Easy for Schools: Music Fundraising Idea with up to 110% Back!

If you are looking for an easy music fundraising idea for your music classroom, glee club, choir, color guard, winter guard, or band, try a Musicathon (also referred to as Music-A-Thon or Music-athon). Anyone can take the lead and run this program: teachers, students, band booster clubs, etc.

Our Musicathon program is similar to a walk-a-thon, except instead of walking, students collect pledges for practicing music. They can practice or perform. Choir, flag corps, and color guard students can participate too! As long as the music practice (playing or performing) takes place outside of school, the minutes count!

Children directly benefit from participating!

Our Musicathon generates cash and books!

The focus of this program is to raise money for your music department while helping parents prepare for college. It goes beyond raising money. See 10 Benefits of ALL Our School Fundraisers.

  • What other fundraiser promotes music and literacy?
  • What other fundraiser educates parents on how to qualify for federal student aid for college?

Musicathon Steps: How to Run a Musicathon

Students (*see below) in the highest grade level (or lowest, such as a freshman class in when the program is run in a High School) will receive a copy of How You Can Maximize Student Aid. If the recipient grade is a small number of students, Kids and Money Today uses any remaining funds to send a bonus package of educational books to build the school’s library.

    1. Choose your fundraising option
      • 100% Return for Collections under $500! The school receives 20% of the collected funds in cash, 10% in prizes, and 70% in books.
      • 105% Return for Collecting between $500-$2,000! The school receives 30% of the collected funds in cash, 10% in prizes, and 65% in books.
      • 110% Return for Collecting over $2,000! The school receives 50% of the collected funds in cash, 10% in prizes, and 50% in books.
      PROGRAM OPTIONS 100% Return 105% Return 110% Return
      Funds Raised under $500 Between $501-$2,000 over $2,000
      Cash to School 20% 30% 50%
      Prizes 10% 10% 10%
      Students in your school’s Highest Grade Level (or lowest for High Schools (ie: Freshman class)) receive: How You Can Maximize Student Aid* 70% 65% 50%
      • **ALWAYS FREE SHIPPING**
      • *Should your school not collect enough money to receive books for every student, we provide copies to the guidance office personnel to be used as they see fit (parent meetings, seminars, FAFSA briefings, etc.) and in such case, may be given to any grade level. See Example #2 below.

      Ask Children to play, practice, or perform music outside the classroom: Children are asked to play their instrument or sing (for choir students) for a minimum of 300 minutes (150 for young children – preschool) over a ten day period. Children choose 10 out of 14 days to participate. (Four days off allow time for extracurricular, part time work, or other family activities.) Children collect pledges from sponsors on music journal logs. (We provide a PDF file and the school prints the journal logs.)

      Ask Children to Find Sponsors: Sponsors are asked to pledge the child at a flat rate amount for their music efforts. To save time, sponsors are encouraged to give their fundraising pledge money when signing.

    2. Close out the Program: Collect funds, order, receive, and distribute books.

Student Prize Opportunities:

    1. Graduation Books: Copies of How You Can Maximize Student Aid will be given to every student (*funds permitting) in the highest grade level (or lowest for High Schools) or to the guidance department.
    2. 10-10-10 Challenge: EVERY STUDENT who completes the 10-10-10 challenge receives their own surprise prize (chosen by Kids and Money Today). To complete this challenge the student collects $10 from 10 different sponsors, and plays, practices, or performs music for 10 days.
    3. Three Individual Prizes: Three individual school prizes are given for
      • the most music minutes,
      • the most pledges collected, and
      • the most sponsors pledged

School Fundraiser Example

Example #1:
105% Return with enough collections for the highest grade level

A school with grades K through 6 collects $1,000 and qualifies for the 105% return ($1,050). They have 25 students in grade 6, the highest grade level:

  • $300 cash is given to the school (30% of $1,000 collected)
  • $100 is used for prizes (10% of $1,000 collected)
  • $650 is received in books (65% of $1,000 collected)
    • $624.75 ($24.99 cost per book x 25 students in 6th grade) is used to purchase copies of How You Can Maximize Student Aid for parents of 6th graders (the highest grade level in the school).
    • $25.25 is used for bonus package of educational books sent by us, to the school library.

Example #2:
105% Return with collections falling short of the amount required for recipients

    A High School collects $1,000 and qualifies for the 105% return ($1,050). They have 800 students in the freshman class:

    • $300 cash is given to the school (30% of $1,000 collected)
    • $100 is used for prizes (10% of $1,000 collected)
    • $650 is received in books (65% of $1,000 collected) Since this is not enough to provide 800 books to the freshman class, instead 26 copies of How You Can Maximize Student Aid will be given to the high school guidance office. The guidance office may hand these out as they see fit to ANY GRADE LEVEL at parent seminars, student meetings about college, school financial aid meetings, etc.
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Submit Your Musicathon Application Early

We have run successful fundraisers since 2003. Because of this experience level, we are able to run this program almost entirely through email communication. We know your time is valuable and we’ve designed this program to minimize the work for teachers, parents, and students.

Because we wish to give every school the attention they deserve, ff0000;”>we are unable to approve every application. We understand that you may need time to have your principal or school district approve the program at your end, but as soon as you have an interest in this program, we recommend you complete our inquiry form to place your school on our priority notification list.

Please complete as much information as you have available. This will save you time and reduce emails. If you are unsure at this time, you can sign up to receive notifications about fundraisers and specials Click here to subscribe to our fundraiser mailing list.

[contact-form-7 id=”5778″ title=”Musicathon Application”]

Door-to-door note: Students may, but are not encouraged to go door-to-door. Please use these sponsor ideas: friends, parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents, cousins, extra-curricular instructors, doctor, dentist, parent’s work friends, parent’s golfing or bowling friends, church friends, out of state relatives, and babysitters.

Tips for a Successful Musicathon

    1. Invite students outside of Band, Orchestra, and Choir: Approach your school organizations that require volunteer hours and offer them pledge sheets to invite their members to participate. This captures students in school who play music at home or perhaps sing at their local church.
    2. Concerts: Students can group together and do a concert in one family’s home, a nursing home, grocery store entrance, church, or other charitable location, and split the pledges collected

Long distance donations: Encourage students to call relatives out of state at the start of the program so checks will arrive by collection day.

  1. Sponsors: Ask local business, especially music stores and music teachers to sponsor the entire program at a flat rate
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KidsAndMoneyToday

Author | Writer | Entrepreneur | Internet Marketer "I'm enthusiastic about helping people in business and finance — so they can have money available for college, retirement, and travel."

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