Celebrating Schools & Showcasing Their Success!

Spring 2015 is upon us and schools from around the country have found fundraising success by teaming up with TGMC! In this blog post we highlight just a handful of the schools that have exceeded their fundraising goals. Each school is unique, with stories that contain great ideas for student incentives, awesome prizes for classes, and impactful ways they plan to use the funds. But, one thing they all have in common is a commitment to healthy fundraising and parent satisfaction through our services.  

Check out these school stories for some inspiration for your own Fun Run. Then let us know in the comments one creative strategy or idea that you have taken from these examples and will apply to your own fundraiser!

Davis Elementary

The tigers went for the gold in Georgia with raising an incredible 154% of their original fundraising goal! The money raised from their Davis Dash went toward supplies for their new technology teacher and their new science lab. 

In order to get students motivated, the Davis Foundation (the team behind this incredible success) used the twin characters Dashey & Davey to create videos and get the whole school involved. 

Student raffle prizes included free pizza for a year or passes to Disney World. Plus, the top two fundraisers in the school won iPad Minis. Classes received rewards when they raised $300, $600, $1,000, and $1,500. School-wide incentives were entirely exerience-based and included a teacher being silly stringed, multiple staff members pied in the face, Davey & Dashey turned into human ice cream sundaes, a coach duct taped to the wall, and, perhaps best of all, an administrator got to kiss a pig!

Richmond Street School

The Richmond Street School PTA hosted a dance-athon and raised a shocking 174% of their original fundrasing goal! They encouraged a fun, healthy and active life-style, all while raising money for all of the programs at their school, including field trips, assemblies, campus beautification, teacher workshops, parent education seminars and much more!

Each grade level got 40 minutes to boogie in the rock star cafetaria during school hours and all students got to dress as a rock star the entire day of the event! 

Students were elligible to win homework passes, rock star glasses, and movie passes to the local movie theater. The top-raising class got a water balloon party, and the entire school gets to enjoy a beach ball party!

Chapparal Elementary

Ready, set, go! Chaparral’s annual jog-athon raised 148% of their fundraising goal! Funds went toward their fitness programs, including P.E. and the Fitness Club. The Hawks "Heart" to Run was all about students getting active for a cause, not a competition, and you can tell by the amount raised that the kids certainly had a blast!

For every $30 raised, students will got a ticket entered into an opportunity drawing for an iPad, which was donated by a local business! 

Plus, students who collected ANY pledges, whether online or in check/cash, by the deadline got to be entered into a special “early bird” opportunity drawing for a Kindle Paperwhite! A pledge superstar who raised $120 or more received a picnic lunch with the principal.

Hearst Elementary

Hearst Elementary hosted an incredible Jog-Athon that had them raising 146% of their fundraising goal! The money went to fund programs such as Art Corp, buses for field trips, assemblies, dances and much more! 

Each week the Top Earning Class earned prizes such as extra recess, homework passes, popcorn party, otter pops and other fun things. Plus, the classroom that raised the most money earned an Ice Cream Party hosted by the PTA!

Each student who brought in $200 in pledges got to be part of the 2-hour game truck party (image on the right). And, the Top Pledging Student earned the incredible prize of a Go-Pro!

Serrania Charter

Serrania Charter hosted an awesome Walk-Athon that helped them raise 142% of their fundraising goal! The funds went toward the school's Physical Educational Program. 

Students received a Serrania Walkathon Logo Hat and were entered in a drawing for Dr. Dre Beats Headphones. Students that raise $250 in pledges also had their choice of a LA Laker Girls meet and greet breakfast, LA Galaxy soccer experience, UCLA Women's Soccer team, Meet and Greet with Elsa and Anna, and Skylanders experience. Plus, the Top Student in each grade got to be PE Coach for the Day!

Classes that reached 100% participation got to have a ""silly string party"" with their teacher, while classes that reached 100% of their goal got a “Popcorn and a Movie” afternoon! The top 3 classes from each grade level got to "SLIME" the prinicipal!

Their Success Can Be YOUR Success

We have a saying around here, DIY Fun Runs are not rocket science. We have the tools and you have the creativity, we provide the services and you provide the passion, teamwork and motivated students. If you want to see similar success for you and your school, consider teaming up with us for your next Fun Run.