Knight-Thon at the University of Central Florida Receives 2024 Organization Management 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 Knight-Thon at the University of Central Florida who has been awarded the 2024 Organization Management Award. Knight-Thon was selected as the honoree for this year’s award for their excellence in change management and leadership onboarding best practices. Through a well-thought-out onboarding plan, consistent communication, transparency and collaborative decision making the student leadership team at Knight-Thon ensured their entire team was consistently in the know on their program operations and prepared to succeed in their positions.  

After attending DMLC in 2023, Knight-Thon was eager to analyze their program operations and understand how the sprint model could best be implemented to fit Knight-Thon’s campus and community. At their fall retreat they took intentional time to review their program’s mission and values – ensuring a clear and consistent understanding of who their program was serving. They then pulled their own program fundraising data to gain more insights on how their fundraising timeline aligned with the national fundraising trends presented at the conference. They were transparent with their executive board showing them the data from their overall fundraising results, breaking down internal and external fundraising and the timing in which funds are raised. They then used this information to work collaboratively with their team members to develop “Sprint Model KT’s Version.” 

Throughout consistent communication and collaboration with their executive team they got their buy-in on this new timeline of program operations and fundraising – preparing them for the biggest change of all: that they were proposing to change their traditional 20-hour event to a 12-hour event. They took the time to fully explain their reasoning for the change – presenting the cost of putting on the event beside funds raised, and sharing qualitative feedback from past Main Event surveys that showed a lack of excitement around a 20-hour event.  

With buy-in and a clear understanding from their internal team on why these changes were being made, they then moved into planning for activations and events that would meet their campus’ needs! At their spring retreat, they followed up on the model’s implementation through the fall semester seeking team feedback to develop an effective engagement strategy that would engage their campus participants.  

Congratulations Knight-Thon!  

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.