Boosterthon and Fun Run

5/18/2018 3:27 pm

Why does the PTO use Boosterthon to manage the Fun Run? (5/18/2018)

The Sunset Elementary PTO has contracted with Boosterthon for the past three years to host our annual Fun Run. This event is our second largest fundraiser of the year (Invest In Your Child in August is the largest) and, after much discussion, we will be using them again for our Fun Run in February 2019. We considered the following factors when deciding whether to continue our relationship with Boosterthon:

1. POSITIVE FEEDBACK: The feedback from our Fun Runs managed by Boosterthon is overwhelmingly positive. The school administration loves the character education component that is part of the package and aligns with the guidance curriculum. The students get to know and love the Boosterthon employees who are enthusiastic, positive, and on site all day for seven days. The kids also love the party atmosphere of the actual race. The PTO loves that almost all of the planning, implementation, advertising, and collection of funds is done by Boosterthon. The two concerns most often raised - prizes based on pledges and the cost of using an outside company - are valid and not insignificant. The PTO Board took them into consideration when making the decision about whether to continue using Boosterthon. However, at this time, we think the positive feedback outweighs the negative and the benefits (as described below) outweigh the challenges.
2. MORE FUNDS RAISED: Even after we pay for their services, we raise more money using Boosterthon than we ever did without them. Between 2012 and 2015, the PTO raised between $20K-$25k via the Fun Run without Boosterthon. Since we started using Boosterthon in 2016, we have raised $30k-$36k each year. We believe Boosterthon is more successful because they have the resources to maintain a high level of enthusiasm at the school for the week leading up to the Fun Run and they have the online tools for families to easily solicit and collect pledges. Boosterthon's fees are based on a sliding scale - the more you raise, the more you keep. In 2018, we kept 55% of the money raised, which is actually a very good percentage when compared to other fundraising companies. Yes, we hate to give up that 45%, but we are paying for a service and the school, kids, and PTO are very happy with the service they are receiving.
3. FEWER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: When the Sunset PTO planned and and implemented its own Fun Run (2011-2015), well over 100 volunteers were needed on race day alone. Before and after the actual race day, a committee chair and a team of volunteers spent months planning the event, designing/ordering/distributing t-shirts and water bottles, designing/printing/distributing flyers, collecting and organizing pledge sheets, and collecting/recording/tracking down thousands of dollars in pledges. Taking on an event of this magnitude and expecting comparable results is no longer realistic. In 2017-18, we had empty volunteer slots at every major event (Fall Festival, both Book Fairs, Field Day, etc.). Recent history suggests we simply do not have enough volunteers to plan and manage this event.

As a PTO, we carefully plan our fundraising campaigns and events with the students and their families in mind, as well as the needs of the school. We intentionally spread out our major fundraisers (Invest In Your Child in the fall, Fun Run in the winter, and the Golf Tournament in the spring) so that families do not feel inundated with requests for donations at one time or back to back. We also choose fundraisers that target different audiences (IIYC targets parents, Fun Run targets extended family and friends, Golf Tournament targets adults inside and outside our Sunset community, and other events raise funds via community and retail partners). We do not expect every family to participate in every fundraiser. We hope that by providing several different types of fundraising opportunities, Sunset families can decide for themselves which fundraisers to contribute to based on their own priorities and abilities.