand and pushes to raise more.
Church Building Fund
Track family contributions toward a capital campaign goal. Combine a thermometer for the total with a leaderboard to recognize the most generous families.
Corporate Giving Challenge
Rank departments or office locations by total employee giving. Tap into corporate matching programs and display progress on lobby screens.
Telethon / Livestream
Display live donor rankings during a virtual or broadcast fundraiser. Update from your phone as calls come in and viewers see the board change in real time.
How to Raise More with a Live Donor Board
A leaderboard alone doesn't raise money. How you use it does. Here are six strategies that work.
Display It Where Donors Can See It
Put the leaderboard on the big screen at your event, embed it on your campaign page, or share it in every email. Visibility is the #1 driver. Donors who see their ranking are more likely to give again or increase their gift.
Update in Real Time, Not After the Event
Log donations as they come in: from your phone, during the event, as checks arrive. Real-time updates create urgency and social proof. A stale board that updates once a day loses its magic.
Combine a Leaderboard with a Thermometer
Use a leaderboard to drive competition between donors, and a thermometer to show overall progress toward the goal. The leaderboard motivates top givers; the thermometer rallies everyone else.
Recognize More Than the Top Donor
Call out milestone givers, most recent donor, and biggest single-day increase, not just the #1 position. When mid-tier donors feel seen, they keep giving. Public recognition is the cheapest fundraising tool there is.
Set Achievable Stretch Goals
When you hit your initial target, raise it. "We hit $10K, can we get to $12K by midnight?" Moving the goalposts (transparently) taps into momentum and keeps donors engaged past the original goal.
Share Progress on Social Media
Screenshot the leaderboard or share the link on social media as milestones hit. "We're at 75%! Help us reach our goal." Each share becomes a new appeal to a wider audience.
Fundraising Leaderboard vs. Thermometer vs. Spreadsheet
Each tool has its strengths. Many organizations use a leaderboard and a thermometer together for maximum impact.
Built for Fundraising Events and Campaigns
Simple enough to set up during event prep. Engaging enough to drive donations all night.
Real-Time Updates
Scores update instantly across all viewers the moment you make a change. No page refreshes needed. Everyone sees the latest rankings simultaneously.
Built for Every Team
Used by teachers, coaches, sales teams, nonprofits, and event organizers to track progress and motivate their teams.
Embed on Any Website
Drop a single iframe code into your website, blog, WordPress, Notion, or LMS. Your board updates in real time right on your page.
Budget Friendly
Free forever for up to 2 boards. No credit card required to start. Affordable Premium and Team plans when you need more.
Fully Customizable
Custom colors, logos, backgrounds, and themes. Match your board to your brand or event for a polished, professional look.
Participant Signup
Share a signup link so participants can add themselves to your board. No back-and-forth. They join and you stay in control.
What Our Users Say
“We displayed the donor leaderboard at our annual gala and raised 40% more than last year. Watching names climb in real time created incredible energy in the room. The thermometer on our website kept donations flowing for weeks after.”
Pastor Michael Grant
Church Pastor
“Our classroom fundraising race was a huge hit. Each class could see where they ranked and it drove a massive push in the final week. We beat our goal by $3,000.”
Karen Liu
PTA President
“We use MakeTheBoard for our charity 5K peer-to-peer campaigns. Fundraisers love seeing their name on the leaderboard and it pushes them to raise more. Setup took about 30 seconds.”
Tom Henderson
Executive Director
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The free plan lets you create up to 2 boards with 20 entries each, no credit card required. That covers most campaigns and small events. Upgrade to Premium ($9.99/mo) for up to 25 boards with 500 entries, or Team ($24.99/mo) for unlimited boards, custom branding, and multi-admin collaboration.
A fundraising leaderboard ranks donors or teams by amount raised and drives competition. A fundraising thermometer shows overall progress toward a single goal and drives urgency. Many organizations use both together: a thermometer for the campaign total and a leaderboard to recognize top contributors.
Absolutely. Open the shareable link in any browser on a projector, TV, or big screen. Update donations from your phone and the display refreshes instantly. The responsive layout fills any screen size.
Yes. Every board gets a unique embed code you can paste into your website, GoFundMe page, WordPress site, or any page that supports HTML embeds. The embedded board updates in real time.
MakeTheBoard is a display and tracking tool. You process payments through your existing platform (PayPal, GoFundMe, Stripe, etc.) and log donations in MakeTheBoard to update the leaderboard. This keeps your payment workflow unchanged.
Yes. With the Team plan, invite other staff or volunteers as collaborators. Each person logs donations from their own device (phone, tablet, or laptop) and the leaderboard updates instantly for all viewers.
Yes. The public link is view-only, so anyone can check the rankings without creating an account. Share it in emails, social media, or display it on a screen. Only admins can edit scores.
Yes. MakeTheBoard's goal tracker format works exactly like a fundraising thermometer. Set a dollar target, update the total as donations come in, and the progress bar fills up in real time. See our dedicated fundraising thermometer page for more details.
MakeTheBoard only stores the display names and amounts you enter. No donor emails, payment details, or personal information is collected. You control what appears on the board and can delete it at any time.
Ready to Boost Your Fundraiser?
Create a free fundraising leaderboard or donation thermometer in seconds. No credit card required.
Explore More from MakeTheBoard
Fundraising Thermometer Maker
Show overall campaign progress with a classic thermometer display. Perfect companion to a donor leaderboard.
Free Leaderboard Maker
The full leaderboard builder. Works for fundraising, sales, classrooms, and any competition.
Donation Goal Tracker
Visual progress bars for fundraising milestones, giving targets, and campaign goals.
Classroom Leaderboard
Teachers use MakeTheBoard for classroom fundraisers, reading challenges, and student points.
Getting Started Guide
Step-by-step guide to creating your first board, adding entries, and sharing.
Pricing Plans
Compare Free, Premium, and Team plans. Free covers most campaigns.