Fundraising Ideas - "THONS"

Thons? Yes THONS. You know – fundraising ideas but with a twist. You’ve seen them, read about them and perhaps even have participated in a few of them. What do you remember most? Well, mostly they are fun and if done correctly, can earn a lot of money with just one of these crazy fundraiser ideas.

A THON is usually something done over a period of time and really is just a clever way to market your fundraiser. We will outline a few of our favorite and yes, most creative fundraising ideas.

Skate-a-Thon – Ice and Roller
Participants sign up for a flat donation or for laps around the rink. Extra cool ideas for participants are to integrate prizes for the best costume or craziest hat. Set up an obstacle course or other diversion to break up the lap after lap monotony!

Read-a-Thon
Students sign up to read throughout a specific amount of time. Donors pledge on a per page or per book basis. This fundraiser is probably one of the most cost effective fundraising ideas for schools and it gets the kids reading!

Weed-a-Thon
Members of the group can collect one time donations or pledges for general yard clean up or community beautification projects. This fundraiser idea is a great one for church youth groups especially those trying to raise money for a mission trip.

Cheer-a-Thon
OK Cheerleaders – time to show your stuff! Cheerleaders can cheer and dance non stop over a period of time. They can collect pledges for hours that they will cheer or a one time donation. These events are best done in combination with a tournament or other period of time when multiple games are being conducted. They need to cheer for someone!

Cut-a-Thon
Work with one salon or multiple salons in the community on a set day or time. The salon will donate a portion of the haircut price (or hopefully the whole amount) to your cause. Another idea is to work with a nail salon for their services as well. Who doesn’t love a good mani/pedi and it’s for charity! These fundraising ideas works best when it is well promoted by using fliers, school newsletters, church bulletins, radio public service announcements, etc.

Dance-a-Thon
Rock around the clock…literally. This fun and crazy fundraiser idea can really raise a lot of money and comes packed with fun as well. Basically, participants sign up to dance a certain number of hours nonstop (there are usually 10 minute per hour bathroom and food breaks). Pledges can be collected for the hours danced or a one time donation. Spice it up with a costume contest for the participants or a dance off competition. Don’t think of this idea only for schools – it makes a festive idea for church and community groups as well. Kick up your heels – it’s fun and you get to shake your groove thing honey!

Trike-a-Thon (preschool fundraiser)
What is more precious than preschoolers and kindergarteners on their trikes? This fundraiser idea gets the grandparent’s checkbook open in a hurry. Set up a mini track (indoors or outside on the playground) and have the kiddos peddle around the track. This fundraiser is best set for a SHORT time frame. The thrill of participating and the cool “participant” ribbon that each rider receives are one of the best features of this idea. Also remember to take pictures of the mighty trike fundraisers to send along with the thank you notes after the event. A nice thought is to have the kids sign the letter or better yet, make the card in which the tax receipt is sent to the donors. One of the most adorable fundraising ideas ever!

Bowl-a-Thon
S-T-R-I-K-E! These fundraiser ideas are catching on all over the country. A lot of people love to bowl and this is an easy and fun idea for a fundraiser. You can build in a participant fee for bowling and encourage every bowler to collect pledges or one time donations. Again, make it fun! Prizes for highest score, best costume (if you select this option) or lowest score make it more competitive. Arrange for participant goodie bags as thank you gifts with donated items for local vendors.

Walk-a-Thon

Wash-a-Thon (Car Wash in Disguise!)

Any Sport Thon – baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, swimming, ice hockey for 24 hours straight!
Really? Really…these are great fundraising ideas but they require coordination. Of course, doing anything for a 24 hour period takes work. But, who doesn’t want to be playing soccer at 3:00 a.m.? Talk about making memories! Remember, build in incentives and contest to keep the action rolling. Coordinate something at the END of the event and invite all of the participants back to celebrate this accomplishment and the money raised.

Start with an effective planning committee. Make sure that the key elements of the event: communication (with parents, participants, vendors, etc.),logistics (the place where the event will take place: playground, school, sport field, church, etc.), volunteer coordination, and fundraising (acknowledgment and incentive prizes) are integrated and there is a clear communication plan to maximize your success.

The key to success for your event is 100% participation of your group in fundraising. Make fundraising fun, competitive and interactive.

Typically, you can expect to raise between $50-100 per participant if you plan and motivate your participants correctly. Remember to involve parents, grandparents, friends and any one you can think of in the actual “day/night of” event to help (count laps, runs, etc., give out water, food and prizes and cheer on the participants.)

Create milestone incentives working up to the day of the event. For example, every class or group that turns in a certain amount of pledges will receive something. For instance, (in a school setting) an extra recess, no homework pass, ice cream party, etc. You will know what works best for your school or group but make it something that the participants value.

Reporting back to your donors is critical to build on your success year after year. On your donor acknowledgment letters (which you must send out!) remember to recap the day and offer your donors the total of dollars raised. Describe to your donors what tangible and wonderful things were achieved with the dollars raised.