Dance Marathon at Louisiana State University Receives 2023 Data Award

Miracle Network Dance Marathon recognized top performing Dance Marathon programs at the Dance Marathon Leadership Conference (DMLC) held in St. Louis, MO from August 3-6.

Effective use of data to drive decision-making, strategic planning, and execution of initiatives has the power to transform your organization and grow your recruitment, fundraising, and engagement on and off campus. The Data Award recognizes a program that uses data effectively to grow their organization. This year’s winner, Dance Marathon at LSU uses historical data to set goals and projections; then turns their attention to using current year data to track progress towards those goals and customize their communication and engagement strategies.  

By using historical data to set goals, DM at LSU is able to examine average fundraising and recruitment numbers from previous years to establish a baseline and identify trends or patterns. They can then make informed decisions and projections for all areas of revenue for the upcoming year, breaking down fundraising goals for each individual event, fundraising push, participant type and partnership.  

As they move into the year, DM at LSU tracks individual fundraising efforts for every push and event. By bringing tracking to an individual participant level, they are able to identify participants who are performing well and those who may need additional support. This individual approach allows them to customize communciaton and steward high-performing participants while working to motivate those who haven’t started fundraising yet.  

On big fundraising push days, DM at LSU tracks overall and hourly fundraising progress, frequently comparing this to their goals and projections for the push. By updating these hourly, they can identify any needed adjustments in real-time to either capitalize on opportunities or identify any challenging areas before the end of the push.  

Lastly, the program also tracks participant impact throughout their history with DM at LSU to recognize lifetime giving and fundraising milestones for all participants. By utilizing these custom data-driven strategies, DM at LSU is able to ensure that all participants feel engaged, valued and supported by Dance Marathon. Congratulations, DM at LSU! 

Dance Marathon at Louisiana State presented a session on data driven decision making at DMLC 2023. You can view a recording of that presentation here: https://youtu.be/YCFcKsDFKto  

Miracle Network Dance Marathon is an international movement, involving over 400 colleges, universities and K-12 schools across the United States and Canada that fundraise for their local member hospital of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. These students work tirelessly throughout the year to raise funds one dollar at a time by making the ask to family and friends. Their hard work culminates in a celebration on campus or virtually, where participants can rally together as a community for their local member hospital of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Students involved in Dance Marathon gain valuable skills in fundraising, peer management, delegation, and philanthropy. Miracle Network Dance Marathon programs have collectively raised more than $350 million since 1991.