About Runstr

Where Student Stories Fuel School Success

Runstr is the first subscription-based fundraising platform designed for the modern educational landscape. We sit at the intersection of the creator economy and K-12 education, replacing transactional, one-off fundraising with a sustainable model based on student storytelling and community connection.

The Problem: A System in Need of Modernization

For decades, school fundraising has relied on a broken model. It is often labor-intensive for staff, transactional for donors, and disconnected from the students it aims to support.

• The Efficiency Gap: Traditional fundraising events (galas, auctions, sales) consume disproportionate administrative time while donor retention rates continue to decline across the sector.

• The Financial Literacy Crisis: While schools struggle for funding, students face a critical skills gap. Data indicates that 1 in 5 U.S. teens lacks basic financial literacy skills, and 88% of Americans feel unprepared to manage money after high school.

• The Digital Disconnect: Today's students are digital natives, yet their role in school funding has been passive. Schools have historically left "money on the table" by failing to leverage the tools and behaviors—like content creation and subscription models—that dominate the modern economy.

The Runstr Solution: Empowering Students, Funding Schools

Runstr flips the traditional script. We function like a "Patreon for Education," providing a platform where students share their academic and extracurricular journeys with a community of paying supporters—family, friends, and neighbors.

How It Works:

1. Students Share: Students document their progress, projects, and achievements through updates on the platform.

2. Supporters Subscribe: Community members subscribe monthly to follow specific student journeys.

3. Schools Receive: From every subscription payment, a transparent $5.00 platform fee is applied. The entire remainder of the subscription goes directly to the school.

This model creates a predictable, recurring revenue stream for schools that requires zero inventory to manage and zero distinct "campaigns" to run. Simultaneously, it transforms students from passive beneficiaries into active participants in their school's economic success, teaching them real-world skills in digital storytelling, personal branding, and value creation.

Our Origin Story

Runstr was born from the vision of Zachary Obasiolu, and his deeply rooted passion for education and youth empowerment.

Through years of volunteering and working directly with students, Zachary identified a critical disconnect: fundraising was often an exhausting burden rather than a community builder. He envisioned a tool that could solve the chronic funding issues schools face while simultaneously empowering students to be the heroes of that story.

At its core, Runstr reflects Zachary's unwavering belief that when you equip students with the right tools, you enable them to build their own successful futures. Runstr is not just a platform; it is a modern engine for a changing world, turning individual student stories into a powerful force for community-wide support.

The Ecosystem: EduNeedsMore

Runstr is the technological engine that powers EduNeedsMore, our broader community and advocacy arm. While Runstr provides the funding mechanism, EduNeedsMore coordinates support across every stakeholder in the educational ecosystem to ensure resources are channeled effectively.

• Parents Need More: Connects parents directly to student journeys, fostering transparency and accountability.

• Students Need More: Teaches students to become advocates for their education, building communication skills for the modern workforce.

• Teachers Need More: Champions the use of Runstr funds to eliminate the burden of out-of-pocket teacher spending.

• Coaches Need More: Empowers student-athletes to generate recurring revenue for equipment and travel.

• Schools Need More: Provides district leaders with unrestricted, passive revenue without the administrative burden.

• Aspiring Innovators: Offers student creators access to expert-led STEM programs and resources, helping them turn bold ideas into reality.

Join the Movement

We are building a future where school funding is sustainable, students are financially literate, and communities are deeply connected to the academic journey.

Runstr: Where student stories fuel school success.