Your group receives
$10,400
−$9,600 vs. intended donations
Apex share
$9,600
Donors pay extra
$0
Apex Leadership fundraising costs
Apex Leadership runs highly managed school fundraising campaigns that combine online pledging, student engagement, prizes, character lessons, and a culminating event such as a fun run. Apex staff handle much of the campaign planning and on-campus execution.
At a glance
Category
Full-service fundraising companies
Why groups choose it
- Handles most campaign planning, communications, prizes, and event-day execution
- Experienced national provider with an on-campus team throughout the campaign
- Gives each student a personal fundraising page and provides a simple online donation flow
Tradeoffs to consider
- Published program ranges show schools retaining 40%–65% of gross fundraising
- Apex must raise materially more gross revenue to outperform a lower-cost fundraiser on net proceeds
- The managed model gives Apex substantial influence over student messaging, incentives, branding, and event execution
See how Apex Leadership affects your fundraiser
Change the fundraiser assumptions or pricing setup to see how each amount changes.
Fundraiser assumptions
Using these assumptions
- Fundraiser amount
- $20,000 fundraiser
- Number of donations
- 179 donations
- Average donation
- $111.73 average donation
Pricing configuration
Choose the pricing terms that apply to this fundraiser.
Published regional scale
Published regional price scale
Gross collected $0–$40,000
Your group keeps 52%
Apex share 48%
| Gross collected | Your group keeps | Apex share |
|---|---|---|
| $0–$40,000 | 52% | 48% |
| $40,001–$45,000 | 53% | 47% |
| $45,001–$50,000 | 54% | 46% |
| $50,001–$60,000 | 55% | 45% |
| $60,001–$70,000 | 56% | 44% |
| $70,001–$80,000 | 57% | 43% |
| $80,001–$90,000 | 58% | 42% |
| $90,001–$100,000 | 59% | 41% |
| $100,001+ | 60% | 40% |
This schedule is published for an Apex territory serving Illinois and Wisconsin. Apex's broader published materials show that rates can vary by program and agreement, so use your own proposal when available.
Your group now receives $10,400 from $20,000 in intended online donations.
What to know about Apex Leadership
Apex does most of the work
Apex handles much of the campaign execution, including kickoff activities, student engagement, family communications, prizes, fundraising technology, and the culminating event. That can substantially reduce the workload placed on parent-group volunteers.
Net proceeds matter more than gross fundraising
Apex markets its ability to raise more than schools may raise on their own. The important comparison is what your school keeps after Apex's share. The lower your school's retention percentage, the more additional gross revenue Apex must raise for your organization to finish ahead.
Student engagement drives the campaign
Apex uses pep rallies, daily student engagement, classroom challenges, incentives, prizes, and schoolwide events to maintain fundraising momentum. Schools should consider whether that fundraising approach fits their community and school culture.
Leadership lessons are part of the fundraiser
Apex incorporates character and leadership lessons into its school programs. In the programs modeled here, those lessons are delivered as part of the broader fundraising campaign rather than as a separate standalone leadership service.
Your school may give up some event identity
In Apex fundraisers observed by Big Nest, student shirts and event materials prominently featured Apex branding. Parent-group leaders interviewed by Big Nest also described replacing school-specific fun-run shirts after moving to Apex. Ask what apparel, branding, and event traditions your school can control before signing.
Use your proposal when available
Apex pricing varies by program, territory, fundraising result, and agreement. If your school has an Apex proposal, those school-specific terms are more relevant than the published regional example used as the calculator default.
Published Apex program ranges
Apex Live
School retains 40%–60%
Apex describes Live as its traditional full-service program. The exact percentage depends on the agreement and fundraising result.
Apex Flex
School retains 50%–65%
Apex describes Flex as a lower-cost program with reduced staffing and material costs and more automated content.
Apex's 2025 franchise disclosure document publishes these company-wide ranges but does not provide one national breakpoint table.
Pricing details and sources
Uses a publicly available amount-based schedule associated with an Apex territory serving Illinois and Wisconsin. It is not presented as universal national pricing.
- Pricing modeled
- 48% revenue share
- Pricing status
- Published regional pricing
- Last verified
- 2026-08-28
- Source
- View regional pricing source
Common questions
Apex is a managed fundraising service. Its school programs can include campaign planning, an on-campus team, student engagement, character lessons, prizes, fundraising technology, family communications, event equipment, setup, and event-day execution.
Divide the amount your school wants to receive by the percentage your school keeps. For example, at 52% retention Apex must raise about 1.92 times as much gross revenue to produce the same proceeds as a fundraiser that retains nearly all of what it raises. At 60% retention the multiplier is about 1.67 times; at 40% it is 2.5 times.
No public source reviewed for this calculator establishes one universal Apex percentage. Apex’s 2025 franchise disclosure document says schools retain 40%–60% with Apex Live and 50%–65% with Apex Flex. Individual territories and school agreements can use more specific schedules.
The default estimate uses a published pricing schedule associated with an Apex territory serving Illinois and Wisconsin. Under that schedule, the percentage retained by the school changes with total funds collected. Because Apex agreements can vary, this is presented as a regional pricing example rather than universal pricing.
Apex does provide character and leadership programming. In the school programs modeled here, those lessons are integrated into the fundraising campaign alongside student engagement, incentives, online pledging, and the culminating event.
Apex provides students with personal online fundraising pages that can be shared with family and friends. The fundraising program combines those online tools with the on-campus campaign and student engagement.
Apex intentionally uses student engagement, classroom challenges, prizes, and other incentives to build fundraising momentum. Schools may want to consider how that approach fits their community, particularly where families have different financial resources or access to donor networks.
Some published Apex school agreements describe online transaction fees, sometimes paired with optional donor processing charges. The exact allocation and donor participation are not clear enough to apply as one universal formula, so those costs are not added to the default regional estimate.
If you already have an Apex proposal, use the terms in your proposal. The published regional scale provides an evidence-based comparison for visitors who do not yet have school-specific pricing.
Want to compare other options?
See how the same fundraiser works across different fundraising platforms and service models.