How to Run a Jump-a-Thon Fundraiser

Many jump-a-thons are held as a 1-day event for a few hours. 2-3 hours is usually plenty of time to be jumping rope. Any longer and you’ll want to plan additional activities for the day.

You can also do the jump-a-thon in sessions. Plan around 10, 30-minute sessions and give participants 2 weeks to complete them.

If you’re doing the jump-a-thon in sessions, it will be the participant’s goal to complete the sessions. For a 1-day event, you can set a time goal or a skill goal, where different stations are set up and jumpers try different jump rope techniques.

Your jump-a-thon can be about simply jumping rope for a certain amount of time. To make things more interesting, you can also introduce different “styles” of jumping rope.

In this case, you can have different jump rope stations set up, where jumpers can try different techniques. This includes styles like double Dutch, criss-cross, double jumps, and more.

Follow these steps for a successful jump-a-thon:

1. Before you start telling students and parents about the jump-a-thon, you should decide the following:
   • Length
   • Dates
   • Theme
2. Hold the jump-a-thon on a weekend, either Saturday on Sunday, or over the course of 2 weeks.
3. If you’re holding the jump-a-thon on the weekend, tell people about the fundraiser at least 1 month in advance, so they can add it to their schedule.
4. Give participants at least 2 weeks to fundraise.
5. Send out an info sheet of different styles of jumping rope for participants to try.

Participants collect donations for participating in the jump-a-thon. Like other a-thons, jump-a-thons follow a peer-to-peer fundraising model, so you aren’t limited to gathering donations from only the participants.

Each participant asks their family, friends, and coworkers (or parents’ coworkers) to donate, which gives you a huge donor pool compared to other fundraisers. From there, participants jump rope for a set amount of time during the jump-a-thon.

One of the great things about a jump-a-thon is that you can customize it for your school’s needs. If you’re an elementary school, you’ll likely want to make the jumping time shorter, for example.

You can hold the jump-a-thons over multiple jump rope sessions or hold a 1-day event. If you’re doing sessions, plan around 10 sessions of 30 minutes each. In this case, give participants 2 weeks to complete the 10 sessions.

Participants need a jump rope and that’s about it. Athletic clothing and runners, like what kids would wear to gym class, don’t hurt either.

Jump-a-thons are great fundraisers for everyone involved. They’re easy to plan and easy to participate in. Plus, they help encourage physical activity, making them a fundraiser everyone can get behind.

FutureFund makes running a jump-a-thon easy for everyone. Easier for PTAs and PTOs to run, for students and parents to participate, and for donors to donate.

Instead of dealing with paper pledge forms and cash and cheques, FutureFund takes the process online. Donors can donate instantly online with their credit or debit cards.

FutureFund makes it easy to track how the fundraiser is going. Easily view how much money has been raised and more with detailed reporting.

Each student will sign up as a participant in the fundraiser. Then, they can collect pledges individually by credit or debit card. You can also accept cash pledges, but be mindful of properly storing and tracking cash you collect.

If you are using FutureFund, you can record these pledges and they will automatically count towards the student’s total and the grand total for the fundraiser.

Before launching your fundraiser, confirm what records you need to collect from donors.

If you are using FutureFund, it’s easy for students to sign up, especially if their information is already in the system. You can bulk sign up entire grades or classes. All donor payments are automatically entered into the system, so you can instantly see each student’s total and the grand total.

Fundraising campaigns that accept online donations perform much better than fundraisers that only accept cash or check.

If you are using FutureFund, you can accept payments online. Donors are given a donation link and can pay by credit or debit card. Any cash donations can also be noted in the system to be collected later.

These rules are a great starting point for organizing your jump-a-thon.

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To participate in the jump-a-thon, you sign up through FutureFund by [date]. The jump-a-thon is on [date], so make sure you block it off in your calendar! And don’t forget to tell your family that you’re fundraising, so they can donate (ask your parents for help, so they can ask their friends and coworkers too!).

All donations will be collected through FutureFund through this link: [link].

Unsure of where to start? Use this sample student and parent messaging to get the ball rolling!

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Jump around! On [date], [school name] will be hosting a jump-a-thon to help fundraise for [cause]. You can help by jumping with us! Parents, each student will be collecting pledges online through FutureFund: [link]. Please spread the word to your family, friends, and coworkers to help make this fundraiser a success!

Let parents and supporters donate online with FutureFund’s online pledges. Try it out for free!

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Make your donation easily and instantly! Click this [link] to make your donation through secure credit or debit card payment.

If you prefer to donate by cash or check, just donate directly to the student you’re supporting. Thank you for your support!

You can do a jump-a-thon at any time of year and match it with upcoming holidays. In the fall, for example, you can do a turkey jump for Thanksgiving or a spooky jump for Halloween.

Inspire participants to jump to the moon with a space theme. Astronaut and alien outfits should get everyone jumping to the sky!

You’ve probably heard of a color run, and you can use the same theme for your jump-a-thon. They’re tons of fun and make for great photos once everyone is covered in flour paint.

Every student has a favorite TV show or movie. Encourage them to come dressed up as their favorite superhero, princess, or another character.

Really make your fundraiser stand out with neon outfits. It’s fun and easy for everyone to participate, and makes for fantastic photos.

Jumping rope is a classic school-time activity and there are tons of old-fashioned jump rope rhymes. Get participants into the spirit with old-timey outfits and songs.