HuskyTHON at the University of Connecticut Receives 2024 Data Award

Miracle Network Dance Marathon recognized top performing Dance Marathon programs at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals’ Ignite: Peer-to-Peer Leadership Conference held in Kansas City, MO from July 18-21.  

Congratulations to HuskyTHON at the University of Connecticut for being selected as the winner of the 2024 Data Award! HuskyTHON utilizes concrete, organized and understandable data year-round to bolster the success of their organization year after year. In 2024, their data-driven decision-making propelled them to break several records including their number of registered participants, push day totals, and total amount fundraised – amounting to over $1.7M raised for Connecticut Children’s.  

Their use of data to drive strategy and decision making was on display during their largest fundraising push day of the year: Day of Strength. Strategically placed 10 days before their Night Of (main event), this push inspires their community to join in their fundraising efforts before the yearly HuskyTHON journey comes to an end, it is a day every participant looks forward to. Coming off a record-breaking Day of Strength in 2023, HuskyTHON set an ambitious goal for 2024. However, when Day of Strength 2024 began, their fundraising efforts were slower than anticipated. As the day went on, they were tracking hour by hour progress and were unsure if the publicized goal would even be achieved. Data analysis, specifically using live numbers and participant reports from Donor Drive, played a large role in the decision to create and execute a last-minute strategic outreach plan that resulted in $63,000 raised in the last 5 hours of Day of Strength, exceeding both their publicized goal for 2024 and the record set the previous year. 

This plan included sorting participants by specified fundraising criteria and then sending customized messages directly to participants based on the category in which they fell, stewarding them for hitting milestones whilst encouraging them to begin or continue their fundraising efforts in the final hours.  

While this is just one example of how HuskyTHON utilized data to increase their fundraising, data-driven decision making plays an integral role in all aspects of the program’s success from segmented communication to stewardship, recruitment initiatives, and more!  

Congratulations, HuskyTHON!  

Miracle Network Dance Marathon is a national movement, involving over 400 colleges, universities and K-12 schools across the United States that fundraise for their local member hospital of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Students involved in a campus’s dance marathon organization spend a year gaining leadership, teamwork, and nonprofit business experience while raising funds and awareness for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. The year culminates with a final dance marathon event on each campus, where students get to meet patient families treated at their local hospital, participate in games and dancing, enjoy entertainment, and reveal their annual fundraising total. Miracle Network Dance Marathon programs have collectively raised more than $350 million since 1991.