Fundraising Ideas

Dance Marathon is a year-round fundraising effort. Aside from online giving, students can also hold supplemental fundraisers to generate additional funds for their Dance Marathon. Below, you’ll find a few examples that have proven to be successful.

Bake Sale
Host a bake sale where Dance Marathon committee members make cookies, brownies, or other baked goods that are sold as a fundraiser for your Dance Marathon. You can also have a breakfast bake sale in the morning before Home Room, and sell bagels, coffee, juice, etc.

Battle of the Bands
Host a Battle of the Bands concert for your local high school bands that benefits your Dance Marathon. If possible, offer the winning band the opportunity to perform at your event!

Canning
Talk to your school’s administration to see if they would allow for you to use your canisters to ask people for their spare change while they enter a school sporting event. You can also reach out to local businesses to see if you could “can” by their entrance(s) at certain dates or times.

Car Wash
Host a car wash at your school or a local business to help raise funds for your Dance Marathon.

Class Competitions
The Dance Marathon committee can host a class competition, such as a penny wars, between each class in the school. The competition could consist of which class could raise the most money in a week through online fundraising, cash donations, and change collections.

Garage Sale
Looking to clean out your closet? Invite students to collect items that can be sold at a garage sale prior to your Dance Marathon. 

Giveback Nights
Stop by local restaurants and ask the managers if they would host a percentage giveback night for your school’s Dance Marathon. 

Guess the Number
Put jellybeans, marbles, or M&Ms in a jar – Make sure to count them first! Offer students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to guess the number of items in the jar in exchange for a donation to your Dance Marathon. The person who guesses closest to the correct amount wins a prize.

Icon Sales
If a business does not want to donate directly or hold a percentage night, ask if they would be willing to sell icons for a donation to your Dance Marathon. You could also ask students to purchase icons and write their name on them. Display the signed icons throughout your school, or a selected location, to maximize awareness of the program. Icons can be requested through Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation.

Minute To Win It 
The clock is ticking! Have your Dance Marathon committee go around the crowd of a school sporting event for 1 minute collecting change. Count the change and announce how much was raised later in the game.

Student Dress-Down Days
Does your school have uniforms? Ask if your school’s administration will allow students to pay $5 to wear casual clothing for a day, rather than the required uniform.

Teacher Dress-Down Days
Teachers can get in on the fundraising action, too! Ask your school’s administration if they will allow for teachers to pay $5/day for one week to wear jeans instead of their normal attire.