Easy Ways To Boost Your School Athon Fundraiser
Go beyond the typical school fun run or -athon with one of these ideas to raise money and school spirit.
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From fun runs and walkathons to mathathons—more than ever, schools of all sizes, locations, and budgets are getting in on the fun of -athons and fun runs. There are lots of reasons for their popularity—they encourage kids to be active, they bring the school community together, and they can raise thousands of dollars for your group.
We’ve rounded up some popular fun run and -athon variations (maybe even a few you haven’t tried yet), then added a way to change it up (or make it a virtual fundraiser). Many of these ideas will work for different pledge fundraisers, so the sky’s the limit!
Color Run
In this (super popular) variation, participants run through clouds of colored powder, typically tossed at them by adult volunteers, or have colored liquids sprayed on them, usually at a few stations along the course. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s really fun—for the kids, what’s not to love?
Amp it up! Instead of (or along with) throwing powder at the kids, let them do the tossing. Offer colored packets based on pledges collected, or just hand participants packets at the end and let them have at it.
Danceathon
Choose a theme, schedule the school gym, start publicizing early, enlist a lot of volunteers (because 24 hours is a loooooong time), find a DJ or volunteer with a variety of music, line up lots of food and drinks, and schedule breaks. Don’t forget to sign up the principal for dance lessons!
Amp it up! This is one event you’ll want to memorialize! Enlist a few parent photographers to capture the action, and set up some inexpensive selfie stations around the room so participants can share photos of themselves getting their groove on.
Obstacle Course Run
Using tires, cones, Hula-Hoops, gym equipment (the list could go on...and on), volunteers set up a course that kids maneuver themselves over, around, and through. Many obstacle runs also have a mud pit or muddy area.
Amp it up! The best help you could ask for is right there in the building. PE teachers can offer lots of guidance on obstacle courses; often they’ll be glad to loan equipment or even help set up the course.
Zombie Run
Oooh, brainnnns! And costumes. During a zombie run, runners typically wear tags similar to flag football and try to complete the course before volunteers in zombie costumes can capture all three tags.
Amp it up! Let the kids be the zombies! This works particularly well for events scheduled near Halloween. Give kids the option to dress at home, or round up a few volunteers to apply some zombie makeup before the race begins.
Glow Run
Dinis Tolipov/123RF
This is a nice event for those who could do without the mess, or who want or need to hold their event indoors: Participants can simply wear a day-glow yellow T-shirt, a glow bracelet, and a glow necklace. Here's everything you need to plan a glow run or glow danceathon.
Amp it up! Sounds fun, but it turns out you kind of want the chaos? There’s such a thing as glow powder—and, of course, glow paint. So if it’s mess you crave (and you’re able to hold your glow run outside), round up a few willing volunteers and let them splatter participants.
Reading Pledge Challenge
If you like the idea of a fundraiser that requires relatively few volunteers, boosts literacy or other learning, and can happen rain or shine, a reading pledge challenge might be your winner. This is a great event to hold anytime of the year, but we see many groups plan readathons in March for National Reading Month and Read Across America Week. Here's everything you need to plan a readathon event at your school.
Amp it up! Combine your school’s reading challenge with a book swap. Schedule the school library (or other area with enough space) for some group reading time, and encourage participants to bring some books to swap. This promotes both togetherness and cleaner bookshelves at home.
At its heart, a reading challenge is a fundraiser done individually—so it's easy to take it completely online just by not including group activities (the same can apply to spellathons/mathathons—see below). That said, you can boost the fun from afar by rounding up some teachers to record themselves reading to students and posting the recordings. Alternatively, encourage parents to record their kids reading their favorite books to their teacher. Another idea: send kids home with a "reading buddy" (a small stuffed animal) that they promise to read to every night.
Spellathon/Mathathon
A fundraiser that reinforces spelling or math skills in a fun way? Y-e-s, please!
Amp it up! Increase the academics—and the competition—with a bonus round. Have spellathon participants spell a few words backwards; for mathathons, set a timer for a speed round to see how many equations participants can solve.
Hitathon
This is a fun one. During a hitathon, each participant gets 10 pitches; donations get charged per hit.
Amp it up! Up the buzz (and your returns) with a championship hitathon. In this variation, there’s a two- to three-week fundraising period; the player from each team who raises the most money (or every player who raises a certain amount) gets to participate in the championship hitathon.
Straight-up Fun Run/Walkathon
There’s a reason they’re called fun runs—because they are! The ways to make them even more appealing are endless; here are just a few:
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Switch it up so the laps aren’t boring. After a certain number of laps, have the kids run or walk in the opposite direction, or take a dance break.
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Bring on the tunes! Music gets everyone going and helps keep racers motivated. Some schools hire a DJ, but you can also ask a volunteer to bring their sound system and play some fun songs.
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Invite your mayor or other local celebrity to attend and cheer everyone on.
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Lead a group warmup before the race with a few trainers from a local gym.
Get everything you need to plan a school fun run in our free fun run planning guide.
Want more athon fundraising ideas, tips, and resources? Head over to our Athon Fundraising Hub. 👉
