About the Charity
Vertical
Human Services
Mission
RMHC of Oregon & SW Washington provides access to medical care, a home away from home, and a community of support for seriously ill or injured children and their families.
Favorite Features
Easy-to-edit campaign pages, clear dashboards for tracking progress and signups, automated emails sent to new participants, team and individual fundraising options, and simple “copy and update” function for reusing past campaigns.
Fundraising Wins
Exceeded 2025 fundraising goal by 6%.
Increased year-over- year participant turnout.
Faster setup and reduced staff hours with easy campaign cloning.
High marks for customer support, flexibility, and platform simplicity.
A Need for Simplicity, Storytelling, and Support
At Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Oregon & SW Washington, every dollar raised helps provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill or injured children, offering not just a place to stay, but comfort, care, and a community of support during some of life’s most difficult moments.
To keep that mission strong, the team leaned on peer-to-peer campaigns as part of its involvement in the annual Eugene Marathon. But the platforms it had used in the past were clunky and unintuitive, often requiring significant time and effort to manage behind the scenes. That meant less time connecting with supporters and sharing the impact of their work.
“I think in the past, platforms were clunky [and] just took too many steps… I’m not the full-time person that’s doing all that kind of stuff. So being able to just go in and edit things easily is huge.” — Jessica Ubel, Development Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon & SW Washington
The team also needed a more flexible solution—one that allowed individuals to fundraise solo or as part of a team, segment communications, and create visually engaging experiences that kept supporters inspired. When its previous solutions couldn’t deliver, RMHC of Oregon knew it was time for a change.
The Right Fundraising Platform for Both Staff and Supporters
RMHC of Oregon built a peer-to-peer experience that was simpler to manage, easier to scale, and more engaging for participants, all thanks to the tools and support from Pledge It. Instead of troubleshooting backend issues, the team could focus on storytelling and supporter connection.
The team also used minimum fundraising commitments to keep participants motivated and focused on reaching their goals. By setting clear expectations upfront, it encouraged everyone to stay engaged, while giving staff an easy way to make sure commitments turned into real support.
Despite industry-wide fundraising challenges and the loss of a major sponsor, the chapter increased participation and hit its 2025 fundraising goal, all while continuing to advance its mission and support programs for families facing pediatric illnesses.
“First-time users play around with it and realize everything really is pretty straightforward. It's really intuitive for the most part.” — Jessica Ubel, Development Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon & SW Washington
By simplifying the campaign creation process, automating communication, and offering flexibility for both individuals and teams, Pledge It enabled RMHC of Oregon to build a repeatable fundraising engine. Staff can easily spin up new campaigns, adjust branding, and even launch next year’s event before the current one ends.
“In a lot of ways, it's plug and play, which is so nice… We'll be doing the event… or right before the event, [and we can set up] next year's campaign, so if people want to sign up, they can.” — Jessica Ubel, Development Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon & SW Washington
What used to take hours of manual effort can now be done in minutes, freeing up the team to build community and ensure that families have a place to stay and feel supported when they need it most.
More Time for Mission, More Connection With Community
Behind every dollar raised is a family finding strength in one of the hardest moments in their lives. With Pledge It, RMHC of Oregon transformed its campaign into a more connected, intuitive, and mission-driven experience, giving their team the space to focus on the people at the heart of its work.
Pledge It’s tools allowed RMHC of Oregon to quickly duplicate past campaigns, keep branding consistent, and easily track progress across teams and individuals.By removing the heavy lift of setup and coordination, staff has saved hours of administrative work while deepening donor engagement year over year.
“Honestly, it's been the best platform that we've used for peer to peer fundraising by far, in my opinion. Just more user friendly and everything.” — Jessica Ubel, Development Director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon & SW Washington
And the results speak for themselves: Even in a tough year, RMHC of Oregon grew participation, exceeded its fundraising goal, and saw participants average $538 each—well above the $391 industry standard. All of this strengthened its ability to deliver care, comfort, and community to families in medical crisis, with a platform that supports its mission every step of the way.
