I admit it. I am that person. The one who will drive a little further down the street to save an extra 5¢ per gallon for gas; who will clip those Just4U coupons at Safeway/Albertson’s so that a $5 box of cereal costs only $1.50. I really should have a bumper sticker that says “Never Pay Full Price!” As a mom of six and as an educational entrepreneur, looking for deals that stretch our dollar has become a way of life.
Naturally, that mindset has carried over to my work at eXtend, and I am often asked what we do to keep our overheads low. The answer is a combination of low-cost and free programs and services that have helped us operate efficiently while keeping our program within financial reach of the families we serve. It is in that spirit that I share the following resources. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, my hope is that it will serve as a springboard to help you identify resources that work for your community and program, and ultimately help your bottom line.
Registration Platforms: While there are many great enrollment registration platforms available online, they can prove cost-prohibitive over time. Early on, we discovered Corsizio, a registration platform that is free for the first 30 registrations every month. When we first discovered Corsizio in 2023, the first 50 registrations per month were free. If your program runs quarterly classes, this can be an absolute game-changer. Even if your program is like ours, with registration happening en masse in the spring and then sporadically through the rest of the year, this platform can make a significant difference in registration expenditures. If you go over the free quota of 30 registrations per month, the cost for each registration is only 15¢.
To make the most of Corsizio, we have created registration windows that allow us to keep our costs to a minimum, with instructors and leadership registering at the end of February, and the rest of the community and new families registering in March. Since 2023, we have spent a grand total of $132.55 on our registration platform, and that is with classes offered à la carte, where each individual class selected counts as a separate registration!
Corsizio has a feature that enables you to take payments through the personalized portal page; however, we don’t utilize this because of fees associated with taking online payments. Instead, our Corsizio portal links to a payment page through Omella, another piece of our cost-saving strategy.
Receiving Payments: Our program discovered Omella, a free platform for collecting payments and donations, during a convention hosted by VELA Education, the nation’s largest community of “indie” educational entrepreneurs. Whenever we need to collect money for our families, be it registration fees, our building and technology fee, tickets for events or field trips, yearbook purchases, or whatever else, we use Omella.
With Omella, there are no platform fees, whether your organization is for-profit or nonprofit. Transaction fees are paid by the parent rather than the program, and parents can avoid those transaction fees by drawing funds directly from a checking account rather than using a credit or debit card. Ultimately, every dollar goes to the organization. Two other payment processors that operate similarly are Zeffy and GiveButter. Both Zeffy and GiveButter offer additional fundraising tools, and all three platforms rely on optional tips from donors to help provide these services at no cost to organizations. Eliminating platform and credit processing fees has saved us hundreds of dollars each year.
Google Workspace for Education: Our program has been using Google Workspace for Education for free since 2020, when we established our account through our state homeschool organization. In 2022, Google made it easier for homeschools and co-ops to access these services for free, regardless of whether they are for-profit or nonprofit, by eliminating the requirement that they receive a verification code from a state, regional, or national homeschool organization. Today, programs seeking access only need their own domain name, and must include the word Homeschool at the end of their name when applying for the service.
Within Google Workspace, tools such as Google Forms, with its ability to create spreadsheets automatically from the data it collects, can replace other paid platforms that do the same work. Google’s Notebook LM, a powerful AI tool for research and creating content for classes, is free within the Google Workspace for Education. Google Sites is yet another tremendous tool, allowing founders to create and host websites for free. We used Google Sites to build a free internal resource website for our instructors, housing informational videos and materials that help them operate smoothly within our program. For founders just beginning their programs, the ability to launch a website without adding another monthly bill can put real money back into their budgets, and it is one less recurring expense to worry about.
Group Purchasing Organizations: Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) are collectives that leverage the buying power of their members to negotiate contracts with vendors, resulting in significant savings. Vertical GPOs are industry-specific, such as healthcare, while horizontal GPOs cut across multiple industries. We have used Omnia Partners, a horizontal GPO, for years, primarily to access discounts with Office Depot/Office Max, and have experienced dramatic savings on office supplies and copying and printing costs. For example, we pay only 7¢ for black-and-white copies and 24¢ for color copies, with even deeper discounts when our orders exceed 100 copies. When we purchase house-brand office supplies, discounts typically range from 25 to 75%. Membership is free, and there are no minimum purchase requirements. Other vertical GPOs include Una and Provista.
The extensive network of companies offering discounts through Omnia Partners and similar GPOs includes Lowe’s, Home Depot, School Specialty, Lakeshore Learning, Dell, Playcraft, Michael’s, 84 Lumber, Thomas Scientific, Kaplan Early Learning, Sherwin-Williams, Ramp, Advance Auto Parts, Washington Music Center, Music & Arts, and Fisher Scientific. As is often the case with discounts, it is important to know and understand prices; a GPO price isn’t always automatically the lowest price available. One example is Michael’s, where the combination of its teacher’s discount program (for which every founder and instructor is eligible), weekly online and in-store coupons, and its free loyalty program with $5 rewards can result in significant savings that surpass anything a GPO can offer. The lesson? Don’t assume that a discount is a deal simply because it is labeled a discount. Do your homework!
Other Free Services for Nonprofits: Two other companies offering valuable free tools for nonprofits are Canva and TechSoup. Canva, the online graphic design platform, offers its Pro version at no cost for nonprofit organizations. This is a tremendous value, providing access to an extensive library of graphics and templates, advanced design tools, advanced download options, and expanded storage capabilities.
TechSoup is a go-to resource for all things tech-related. It gives eligible nonprofits access to free and deeply discounted software from companies such as Microsoft, Intuit, and Adobe, as well as hardware, including servers and refurbished computers. Again, it pays to know your prices. Sometimes you may find better deals by combining loyalty programs, promotional offers, or a discount from other websites and providers.
Ultimately, deals are out there for the taking. The key is building relationships with vendors, with fellow homeschool and microschool leaders, and your local, state, and national organizations. Many of these discounts travel through word of mouth rather than a Google search. Every program’s budget and needs are different, so what works beautifully for us might need some tweaking for you.
What matters most is your mindset. Never assume that you have to pay full price for anything. Keep asking, “Is there a better way to do this?” and never be afraid to stack your savings. A dollar here, a coupon there, a free platform instead of a paid one—all of it makes a difference. While none of these strategies feels particularly dramatic in the moment, multiplied across a year and then multiplied by the number of learners you serve, these savings translate to real dollars that stay exactly where they belong: in your program, serving your families. Happy savings!
