Math-A-Thons are fun and unique fundraisers. They’re effective too, and allow participants to develop key skills while raising money for their school, extra-curricular program, or club.
Here, we’ll show you the A-Z of math-a-thons, including planning, tracking donations, and ideas on how to organize and promote it.
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Everything you need to know about starting a Math-A-Thon from A-Z.
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A quick introduction to what a Math-A-Thon is and how it works.
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Thon’s can be a powerful fundraising tool.
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The tools, support, and volunteers you’ll need for a successful Math-A-Thon.
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How to raise money with Math-A-Thons.
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Kickstart your Math-A-Thon using curated templates and tools.
Schools that sign up get full access to all of FutureFund’s features—it’s always free and it always will be.
Use these templates to keep your Math-A-Thon planning on track:
Use FutureFund to create a Pledge-A-Thon campaign and provide your campaign details.
Make sure your campaign has the following elements:
Subject: Calculate Your Way to Victory with the [School Name] Math-A-Thon!
Hello Students,
Gear up for an exciting challenge with our annual Math-A-Thon! This isn’t just a math competition; it’s an opportunity to showcase your numerical skills, support our beloved school, and have fun solving problems.
Why should you join?
How to Sign Up:
Joining is easy! Just visit this link and follow the steps: [insert FutureFund link]. You’ll get a link to share with friends and family to collect pledges for each problem you solve correctly.
Whether you’re a math wizard or just keen to test your skills, this event is for everyone. Let’s crunch numbers and have fun together!
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[School or Name of School Group]
Use this Canva email script template to call out for Math-A-Thon participants, donations, and to keep your fundraiser top-of-mind. Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Subject: Your Support Adds Up – [School Name] Math-A-Thon Progress Update!
Dear [Donor’s Name],
As our Math-A-Thon progresses, we want to extend our thanks for your invaluable support. Your contribution is helping to foster a love of math among our students and assisting us in reaching our goal of [insert specific goal or cause].
Current Update:
There’s still time to spread the word and support our event through FutureFund at [insert link]. Your generosity is a crucial part of our success and is deeply appreciated by our entire school community.
With gratitude,
[Your Name]
[School or Name of School Group]
Use this Canva email script template to call out for Math-A-Thon participants, donations, and to keep your fundraiser top-of-mind. Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Subject: Final Countdown to the [School Name] Math-A-Thon!
Hello [Name of School] Students & Families!
We’re just one week away from our Math-A-Thon, and anticipation is building! Our students are gearing up for a day filled with numbers, puzzles, and fun.
Here’s what you need to know:
Let’s make this final week a resounding success. Your encouragement and support are pivotal in making a difference at our school and for our students. Let’s end on a high note!
In the spirit of math,
[Your Name]
[School or Name of School Group]
Use this Canva email script template to call out for Math-A-Thon participants, donations, and to keep your fundraiser top-of-mind. Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Use these Canva templates to help you spread awareness for your Math-A-Thon on social media and in your community! Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Canva Math-A-Thon Template for Instagram Story
Canva Math-A-Thon Template for Instagram Post
Canva Math-A-Thon Template for Printable Poster
Example caption: Support [insert school name]’s Math-A-Thon from [insert date]. Help our school community raise money for [insert cause] by registering to solve as many problems as possible!
Ask local businesses to sponsor the Math-A-Thon. This can help your PTA reach your fundraising targets while business owners get exposure and positive PR.
Make sure to explain how each sponsor’s contribution will be recognized. For example, you could:
Finally, the day of the event will arrive—and if you’ve followed all the steps above, you should have everything you need to make it a success. Here’s a sample schedule:
Launch Day (Day 1)
Daily Check-Ins (Week 1 & 2)
Mid-Event Checkpoint (End of Week 1)
Final Week Push (Week 2)
Closing Day (Last Day of Week 2)
Post-Event Activities (Week Following Event)
Feedback and Review (Two Weeks After Event)
A Math-A-Thon is a unique fundraiser, but it follows the same basic principles as other A-Thons, like Read-A-Thons or Walk-A-Thons. During a Math-A-Thon, students sign up to complete math problems in exchange for pledges they collect from friends and family.
Math-A-Thons work great because most donors are happy to support kids doing more math. It’s typically easy for students to collect donations.
Treat these as a base and feel free to tailor these to suit your specific event.
Math-A-Thons can last anywhere from 10 days to 1 month. That said, the ideal amount of time is usually between 10 days and 2 weeks.
The math goal should change depending on the student’s grade the duration of the Math-A-Thon. Generally speaking, students should set a goal of at least 10 math sessions during the fundraiser.
Each grade should have a list of math problems. For younger grades, you can keep the questions as simple addition and subtraction. For older grades, you can incorporate more complex questions, like word problems and algebra.
Start telling students about the Math-A-Thon at least two weeks before it starts.
Students should be signed up in your fundraising system so they can gather donations for at least seven days before the fundraiser starts (although it’s still okay to take last-minute sign-ups).
On the day the fundraiser starts, be sure to re-explain the rules and encourage students to continue fundraising.
For a successful math-a-thon, make sure to:
Or, here’s a Canva template of sample Math-A-Thon rules. Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Donors give students pledges, and in return, students solve math problems. For example, a student’s aunt could donate $1 for every math problem solved. Or maybe a family friend donates $20 to support the student.
The exact “rules” can vary based on what works for your school. The most important thing is that students do more math than normal. You can also choose whether students do the math problems at home, at school, or both.
How long you make your math-a-thon is totally up to you. That said, if students are doing the math at school, you’ll want to have at least 10 sessions. Depending on the student’s grade, these sessions should be between 15 minutes to 1 hour.
If the students are working on the math problems at home, somewhere between 10 days and 2 weeks is the right amount of time. You want to give students enough time to complete their problems, but not so long they forget about them.
Math-a-thons can be held at almost any time of the year since they aren’t weather-dependent. Late fall or early winter is typically the ideal time.
That way, students have time to learn how to solve the math problems for their grade, but it’s not so late in the year that students aren’t interested in participating.
A math-a-thon should be based around a student’s grade level. The math problems should be based on what they’re learning in math class and similar to the worksheets they do regularly.
To make sure the problems are the right fit, you should work with the students’ teachers to customize math problems for every grade.
Math-A-Thons are unique while still being easy to plan and participate in, so they make great fundraisers. It’s also relatively easy for students to collect donations since almost everyone can agree math skills are important. They check all the boxes for a successful fundraiser.
FutureFund gives you the ability to generate financial reports for fundraising campaigns in just a few clicks. To do this, navigate to Store and click the Reports tab near the top of your screen. Then choose Campaign Summary from the drop-down menu and click Generate Report.
Yes—FutureFund lets you create a list of the volunteer positions you’ll need to fill, then add a volunteer page to your registration portal so parents can sign up in just a few simple clicks. See the steps for signing up volunteers here.
Schools that sign up get full access to all of FutureFund’s features—it’s always free and it always will be.
An “a-thon” is a peer-to-peer style fundraiser that involves participating in a certain activity and gathering donations for participating in said activity.
The activity can be almost anything, from reading to running to bowling. No matter what activity you choose, the premise is the same. Participants commit to doing the activity (reading a certain amount of books, running a certain distance) and ask their friends, family, and coworkers to support them.
A-thons work great because you reach a huge donor pool through peer-to-peer fundraising. People are also more likely to donate since participants are “working” in return for the donations.
FutureFund’s built-in pledge campaigns allow you to easily collect money and keep donations/pledges organized. Since parents cover payment processing fees, 100% of the funds raised go to your school!
FutureFund makes running a Math-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.
Consider the below when organizing your Math-A-Thon. Spending a bit of time upfront getting organized from an admin and donation perspective will save a lot of time and potential frustration later.
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.
Use these templates to keep your Math-A-Thon planning on track:
Participation Eligibility:
Math Problem Guidelines:
Fundraising and Pledges:
Problem Solving Session:
Submission of Completed Work:
Scoring and Validation:
Incentives and Recognition:
Safety and Compliance:
Reporting and Transparency:
Feedback and Improvement:
Closing Ceremony:
Or, here’s a Canva template of sample Math-A-Thon rules. Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Unsure of where to start? Use this sample student and parent messaging to get the ball rolling!
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Let’s get solving! Starting [date], [school name] will be hosting a math-a-thon to help fundraise for [cause]. You can help by doing as much math as you can! 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!
Use these Canva email script templates to call out for Math-A-Thon participants, donations, and to keep your fundraiser top-of-mind. Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Canva Math-A-Thon Student Sign-up Email Template
Use these Canva templates to help you spread awareness for your Math-A-Thon on social media and in your community! Click “Use template for new design” to create an editable version, then add custom information for your event, change fonts and graphics, and more!
Canva Math-A-Thon Template for Instagram Story
Canva Math-A-Thon Template for Instagram Post
Canva Math-A-Thon Template for Printable Poster
Example caption: Support [insert school name]’s Math-A-Thon from [insert date]. Help our school community raise money for [insert cause] by registering to solve as many problems as possible!
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