Fraternity Chapters Raise Over $3 Million “For The Kids” at Local Children’s Hospitals
Throughout Miracle Network Dance Marathon’s 27-year history, and on each of the nearly 300 college and university campuses that host Dance Marathon events, fraternity chapters have had an incredibly significant impact on local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through their fundraising efforts.
In 2017, Miracle Network Dance Marathon programs collectively fundraised over $37.6 million for 111 local CMN Hospitals. From that total, 950 individual fraternity chapters from North American Interfraternity Conference organizations and similar inter/national social fraternities collectively raised over $3 million* for the cause.
Keep reading below to see the organizations listed based on their collective Dance Marathon fundraising efforts from 2017!
*(Note: this total, and the organizational fundraising totals listed below, only include the team fundraising totals for chapters that registered their organization as a team for their campuses’ Dance Marathon events. If individual members registered on other teams, such as the Dance Marathon executive board/committee team or another organization, their individual fundraising is not included in this number. As many Dance Marathon executive boards and committees are often comprised of a number of fraternity and sorority members and those students tend to be some of the highest individual fundraisers, we would expect the organizational totals to be significantly higher if those members’ fundraising were able to be included.)
To see how inter/national sorority organizations are involved in Dance Marathon, click HERE.
1. Phi Gamma Delta
This past year, 36 chapters of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity (FIJI) participated in Dance Marathon, collectively raising $186,028, making them the top fundraising social fraternity in the nation in 2017.
The chapter at Indiana University was the highest fundraising individual chapter team, raising $50,293 for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Ind. The chapter was also the fifth highest fundraising fraternity team out of all national fraternities in 2017.
The remainder of the top five fundraising FIJI teams include: University of Georgia ($33,423), Florida State University ($15,485), Georgia Tech ($9,262), and University of Connecticut ($9,203).
The chapter at Georgia Tech was also the FIJI team that fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, contributing 4% of the campus-wide fundraising total.
2. Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity had 43 chapters participate in Miracle Network Dance Marathon in 2017, raising a total of $180,467 for their local CMN Hospitals.
The Pike team at the University of Georgia was the highest fundraising team, raising $28,637, followed by Indiana University ($22,658), Florida State University ($17,499), University of Nebraska-Lincoln ($11,179), and Indiana State University ($8,844).
The Pi Kappa Alpha chapter at Christopher Newport University was instrumental in helping to start the Dance Marathon program on their campus, partnering with Phi Mu to help make Capt-a-thon a campus-wide initiative. The men helped to fundraise 42% of the campus’s overall total. The Pike teams at University of Nebraska-Omaha and Angelo State University were also significantly involved in their Dance Marathons, fundraising 17% and 12% of the overall campus totals respectively.
3. Theta Chi
Exemplifying their fraternity motto to extend “An Assisting Hand” to help others and serve their community, brothers from 33 chapters of Theta Chi got involved in Dance Marathon in 2017 and helped to fundraise $174,752 for the children’s hospitals in their local communities.
The Theta Chi men at Kennesaw State University rallied around a brother who has battled cancer and received treatment at their local CMN Hospital, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and raised $44,235 through their campus’s Dance Marathon, including the $27,000 they raised during their annual week-long philanthropy event. Their fundraising efforts make them the top fundraising Theta Chi team as well as the fifth highest fundraising fraternity team in the nation last year.
The Theta Chi teams at Indiana University ($25,253), Florida State University ($24,019), Purdue University ($11,688) and the University of Florida ($11,557) rounded out the top five fundraising teams from the fraternity.
The Kennesaw State University Theta Chi teams efforts were so significant that they contributed 21% of KSU Miracle’s overall fundraising total from 2017. The teams at University of Massachusetts Amherst (6%) and Towson University (6%) also made significant contributions to their Dance Marathons’ overall fundraising totals.
4. Zeta Beta Tau
As a national philanthropic partner for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since 2002, Zeta Beta Tau brothers have made an incredible difference of the lives of children and families who receive treatment at local children’s hospitals.
In addition to the funds raised by chapters through campus philanthropy events, such as their signature event “Get On the Ball,” Zeta Beta Tau brothers from 23 chapters also contributed $172,701 in fundraising through Dance Marathons last year.
The top five fundraising ZBT teams that participate in Dance Marathon include: University of Central Florida ($35,458), Indiana University ($33,841), University of Connecticut ($14,906), University of Maryland ($14,496), and Florida State University ($13,083).
The ZBT team at Florida International University fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, contributing 10% of the overall fundraising total.
5. Pi Kappa Phi
In 2017, 41 chapters of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity participated in Dance Marathon, collectively raising $160,702 for their local children’s hospitals.
The Pi Kappa Phi chapter at the University of Florida ($28,805) led the way in fundraising, followed closely by Indiana University ($25,756), University of Iowa ($23,589), Purdue University ($14,971) and University of Central Florida ($8,743).
The Pi Kapp team at the University of Dayton fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, contributing 4% of the overall fundraising total, followed by the chapter at Coastal Carolina University, which fundraised 3% of their campus’s total.
6. Sigma Phi Epsilon
Proving themselves to be true personifications of “Balanced Men,” the brothers from 43 chapters of Sigma Phi Epsilon gave back to their communities by participating in Miracle Network Dance Marathons, raising a total of $155,951 in 2017.
The Sig Ep men from the University of Georgia raised $52,813, making them not only the highest fundraising Sig Ep team, but also the second highest fundraising fraternity team in the nation out all all participating fraternities.
The chapter teams from Indiana University ($14,383), University of Florida ($12,377), Elon University ($11,062), Ohio State University ($8,359) rounded out the top five Sig Ep teams with their significant fundraising efforts.
The men at Valparaiso University were the highest fundraising Sig Ep team by percentage, raising 7% of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon fundraising total, followed by the Sig Ep teams at Creighton University (5%), Coastal Carolina University (4%) and University of Georgia (5%).
7. Alpha Tau Omega
As leaders in their campuses and local communities, Alpha Tau Omega men from 35 chapters fundraised over $139,810 through participating in Miracle Network Dance Marathon events in 2017.
The ATO team at Purdue University was the highest fundraising chapter for the fraternity, raising $28,790 for Purdue University Dance Marathon. The remainder of the top five fundraising ATO teams include: University of Georgia ($20,604), University of Central Florida ($11,158), University of Maryland ($11,041) and Louisiana State University ($7,426).
As Lamar University hosted it’s first Dance Marathon event this past fall, the men of ATO were significant contributors to the program’s success, fundraising 28% of the Dance Marathon’s overall fundraising total. Other ATO chapters that helped to fundraise a significant percentage of their campuses’ overall fundraising totals include: Tufts University (14%), University of New Mexico (8%), University of Kansas (6%), University of Central Oklahoma (6%), and University of Maine (6%).
8. Sigma Chi
As Sigma Chi has been a great supporter of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals throughout the fraternity’s history, many chapters have made great contributions to their local children’s hospitals in addition to fundraising for their current national philanthropic partner, the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
In 2017, 47 chapters of Sigma Chi participated in Miracle Network Dance Marathon, raising over $138,628 collectively.
The top five fundraising Sigma Chi teams from Dance Marathon this past year include: Indiana University ($31,245), University of Iowa ($17,139), University of Florida ($16,030), Purdue University ($15,410), and Vanderbilt University ($5,825). Tennessee Tech University University hosted their inaugural event in 2017 and the Sigma Chi chapter had a joint team with Kappa Delta and both organizations raised over $14,000 together.
Drew Carlton, a Sigma Chi member from the University of Florida, served as the Overall Director for Dance Marathon at the University of Florida in 2017 and was recognized with the Dance Marathon Distinguished Leadership Award, recognizing the top twenty graduating Dance Marathon student leaders from across the nation.
The Sigma Chi team at Emory University fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, fundraising 11% of the overall fundraising total, followed by the chapter at the University of Tulsa (10%) and Virginia Commonwealth University (8%).
9. Alpha Epsilon Pi
In 2017, 21 chapters from Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity formed teams to participate in campus Miracle Network Dance Marathon programs, collectively raising $128,199.
The AEPi team at the University of Connecticut was the highest fundraising team for the fraternity, raising $27,811 for HuskyTHON and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. The men of AEPi at UConn have been actively involved in Dance Marathon for many years and have built a special relationship with a Miracle kid that their organization has been partnered with for the past three years named Christian.
This past March, the men of AEPi made Christian an honorary brother of their fraternity, giving him fraternity letters to wear and allowing him to take a photo for their chapter’s composite.
Christian recently posted on his Facebook Page:
“One day changed my whole life when I got cancer. Then people didn’t see me for who I was. I was cancer not Christian. I go to HuskyTHON at UConn and I hang with these best friends for 3 years and I am Christian again. Then March 2017 happened and it changed my life again but even way better, when they made me an honorary AEpi Brother.”
The teams from the University of Florida ($27,416), Indiana University ($24,573), Florida State University ($8,775), and the University of Maryland ($7,652) round out the top five top fundraising AEPi teams from 2017.
The chapters from Binghamton University (5%), Johns Hopkins University (4%), and the University of Connecticut (3%) fundraised the largest percentage of their campuses’ overall Dance Marathon totals.
10. Sigma Alpha Epsilon
As a national fraternity partner with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since 2001, Sigma Alpha Epsilon men have been making an impact for their local children’s hospitals through fundraising campaigns and service initiatives.
This past year, 48 SAE chapters also participated in Miracle Network Dance Marathon events, raising an impressive $123,082. With 48 chapters involved, SAE is the most involved fraternity in Miracle Network Dance Marathon.
The top five fundraising SAE teams include: Indiana University ($21,562), South Dakota State University ($8,602), Georgia College and State University ($8,103), University of South Dakota ($6,705), and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis ($6,502).
Jacob Zawoysky, a Sigma Alpha Epsilon member from Georgia College, served as the Executive Director for Georgia College Miracle in 2017 and was recognized with the Dance Marathon Distinguished Leadership Award, recognizing the top twenty graduating Dance Marathon student leaders from across the nation.
The SAE team at the University of Texas at Tyler fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, contributing 14% of the overall fundraising total. They were followed closely by the teams at Simpson College (13%), University of Miami (13%), and University of Cincinnati (10%), which all made significant contributions to their campuses’ fundraising efforts.
11. Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi fraternity had 26 of it’s chapters participate in Dance Marathon’s in 2017, raising $108,774 for local CMN Hospitals.
The Phi Kappa Psi team at the University of Iowa raised an incredible $57,751 for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, making it the top fundraising fraternity team out of any fraternity in the nation.
In addition to the men at Iowa, the Phi Psi teams at the University of Michigan ($7,702), Florida State University ($5,869), Bowling Green State University ($4,783) and Iowa State University ($4,436) also made significant fundraising contributions to their campus’s Dance Marathon programs.
The chapter at West Virginia University was the Phi Psi team that fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, contributing over 7% of the campus-wide fundraising total.
12. Delta Sigma Phi
In 2017, 21 chapters of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity collectively raised $105,209 through participating in Dance Marathons.
The Delta Sig team at the University of Central Florida raised an impressive $50,991, making them the highest fundraising Delta Sig team and the fourth highest fundraising fraternity team out of all fraternities in the nation.
Rounding out the top five Delta Sig teams were Kennesaw State University ($16,456), Purdue University ($8,595), University of Georgia ($8,380), and University of Maryland ($5,601).
The Delta Sig team at Kennesaw State University fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, fundraising 8% of the overall fundraising total, followed by the chapter at the New Mexico State University, which raised 5%.
13. Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma fraternity had 36 chapters participate in Miracle Network Dance Marathon in 2017, raising a total of $103,209 for their local CMN Hospitals.
The Kappa Sigma team at the University of Florida led the way for the fraternity, raising $36,801, followed by Indiana University ($21,795), University of Oklahoma ($6,501), Purdue University ($5,605) and the University of Central Florida ($4,609).
The Kappa Sigma teams at Belmont Abbey College and Texas A&M University, Kingsville fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, contributing 5% of the overall fundraising totals.
14. Phi Delta Theta
Brothers from 37 chapters of Phi Delta Theta fraternity have given back to the community by participating in Dance Marathon, raising $97,929 collectively for local children’s hospitals.
The men at Indiana University led the way as the highest fundraising Phi Delt team, raising over $30,803, which doesn’t include the nearly $30,000 in addition that approximately 40 Phi Delt brothers who served on the IUDM executive board and committees also raised.
The other Phi Delt teams rounding out the top five in fundraising include: Florida State University ($6,918), University of Oklahoma ($6,135), University of Central Florida ($6,122), and University of Iowa ($6,120).
15. Beta Theta Pi
As “Men of Principle,” brothers of Beta Theta Pi can often be found participating in philanthropic work and community service for their local communities.
32 chapters of Beta Theta Pi participated in Miracle Network Dance Marathon in 2017, raising a total of $95,021 for CMN Hospitals.
The Beta team at Indiana University led the fraternity in fundraising, raising $17,000, followed by University of Central Florida ($10,369), Purdue University ($8,293), University of Florida ($8,218) and Florida State University ($8,118).
The chapter at American University was the Beta team that fundraised the largest percentage of their campus’s overall Dance Marathon total, contributing 5% of the campus-wide fundraising total.
16-44:
Below is the list of additional national, social fraternities that participated in Miracle Network Dance Marathon in 2017 and raised at least $5,000 nationally with more than one chapter involved.
| Rank: | Fraternity: | Total Raised: | # of Chapters Participating: | Top Fundraising Chapter: |
| 16 | Delta Chi | $85,163.71 | 18 | University of Florida ($25,056) |
| 17 | Delta Tau Delta | $71,654.42 | 34 | University of Florida ($21,981) |
| 18 | Lambda Chi Alpha | $71,437.77 | 30 | University of Florida ($27,779) |
| 19 | Chi Phi | $63,181.50 | 7 | University of Florida ($28,962) |
| 20 | Sigma Pi | $61,252.16 | 20 | Indiana University ($22,755) |
| 21 | Tau Epsilon Phi | $58,265.00 | 2 | University of Florida ($51,607)–Third highest fundraising fraternity chapter in the nation. |
| Rank: | Fraternity: | Total Raised: | # of Chapters Participating: | Top Fundraising Chapter: |
| 22 | Tau Kappa Epsilon | $49,942.31 | 26 | University of Florida ($12,338) |
| 23 | Sigma Alpha Mu | $49,895.71 | 10 | Indiana University ($23,712) |
| 24 | Pi Lambda Phi | $49,131.49 | 8 | University of Florida ($40,972) |
| 25 | Alpha Sigma Phi | $47,493.95 | 19 | University of Connecticut ($10,931) |
| 26 | Delta Upsilon | $44,868.91 | 21 | Indiana University ($13,290) |
| 27 | Phi Kappa Tau | $41,012.39 | 12 | University of Florida ($12,636) |
| 28 | Acacia | $33,891.13 | 4 | Indiana University ($32,156) |
| 29 | Phi Sigma Kappa | $32,223.86 | 18 | University of Massachusetts, Amherst ($10,175) |
| 30 | Sigma Nu | $28,058.32 | 21 | University of Florida ($14,050) |
| 31 | Alpha Gamma Rho | $24,497.70 | 8 | University of Florida ($18,724) |
| 32 | Beta Upsilon Chi | $17,970.79 | 9 | University of Oklahoma ($7,653) |
| Rank: | Fraternity: | Total Raised: | # of Chapters Participating: | Top Fundraising Chapter: |
| 33 | FarmHouse | $15,501.63 | 6 | Iowa State University ($7,589) |
| 34 | Kappa Alpha Order | $14,615.47 | 17 | University of Florida ($8,386) |
| 35 | Zeta Psi | $13,927.02 | 6 | University of Maryland ($12,585) |
| 36 | Kappa Delta Rho | $13,773.54 | 7 | Purdue University ($4,093) |
| 37 | Chi Psi | $12,725.16 | 4 | University of Mississippi ($6,926) |
| 38 | Alpha Kappa Lambda | $12,375.78 | 8 | University of Connecticut ($4,657) |
| 39 | Alpha Delta Phi | $11,442.89 | 2 | University of Connecticut ($11,192) |
| 40 | Phi Kappa Sigma | $10,483.00 | 8 | Indiana University ($9,327) |
| 41 | Sigma Tau Gamma | $10,472.16 | 7 | Purdue University ($5,127) |
| 42 | Phi Kappa Theta | $9,993.93 | 10 | Northern Illinois University ($3,138) |
| 43 | Phi Mu Delta | $8,650.67 | 2 | Purdue University ($4,502) |
| 44 | Triangle | $6,655.07 | 7 | University of Michigan ($2,388) |
Miracle Network Dance Marathon is an international movement, involving students at over 400 colleges, universities, and K-12 schools across North America that fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since its inception in 1991, Miracle Network Dance Marathon has raised more than $217 million–ensuring that no child or family fights pediatric illness or injury alone.
Learn more about Miracle Network Dance Marathon: