College Dance Marathons Break Records to Million-Dollar Beats

Who knew conquering the dance floor could rake in so much money?

College students from all over the country broke fund-raising records with dance marathons this year. Students generated almost $500,000 at Florida State University, $1-million at Northwestern University, and nearly $10-million at Penn State University.

Organizers cannot say what exactly made their marathons so appealing this year, but they agree that people wanted to support the children’s health charities and other causes that benefited from the events. Many held yearlong fund-raising efforts that culminated in the overnight dance events, which ran as long as 46 hours.

Says Kirsten Quisenberry, spokeswoman for Penn State’s dance marathon: “People know where the money is going to, and they realize it’s going to the less fortunate.”

This year, students from Penn State’s 20 campuses raised $9.56-million at the university’s 46-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon, up from $7.83-million in 2010. To raise money for the “Thon,” as the event is called, students solicited change from the public with canisters, distributed solicitation cards to nearby communities, and sent letters and e-mail messages to friends and relatives asking for donations. “All of that change quickly adds up,” Ms. Quisenberry says.

Penn State’s dance marathon began in 1973, when it raised more than $2,000 for charity. Since 1977, though, the Thon has raised some $69-million for its sole beneficiary, the Four Diamonds Fund, which offsets the cost of pediatric cancer treatment for families in need. About 93 percent of the donations go directly to the fund, with the rest subsidizing the event, organizers say.

When Northwestern held its 37th annual dance marathon in March, more than 900 students danced for 30 hours. That netted a record $1,019,130 in cash and donations of products and services, up from nearly $855,000 last year.

The Children’s Heart Foundation received more than $600,000 of the money raised, or 90 percent of the cash raised, while the Evanston Community Foundation got 10 percent, or about $70,000. Every year, different charities are selected to receive the majority of donations through a rigorous application process, organizers say.

“Everybody was so enthusiastic about the dance marathon and the Children’s Heart Foundation,” says Catrina Miksis, an organizer. “I think there was a real connection between our dancers and our beneficiary.”

In February, Florida State University raised $486,927 from its 16th annual dance marathon, benefiting the Shands Children’s Hospital—which is one of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals—and the university’s own College of Medicine pediatric outreach program. Last year, the event raised about $450,000, with 100 percent going to the charities, organizers say.

This year, organizers dropped the $300 minimum for donations to get more students involved, and attendance grew to 1,548 dancers. They also offered more incentives to dancers, such as a 15-minute foot massage if they raised $350. For $400, they could relax in a “mood room,” which helped participants get through two 20-hour shifts of dancing, says Jessie Cappiello, an organizer.

Watch what happened at Northwestern’s dance-marathon event in March:

Watch Penn State’s dance-marathon event in February:

Watch Florida State University’s dance-marathon fund raiser in February: