8 Types of A-Thon Fundraisers for Schools

Over the years, we have talked to a lot of PTA/O leaders who are looking for the most profitable ideas for school fundraisers. When this question comes up, we almost always recommend “a-thon” fundraisers. Not only do these types of fundraisers reliably raise a lot of money, but they also provide tons of opportunity for creativity. 

In this blog, you’ll learn more about: 

• How A-Thon Fundraisers Really Work
• Healthy Ways You Can Raise Funds
• How Booster Can Help With Your Fundraiser

You don’t have to be limited to jog-a-thons either. There are enough types of a-thon fundraisers out there to meet any school’s needs no matter the grade level, student interests, time of year or volunteer power at your disposal. In this blog we’ll walk you through the basics of the tried-and-true a-thon fundraiser plus all the different a-thon ideas for school fundraisers you can organize this year!

How do a-thon fundraisers work?

Most a-thon fundraisers work the same way. Donors sponsor participants by pledging to donate a certain amount of money based on the level of participation. In a fun run, for example, donors would pledge a certain amount per distance run by the student they are sponsoring - for example per mile or lap. Donors can be parents, family friends or really any community member who wants to chip in.

This fundraising formula creates the potential for a high profit event that truly engages the school community. It’s also a school fundraising idea that is easily adaptable to a lot of different types of activities, so you can engage a wide range of participant interests and talents. We’ll describe a few of the best ideas for a-thon school fundraisers below!

8 Ideas for A-Thon School Fundraisers

1. Fun Run

Effort: Medium

Cost: Low

Potential profit: High

Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Fun runs, also called jog-a-thons, have been one of the most popular ideas for school fundraising for a long time. In addition to being profitable, this type of fundraiser has a large list of benefits not just to the school but to the participants as well.

For one thing, fun runs give students and other participants an opportunity to be active. Fundraisers that involve physical activity are a great way to promote the physical health of the school community.

What’s more, outdoor fun runs allow participants to get plenty of fresh air and enjoy the natural environment around their school or community. Exercise is essential for human health but outdoor exercise has unique benefits for the body and mind. It provides essential exposure to Vitamin D, boosts your immune system, and promotes relaxation and improved moods. What more could you ask of an idea for school fundraising?

That said, fun runs can be held indoors which makes your event more flexible in the event of bad weather. The Boosterthon Glow Run is an indoor event that adapts the fun run formula to an indoor setting and provides everything you need - including volunteers - to crush it on event day.

2. Walk-a-thon

Effort: Medium

Cost: Low

Profit: High

Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

For a variation on the fun run a walk-a-thon is another great fundraising idea. They provide the same benefits to participants in terms of physical activity and enjoying the outdoors. However, this a-thon fundraiser may be more accessible since walking is a less intense physical activity. Older participants or those with more limited mobility can join the fun and make your fundraiser a whole community event.

3. Dance Marathon

Effort: Low

Cost: Low

Profit: High

Grade level: Elementary school, middle school

We can’t talk about a-thon fundraisers without talking about dance marathons! Sometimes called dance-a-thons, this idea for school fundraisers never goes out of style. It’s relatively easy for schools to set up since you can use your own campus as a venue, specifically the gym or cafeteria. You can even make it an outdoor event if the weather permits. You will also need sound equipment and a playlist of fun, school-friendly tunes for participants to dance to.

While this event is especially good for elementary school and middle school it can work for all school levels. Depending on the time of year you can also add a fun theme to boost excitement. If it’s the fall, decorate with hay bales and pumpkins and sell seasonal refreshments like pie and cider to boost profits. Spring lends itself to a Spring Fling theme while any holiday - think Valentine’s Day or even St. Patrick’s Day - creates an opportunity for fun decorations and prizes for participants who dance the longest or win certain challenges.

If you want to take your dance fundraiser up a notch consider working with Booster. Our Dance Fit fundraiser has a unique partnership with Just Dance to add high-energy dance music and an awesome dance routine to your event.

4. Community Dog Walk

Effort: Medium

Cost: Low

Profit: High

Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

This idea for school fundraising puts a fun, furry twist on the traditional walk-a-thon. Invite school families and community members to walk their dogs - for funds! Structure the event like a walk-a-thon, but make the event dog-friendly and dog-focused. This can be a great opportunity to educate the school community on the benefits and responsibilities of pet ownership.

Think about partnering with local businesses or organizations such as pet stores or animal shelters to donate pet-focused prizes and encourage pet adoption or volunteer opportunities.

5. Read-a-thon

Effort: Low

Cost: Low

Profit: High

Grade levels: Elementary school, middle school, high school

It’s always a good thing when a school fundraiser directly promotes an interest in academics. A read-a-thon is the perfect way to do that. This is one of the easiest, most affordable and highly profitable school fundraisers for any grade level. Plus you get the added bonus of helping participants foster a love of reading.

While you can earn a lot of donations through each participants’ sponsor, you can really maximize profits with a read-a-thon by tacking on extra activities. For example, you can auction or raffle off brand new books or goodies related to reading such as e-readers, reading lights, bookmarks, gift cards to the local bookstore and more. With some creativity, this can quickly become a favorite fundraiser at your school and a guaranteed way to raise much-needed funds.

6. Clean-a-thon

Effort: Medium

Cost: Medium

Profit: High

Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

Cleaning can be fun especially when it leads to funds for your school! Put the school community to work by having participants volunteer to clean local businesses such as restaurants, offices or retail stores in exchange for donations. This can strengthen the relationship between your school and the community and foster a spirit of volunteering among your students.

Or take the event to your own school and have sponsors donate per square foot for the area of your campus that gets cleaned during the event. By having students focus on cleaning and beautifying their own campus you foster a sense of ownership and appreciation for the students’ space.

Boost excitement by designing special spirit gear for the event and playing a special, high energy playlist to get participants pumped up. You can also incentivize participation by having the principal or faculty members complete a silly challenge if a certain amount of money is donated.

7. Can-a-thon

Effort: Medium 

Cost: Low

Profit: Medium

Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

This is another a-thon fundraiser that fosters a giving spirit and sense of duty within the larger community. It applies the a-thon fundraising formula to the concept of a canned food drive. 

In other words, sponsors donate a certain amount - think 1 cent to $1 or more - per can collected by their student. Just make sure you designate a few volunteers to receive the donated cans, check expiration dates and distribute them to local charities at the end of the event.

While this is a great event to hold during the fall around Thanksgiving it can be held any time of year. It could also involve donations besides canned food such as shoes, coats or other necessities.

8. Bowl-a-thon

Effort: Low

Cost: Variable

Profit: High

Grade level: Elementary school, middle school, high school

If you’re looking for a unique a-thon fundraiser for your school a bowl-a-thon might just be the event for you. Partner with a local bowling alley for the night or afternoon and invite participants to come enjoy a few hours of bowling with their friends and classmates.

With this type of event there are tons of ways to diversify your profits. You can sell tickets to the event then have students get sponsored by a parent or family friend to donate a certain amount per number of points scored throughout the night. Alternatively, you could ask the bowling alley to donate a portion of their proceeds during the event to your school. 

Tips for Organizing a DIY A-Thon Fundraiser

With a dedicated team of volunteers and a solid plan you can raise a ton of money with any of the DIY a-thon fundraisers on this list. Here are a few tips to help ensure success:

• Diversify donation methods. Each of these events is a great opportunity to sell raffle tickets, refreshments,  school spirit gear and more in order to raise funds on top of the base donations.
• Raffle prizes related to the event. For a community dog walk raffle off dog toys, dog food or gift cards to a local pet store, groomer or pet boarder. Fun runs are a great opportunity to raffle off active wear or sports gear or a voucher for a cool local experience such as a trip to a rock climbing gym. You can choose to sell raffle tickets or provide them in exchange for participation - or both!
• Incorporate spirit gear. One way to instantly boost excitement for a fundraiser is to design special swag for the event. Participants will love sporting their school spirit while participating in a clean-a-thon or bowl-a-thon. Offering awesome, limited edition shirts or swag as prizes for achieving certain challenges or donation amounts is also a great way to incentivize participation.
• Use a donation tracker. Tracking and collecting donations is one of the most important parts of a successful fundraiser. You can make this a lot easier by using a donation tracking software that lets you see donations and progress all in one place. Booster’s MyBooster fundraising platform has helped tons of schools track and collect donations for their DIY fundraisers.

Make it Boosterthon

A-thon fundraisers are great DIY fundraisers for any school. But sometimes you need a little extra help or the right school fundraising tools to help you be successful. That’s where Booster comes in. If you’d love to host a fun run or dance event but don’t know where to start, partnering with Boosterthon makes the whole process seamless.

We provide the volunteers, help you promote and execute your event from kick-off to collections and our programs are unique events that you can only get with Booster. Want a twist on the fun run? Try our Color Run or indoor Glow Run. And since we’ve been perfecting school fundraising for over 20 years, you can trust we’ll bring the fun and expertise your school deserves!

Learn more about fundraising with Booster today.