2013 DM Summary

Dance Marathon March 22-24, 2013

Overview: Dance Marathon is a philanthropic organization, which benefits the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).

Dance Marathon hosts a 40-hour event where teams and individuals dance in two 20-hour shifts. Each year thousands of Florida State University (FSU) students dedicate their time and energy to help raise awareness and money for CMN. In addition to raising money and awareness, teams also participate for “team points.” These points are used to award the “winner” or team who raised the most money and had the most dancer participation.

This year Dance Marathon took place on March 22-24, 2013 in the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center and raised $701,493.16. Dance Marathon programming consists of all night dancing, along with many other games and activities to keep the students’ energy and excitement level high. Similar to last year, we wanted to obtain the perspectives of everyone involved; from the dancers on Friday and Saturday, committee members, and the leadership team.

There were about 300 volunteers and overall committee members that helped to plan and run DM. Of the volunteers and overall committee members who participated, 23% of them completed the survey. We wanted to obtain a snap shot of dancer and committee members’ experiences with dance marathon so we created 3 surveys: a committee member/ volunteers, Friday dancers, and Saturday dancers. Through this method of surveying we received various responses from three different perspectives of dance marathon. Of the 1,800 Dancers who participated, 15% of them completed the survey. The majority of Dancers (96%) at both shifts who responded reported that overall they experienced an excellent or good time at Dance Marathon.

Highlights: Below are tables and figures that show what respondents gained from DM and enjoyed the most.

Percentage who believe…

Volunteers were welcoming Event was well organized Facilities were kept clean Check-in system ran smoothly Participation made a significant contribution to Children’s Miracle Network Favorite…

Food Choice1 Entertainment Theme Hours

Friday Dancers Crepevine (20%) Silent Disco Tour (15%) Red, White and Blue Jean (29%)

Friday 98% 92% 72% 96% 100%

Saturday 100% 97% 72% 91% 92%

Saturday Dancers Momma Goldberg’s (23%) Silent Disco Tour (15%) Red, White and Blue Jean (36%)

Least Favorite…

Food Choice1 Entertainment Theme Hours

Friday Dancers Aramark (23%) Other (18%) Prom (29%)

Saturday Dancers IHOP (21%) Mighty Mongo Band (20%) Prom (39%)

1. Of the Friday Dancers who responded to the survey 71% said they would eat at their favorite vendor more often in the future; 59% of Saturday dancers said the same

Competencies Committee Members Reported Increasing from Involvement in Dance Marathon

Collaboration

72%

Skills

Effective Communication Interdependence

69% 57%

Event Management

64%

Leadership Development

0%

66%

50% Percentage

100%

Recommendations & Conclusion: • • • • • • • • •

Ensure effective communication and flexibility of all committee members Create timeline/ calendar in advance and determine importance of each event to avoid overprogramming Make sure that all members understand the logistics of the online fundraising Begin fundraising efforts at an earlier date Send formal thank you letters/cards to all dancers and sponsors of DM Create an active relationship with the families and local hospitals who benefit from DM from the beginning Gain more community involvement and buy-in to mission and event itself Have more Overall Committee and CORE member presence at events Continue rewarding dancer efforts

Overall, Dance Marathon continues to be one of the most successful philanthropies at the Florida State University. Forty-five percent of both Friday and Saturday Dancers reported that their favorite part of the 2013 Dance Marathon was the line dance. The implementation of the line dance is an excellent way for students to build a community and remain energized throughout the event. This year’s Dance Marathon had the most number of students ever to participate (1,800). Dance Marathon also was able to raise over half million dollars ($701,493.16), which illustrated a 20 percent growth from the previous year ($584,023.89) and the largest growth in the country. Participants in Dance Marathon continue to want to participate (89%) and feel like they are making a positive contribution (96%) to the Children’s Miracle Network.