Fundraiser thermometer

Updating it as money comes in

The numbers live in the code you pasted, so to move the bar you change the raised value in that snippet and save the page. Come back here, put in the new total, and copy the code again if that is easier than editing by hand.

Once a week is usually the right cadence. A thermometer that has not moved in a month reads as a fundraiser nobody is watching, which is worse for donations than having no thermometer at all. If you cannot commit to updating it, put up the goal without the bar.

Where to put it

The school or district website is the highest traffic spot and usually the hardest to get into, because a staff member has to paste it for you. Ask anyway: it is one line, it does not need a plugin, and it is an image rather than a script, which is the objection most district IT departments raise first.

Your own PTO page, your email newsletter, and a pinned post on your parent group all work without asking anyone. If your fundraiser has a fun run or spirit night behind it, the thermometer belongs next to the signup, not on its own page.

A note on email

Most email clients block remote images until the reader allows them, so put the raised and goal numbers in the text next to the thermometer rather than only inside it. That way the message still works for somebody reading with images off.