Today's Update: Tuesday, July 14

July 14, 2020

Dear Student Life Team, 

One of the first major events I attended when I came to Ohio State was BuckeyeThon’s Dance Marathon. What an amazing introduction to being a Buckeye! The passion I saw was absolutely inspirational. This year, there is a big change coming. BuckeyeThon will move from the spring to the fall. 

Last year, BuckeyeThon raised $1,606,087.99. In the past year, Student Life Student Philanthropy has seen a 36% increase in student giving.  Their efforts to create a culture of philanthropy on our campus are really paying off.  The challenge now is how to do an even better job.  

In past years, BuckeyeThon has seen immense growth in registrants and attendees across events. However, the fundraising by year does not necessarily mirror that growth. One of the issues is that students become less engaged from when they register in the fall to when the Dance Marathon happens in the spring.  By shortening the time between registration and the Marathon, the organization believes that Team Members will remain more engaged, since they’ll be fundraising over a shorter period of time immediately after registration. The shift will also allow the students to focus on stewarding and engaging team members in the spring in order to increase retention rates every year. 

The Dance Marathon this fall is scheduled to be on November 6 and 7. Nationwide Children’s Hospital is on board with the change. 

BuckeyeThon is dealing with COVID realities as well. This year, the Marathon will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual programming. And, to accomplish physical distancing, it won’t be exclusively in the Ohio Union. Other venues will be involved, but the specific locations haven’t been selected yet.  

BuckeyeThon is one of the most extraordinary parts of the Buckeye experience, and nearly every department in Student Life plays a part in Student Philanthropy and the Marathon. Your continued support makes a huge difference for our students and our university. Let’s be sure to send our very Scarlet and Great-est wishes for another amazing BuckeyeThon!  

Melissa