Dance Marathon March 28-30, 2014
Overview Dance Marathon at Florida State University strives to engage the student and local communities to promote children’s health and happiness while fostering the leadership and involvement of participants. Our organization raises funds for our equal beneficiaries, Shands Hospital for Children and FSU College of Medicine Pediatric Outreach Program. One hundred percent of our efforts go to providing treatment, research, medical care, family education and hope. Dance Marathon at FSU is the largest student run philanthropy on campus; it’s a year-long fundraiser. Throughout the year we hold events for FSU students, Tallahassee community, and the families impacted by the funds and medical attention received. The fundraising efforts will culminate during the actual marathon. The marathon is a 40 hour event to continue raising money and awareness, but also celebrates the hard work of all the fundraisers. At the event up to 1,800 students will stand for 20 hours straight. While standing, the student will learn a line dance performed every hour on the hour, play games, bond with other FSU students, and meet and hear stories from the miracle families that benefit from the funds raised the past year. This year Dance Marathon took place on March 28-30, 2014 in the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center and raised $781,196.22, an 11 percent increase from last year. Dance Marathon programming consists of all night dancing, along with many other games and activities to keep the students’ energy and excitement level high. Planning Committee and Campus and Community Partners The Student Activities Center directly advises the Dance Marathon at FSU Executive Board, which coordinates these events. The Dance Marathon at FSU Executive Board, a committee consisting of 18 students and two advisors, oversee the planning of all DM events throughout the year. The student executive board includes a management team of the executive director, finance director, marathon relations director, and external events director. The management team is chosen by the previous management team and the two advisors. Additional executive board members are selected in the spring semester by new management. The following are campus and community partners for the year: • Florida State University Student • Tallahassee Democrat Government Association • FSView & Florida Flambeau • Florida State University Athletics • Four Points by Sheraton • Florida State University Campus • The UPS Store Recreation, Intramural Sports • The Campus Book Store • Donald L. Tucker Civic Center • Campus Circle: Tallahassee • Student Activities Center
Longitudinal Attendance Type of Group Attending Greek Organizations Non-Greek RSOs Individuals
2010 52 9 N/A
2011 N/A 8 11
2012 40 17 19
2013 36 14 31
2014 TBD TBD TBD
Survey Results Of the volunteers and overall committee members who participated, 20% of them started and 15% completed the survey. The majority of executive board, committee members and volunteers reported having a good or excellent experience with DM (78%). Committee members reported increasing their leadership competencies in areas such as collaboration (79%), event management (60%), intellectual growth (39%), interdependence (46%), leadership development (69%), meaningful interpersonal relationships (63%), personal and educational goals (50%), and realistic self-appraisal (37%). Ninety-five percent of committee members surveyed felt their participation made a significant contribution to the Children’s Miracle Network. In addition, we also asked if committee members would consider a career in a field similar to the committee they were working on; a majority of individuals on the fundraising, hospitality, marketing and publications, and sponsorship agreed they would consider their committee choice as a career choice. Of the 1,800 Dancers who participated, 16 percent of them started the survey and 7 percent completed it. The majority of Dancers (66%) at both shifts who responded reported that overall they experienced an excellent or good time at Dance Marathon. The tables below provide a snapshot of how Dancers felt overall about the organization of the event, how welcoming volunteers were, favorite activities/performances, and their favorite food selections. Information in this table can be used when planning for the 2015 Dance Marathon. 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 Red Bull Silent Disco Pajammin
Least Favorite… Food Choice1 Entertainment Theme Hours
Friday Dancers Harry’s Seafood Grille No Bears Allowed Improv DMA’s
Friday 97% 95% 88% 86% 98%
Saturday 97% 97% 87% 97% 99%
Saturday Dancers Red Bull Silent Disco Pajammin Saturday Dancers IHOP No Bears Allowed Improv DMA’s
1. Of the Friday Dancers who responded to the survey 61% said they would eat at their favorite vendor more often in the future; 66% of Saturday dancers said the same
Demographics and Marketing
Classfication 1%
1%
Freshman 20%
Sophomore
35%
Junior Senior Graduate
21%
Transfer 22%
Other
Gender 20% Male Female Other 80%
1% 2%
Ethnicity
1% 2%
African American/ Black American Indian/ Native Alaskan Asian/ Pacific Islander
11%
White/ Caucasian Hispanic/ Latino 83%
Mixed Other
Residence 18%
On-Campus 36% Off- Campus Fraternity/ sorority House
46%
How did you hear about DM? 1% 10%
1% 5% 7%
8% 13%
4%
1%
2%
10%
1% 1%
38%
Banner Billboard Dining Hall Ad Door Hanger E-mail Facebook Flyer/ Poster in Residence Hall Friend/ word-of-mouth Newspaper Nole Central Promo items/ t-shirt Resident Assistant Table Tent Twitter Website Yard Signs
Recommendations for Next Year After the focus group with the Executive Board and compiling the survey data from the various Dance Marathon constituents, there were many suggestions that the students had to offer to help make DM 2015 better. Below is a short list of suggestions that were mentioned multiple times. Many of the suggestions were focused around communication, fundraising, accountability among the committee members, the committee’s relationship with dancers, sponsors, and families. By taking the suggested changes into consideration Dance Marathon will continue to grow and continue raising more money for the Children’s Miracle Network. • • • •
Ensure effective communication and flexibility of all committee members Continue timeline meetings and tracking of numbers Continue to cultivate relationships with the families who benefit from DM Gain more community involvement and buy-in to mission and event itself
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Spread the mission of DM to non-Greek organizations and emphasize it is for all students and a yearlong experience, not just an event Make the event more individual friendly for dancers Consider the effectiveness and necessity of the pairing system Put more effort into the entire executive board and assistants getting to know one another Make it easier for smaller RSOs to participate without lowering financial requirements Make better use of volunteers during marathon events Maintain relationships with food vendors, including house moms Plan more time during the event for activities and interactions with the dancers and miracle children Have dancers form a more personal relationship with the families Make dancer representatives feel more valued and show appreciation for their efforts Increase the number of activities throughout the night besides the line dance Make prices the same for activities between the first and second shift Increase external events leading to DM, including more fundraising events closer to DM Maintain quality of food (i.e. keep it warm and fresh for those in the back of lines) and have pairings eat together Reduce the check-in time and processes Ensure morale captains have more of a presence, especially in the later hours, to keep energy up Conclusion
Overall, Dance Marathon continues to be one of the most successful philanthropies at the Florida State University. Forty-eight percent of both Friday and Saturday Dancers reported that their favorite part of the 2014 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 ($781,196.22), which illustrated an 11 percent growth from the previous year ($584,023.89). Participants in Dance Marathon continue to feel like they are making a positive contribution (98%) to the Children’s Miracle Network.