How IlliniThon Doubled Their Fundraising In One Year

Written by Bailey Burns, 2016-2017 IlliniThon President

 

At their 12-hour Dance Marathon event on April 1st, IlliniThon at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced that they had raised an incredible $310,586.17 during the 2016-2017 school year for HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital in Springfield, IL.

This fundraising total represents a 102% increase over their previous year’s total of $153,637.16, well above the national growth rate of approximately 27%, and currently makes them the largest fundraising collegiate Miracle Network Dance Marathon in the state of Illinois.

So how did they double their fundraising total in just one year? The IlliniThon student leaders broke their strategy down into eight key steps.

 

1.We took advantage of summer planning.

In July, our Quad Team (the president and three vice presidents) had a planning weekend where we spent two twelve hour days planning the upcoming semester and having one-on-one skype sessions or in-person meetings with each executive director.  By laying out the fall semester during the summer, we were able to notify everyone of important dates with advanced notice, as well as hit the ground running when everyone arrived on campus in August.

 

Our quad has been hard at work planning this year's event, and school hasn't even started! We are so grateful for such dedicated #MiracleMakers ! #FTK #IlliniThon #ForTheKids

A post shared by IlliniThon (@illinithon) on Jul 10, 2016 at 12:23pm PDT

 

2. Intentional executive board structure and membership development.

One of our largest tasks in 2017 was creating the first ever IlliniThon Leadership Constitution, which laid out the structure and roles for each member of our executive board and leadership team.  By implementing two new executive positions, Dancer Relations and Special Events, we were able to put a stronger focus on the year-round aspect of IlliniThon.  In addition to the executive board, our leadership team of 170 students held the position of either an assistant director, chair, or committee member.  Having bi-weekly meetings with our entire leadership team allowed us to work as one unit and stay on the same page throughout the year.

 

3. Increased year-long communication.

By utilizing the notification feature on Donor Drive, IlliniThon created both scheduled and triggered notifications that sent depending on a dancer’s activity level.  Notifications ranged from congratulating them on reaching a new fundraising level with information about the incentives, to a reminder email to dancers who had not fundraised one month after registration.  In each notification there was a photo and bio of a miracle child, and information on how funds raised has benefitted that child specifically.

Rise and shine – it's $100 Day!! The Big Event is coming up, and make sure you're a VIP and raise $100 For The Kids today and help us reach our goal of $50,000!! Use the checklist to make sure you make the most out of our biggest fundraising day of the year! Check out our Facebook page for more information and for announcements of special events happening today!! Get fundraising!! #FTK #CMN #$100Day

A post shared by IlliniThon (@illinithon) on Mar 13, 2017 at 7:11am PDT

 

4. Spread our ‘why’ across campus.

Starting at the beginning of the school year, we held FTK Fridays where members of our leadership team decked out in head-to-toe DM apparel and raised awareness for IlliniThon.  We paired a variety of activities with a social media strategy of having a Snapchat filter on our main quad, so students who were taking snapchats in any of the main campus buildings would see it.  Whether it be teaming up with campus reps from various companies to hand out free treats such as Insomnia Cookies, or the opportunity to pie an exec board member in the face for a donation, there were always lots of curious students who stopped by for a flyer that explained IlliniThon.

 

5. Invited everyone to be a part of a larger goal.

Hype about IlliniThon spread like wildfire across campus when we set out to raise $20,000 in one day on November 7th.  However it wasn’t the large goal that got campus to rally behind our cause, it was the individual fundraising challenges of either $50, $100, $250, or $500 that we asked dancers to accept on that day.  When dancers saw the final total of more than $39,000 at midnight, they knew that their personal fundraising was a part of something so much bigger.

 

 

6. Analyzed data to adjust dancer fundraising benchmarks.

In the eight previous years of IlliniThon, the minimum dancer fundraising goal had always been $250, which can be a daunting number for dancers.  When evaluating data from 2016, myself and our Financial Vice President saw that the average dancer fundraising was $107.  This data lead us to change a suggested goal of $250, into a strict minimum of $100 for entry to the Big Event.  Dancers were less intimidated by this number and more felt up for the challenge to fundraise throughout the year, and many went above and beyond the $100 after seeing the fundraising incentive levels!

 

 

7. Thanked dancers with tools to get their friends involved.

As everyone knows, the only thing better than Dance Marathon is sharing the experience with your friends!  IlliniThon held our first annual Dancer Appreciation Day eight weeks before our Big Event by teaming up with Azzip Pizza, an on-campus restaurant.  Registered participants could stop by various locations on campus for free pizza and a t-shirt or pen.  In addition to this, a promo code for $10 off the $30 registration fee was offered if dancers brought a friend to register.  This brought IlliniThon to the front of dancers’ minds, and also resulted in 139 registrations that day.

 

8. Showed instead of told when explaining the ‘why.’

Cause-connection was at the heart of everything IlliniThon did this year.  In order to get dancers invested in the organization, we incorporated family interaction into every event throughout the year.  While our local CMN Hospital is 90 minutes from campus, we incorporated skype-sessions or family visits into each of our All Dancer Meetings and hosted special events with families throughout the year.  At our first ever IlliniThon Family Tailgate, dancers were invited to come hang out with the five miracle families in attendance.  Our miracle families were also introduced on the field at halftime, making it a memorable day for all involved.

 

To learn more about IlliniThon at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, check out their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Miracle Network Dance Marathon is an international movement, involving over 300 colleges and universities across North America that fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since its inception in 1991, Miracle Network Dance Marathon has raised more than $150 million–ensuring that no child or family fights pediatric illness or injury alone.

Learn more about Miracle Network Dance Marathon:

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