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If you're looking for a fundraiser that does an exceptional job of bringing your community together for fun and healthy competition while bringing out the spirit of teamwork, it's time to start thinking about running an a-thon.
A-thons are a type of fundraiser that bring supporters together to raise money for your cause by participating in an organized activity that drives donations from sponsors.
Some of the most popular types of a-thon fundraisers are walk-a-thons, clean-a-thons, swim-a-thons, and reading-a-thons.
A-thons are incredibly popular fundraisers for nonprofits and parent-led school groups like PTAs, PTOs, and booster clubs alike.
Beyond being exciting and memorable events that create tons of school spirit and tradition, they're an absolute winner when it comes to getting your students, parents, teachers, staff, and community involved and engaged, which is necessary for meeting your fundraising goals.
But there are plenty of other reasons why a-thons are a dependable, go-to fundraiser:
A-thons are open to all skill levels
Unless you are planning a specialized a-thon, generally a-thons don’t require participants to be skilled in a particular activity to take part. They’re an inclusive fundraiser with maximum involvement to rally people behind a specific goal.
A-thons incentivize participation
Because they typically use a pledge model where sponsor donations are made based on participant achievement, participants are highly motivated to do everything they can to raise as much as possible.
Plus, by offering incentives, prizes, or recognition for top fundraisers, you can supercharge engagement and competition.
A-thons are easy to organize
A-thons can be as simple or complicated as you make them. By choosing a theme or activity that doesn’t require much upfront investment, you can keep overhead costs low and not need a ton of resources.
All you really need are a location, a way to track participants, and a way to accept pledges or donations.
A-thons are flexible
Whether you choose to run your a-thon over a single day, entire weekend, or a whole week, you have the flexibility to select a time frame that accommodates your activity, season, and schedule.
A-thons are also flexible when it comes to expanding for a lot of participants if you want to scale up to include multiple schools for a bigger impact.
A-thons build partnerships
Since a-thons provide an opportunity for local sponsorships where businesses donate money or prizes in return for promotional opportunities, they’re a great way to build partnerships that turn into long-term support.
A-thons foster a sense of camaraderie and friendly competition by bringing people together for a common goal. That’s fundraiser gold. But they also are great for creating a sense of achievement among participants, which is a big reason people are motivated to take part in them.
When a-thon participants meet or exceed their goals, they get a sense of accomplishment and feel more meaningfully connected to the fundraiser. By encouraging a growth mindset of perseverance, dedication, and goal-setting, a-thons can help student participants develop valuable skills for life.
If you’re looking to run an a-thon fundraiser and want to get creative, the sky is the limit! Whether your focus is creativity, a physical feat, an intellectual challenge, or something entirely different, just make sure the activity you pick is fun and engaging for your participants.
Here’s some inspiration:
Also called a Volunteer-a-thon, a Good-deed-a-thon is a powerful way to help others while helping your own organization.
Find local groups in your community that could use helping hands to match up your participants with the right opportunity. Sponsors can pledge donations based on the number of hours participants volunteer.
Odds are you’ve got a jigsaw puzzle or two hanging around, just waiting for some attention. Put out a call for puzzles and get groups of participants working to put the pieces together.
Sponsors can pledge donations based on either the number of puzzles that get assembled or the number of hours participants spend working on puzzles.
Inspire the artistry of participants with a Make-a-thon. You can focus on a specific medium like painting, drawing, or crafting, or let participants choose their favorite creative outlet.
Sponsors can pledge donations based on the number of hours participants spend creating something. You can reward sponsors with participant creations or use them in an auction to raise even more.
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