Spelling Bee

Join us for the 19th Annual Project Read Spelling Bee fundraiser: September 16th, 2025

Every year we come together as enthusiastic teams of spellers from Utah, competing for the championship title. This semi-annual event has been described as the “funnest fundraiser in the valley” and our teams never disappoint! The funds raised support real lifelines for Project Read students in their quest for functional literacy.

Congratulations to our current Spelling Bee Champions: Green Dot Bank (Utah County) and SoFi Bank (Salt Lake County)! 

May the best speller... uh, I mean "SPENDER"... win!

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Presenting Sponsor
$5,000

  • Event held in company’s name
  • Company logo on all event marketing materials
  • One team in the Spelling Bee
  • Prominent display advertising at the event (banner as well as on each table)
  • Opportunity for sponsor to speak at the event
  • Special acknowledgement at annual student recognition event
  • Year-long recognition on Project Read homepage and in quarterly newsletter
  • Includes Abbreviated Study List
  • Includes Lifeline Package D

Student Sponsor 
$2,500

[Annual cost to support one student in the program]

  • Recognition at the event
  • One team in the Spelling Bee
  • Verbal recognition from stage during the event
  • Special acknowledgement at annual student recognition event
  • Company logo on Project Read website for six months
  • Includes Lifeline Package C

Table Sponsor
$600

  • One team in the Spelling Bee
  • Recognition at the event
  • Company logo on Project Read website for three months

Register

 

LIFELINES: The Spelling Bee champion is not necessarily the team that spells the most words correctly, but the team that accumulates the most points. Teams can increase point totals for correctly spelled words with the use of the following lifelines.

Buy a Letter ($25 pre-ordered; $50 during spelling bee): The judges will ignore one incorrect letter in a given word.

Use Your Phone ($50 pre-ordered; $100 during spelling bee): Team members use their phones to find the correct word spelling.

Double Your Points ($50 pre-ordered; $100 during spelling bee): The point value of a correctly spelled word doubles. Points compound within each round. For example, a correctly spelled 3-point word can become a 96-point word when played with 5 Double Your Points lifelines.

*Lightning Challenge ($100): Teams can challenge another team to a lightning round. Each team is limited to three challenges and can only challenge during designated Lightening Rounds. No other lifelines can be used. If the challenged team spells the word correctly, they earn 1,000 points. If the challenged team does not spell the word correctly and the challenging team spells the word correctly, the challengers steal the points.

*Golden Ticket ($1,000): Team earns 5,000 points for a correctly spelled word. No other lifelines can be used.

 

*These lifelines can be pre-purchased but are sold separately from lifeline packages.

Lifeline Packages

  • Abbreviated Study List: $300
  • Package A: $250 (value: $300)—mix and match $300 worth of lifelines ($50 to Use Your Phone, $50 to Double Your Points, $10 to Buy a Letter)
  • Package B: $500 (value: $650)—mix and match $650 worth of lifelines ($50 to Use Your Phone, $50 to Double Your Points, $10 to Buy a Letter)
  • Package C: $750 (value: $1,000)—mix and match $1,000 worth of lifelines ($50 to Use Your Phone, $50 to Double Your Points, $10 to Buy a Letter)
  • Package D: $1,000 (value: $1,350)—mix and match $1,350 worth of lifelines ($50 to Use Your Phone, $50 to Double Your Points, $10 to Buy a Letter)
  • Package E: $2,000 (value: $2,800)—mix and match $2,800 worth of lifelines ($50 to Use Your Phone, $50 to Double Your Points, $10 to Buy a Letter)