Features
The digital operating system for school communities.
Events, fundraising, volunteers, store, communications, directory, finances, reporting, and leadership transition — all in one platform. No transaction fees. Full data ownership.
Keep 100% of what you raise
Most platforms take 5-10% of every dollar. On a $20,000 fundraiser, that's up to $2,000 gone. Growing Grounds charges a flat subscription — your school keeps every cent.
And that's not all
Beyond the core modules, Growing Grounds includes everything your PTO needs to operate smoothly.
Sell merchandise online with product variants, sizes, colors, and inventory tracking. Built-in checkout via Stripe — no Shopify needed.
Membership, revenue, event attendance, and volunteer hour dashboards. Export to PDF and CSV. CRM exports on Bloom plan.
Announcements, board messaging center, and AI-powered reminders. Target by classroom, committee, grade level, or whole school.
Budget management, expense tracking, and treasurer reports. Transparent books with a clear audit trail for your board.
Searchable directory organized by household and classroom. Privacy controls, contact exports, and always-current member data.
Hand off to next year's board in one click. All history, contacts, budgets, documents, and role permissions transfer seamlessly.
Features by plan
Every plan includes zero transaction fees and full data ownership. Upgrade anytime.
| Seed | Sprout | Bloom | District | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Membership & Directory | ||||
| Members | Up to 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Member directory | — | |||
| Household management | — | |||
| Events & Ticketing | ||||
| Event RSVPs | ||||
| Online ticket sales | — | |||
| Shared event calendar | ||||
| Fundraising & Payments | ||||
| Online payments (Stripe) | — | |||
| Fundraising campaigns | — | |||
| Spirit wear store | — | |||
| Communication | ||||
| Basic announcements | ||||
| Board messaging center | — | |||
| AI-powered reminders | — | — | ||
| Volunteers | ||||
| Volunteer sign-ups | — | |||
| Hour tracking & recognition | — | — | ||
| Reporting & Administration | ||||
| Financial tracking | — | |||
| Reporting dashboard | — | — | ||
| CRM exports | — | — | ||
| Multi-school admin | — | — | — | |
| Custom branding | — | — | — | |
| Dedicated support | — | — | — | |
Works with the tools you already use
Connect Growing Grounds to your existing payment processor, workspace tools, and communication channels.
Accept credit cards and ACH for tickets, donations, store purchases, and subscriptions. Webhook-based order tracking and automated refunds.
Sync events to Google Calendar. Access shared Google Drive files from the platform. SSO login via Google accounts.
Sync orders and donations to QuickBooks automatically. Map expense categories to QuickBooks accounts for seamless bookkeeping.
Post event reminders and volunteer sign-up alerts to designated Slack channels. Configurable notification preferences per channel.
Export member data, financial reports, and volunteer logs as CSV or PDF. CRM-ready exports on the Bloom plan. Your data is always yours.
API key access with rate limiting, webhook endpoints, and full documentation. Build custom integrations for your district's systems.
Common questions
Everything you need to know about features and getting started.
What types of organizations can use Growing Grounds?
PTOs, PTA chapters, booster clubs, school foundations, youth sports leagues, and small community nonprofits. Any school-affiliated organization that manages events, members, and funds.
How does the annual board transition work?
Transfer all admin access, role permissions, documents, budgets, vendor contacts, and history to the incoming board with one click. Nothing is lost between school years.
Who owns the data?
You do. Full data ownership is a core principle. Export member lists, financial records, and volunteer logs as CSV or PDF at any time. Delete your data whenever you choose.
What does "zero transaction fees" actually mean?
Growing Grounds charges no platform percentage on donations, ticket sales, or store purchases. Only Stripe's standard processing fees (2.9% + 30c) apply — and we don't mark them up.
Can our district manage multiple schools?
Yes. The District plan provides multi-school admin, shared analytics across all PTOs, custom branding per school, SSO integrations, and dedicated support.
Does it work with our existing tools?
Growing Grounds integrates with Stripe for payments, Google Workspace for calendars and SSO, QuickBooks for bookkeeping, and Slack for notifications. CSV/PDF exports work with any system.
Replace the spreadsheets. Ditch the Venmo requests.
Join hundreds of school communities already using Growing Grounds. Start with the free Seed plan — upgrade to Sprout or Bloom as your organization grows.