BuckeyeThon is the largest student-run philanthropy organization at The Ohio State University, and it got that way by more than just fundraising for a great cause — ending childhood cancer by supporting kids treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
It’s about creating a culture. A culture where students have a great experience, are personally tied to the cause and take a philosophy of charity with them when they graduate.
Felix Alonso, adviser for BuckeyeThon and associate director of student philanthropy, says their fundraising events, including the signature dance marathon, 5K and fashion show, are well attended, but that’s only a small part of the organization’s role on campus.
“It’s not just about raising dollars, it’s about how do we keep the culture of philanthropy and giving among our campus,” he says. “It’s more teaching them the importance of what do you stand for and how do you support that.”
BuckeyeThon happens to support pediatric cancer — and the organization is always looking for people to get involved — but giving students tools for supporting other causes is just as important, Alonso says.
Not only is BuckeyeThon well connected through wider university and corporate partnerships, Alonso says over the past several years, it has hosted a philanthropy speaker series for nonprofit leaders.
“We build a bigger branding to be able to build a bigger presence,” he says. “It isn’t just about our cause. It’s much more than that. It’s about how are we global citizens, how do we invest our time.”
Continuity, despite the turnover
Over the past 15 years, BuckeyeThon has raised about $5 million, which was generated by students at OSU and area high schools. This past year, the organization raised $1.3 million.
Vick Chhabria, the 2015-2016 president of BuckeyeThon, says more than 4,800 students raised $250 or more in order to register to attend one of the two 12-hour shifts at BuckeyeThon’s dance marathon. The fundraising minimum went up 150 percent from the year prior.
“At first impression, it’s definitely a bit more daunting than raising $100, but when we tell people why it’s important to raise more and why we’re increasing the minimum, I think people can come around and are more understanding of it,” he says.
Changes such as these are a result of BuckeyeThon shifting from a student organization to acting like a nonprofit. But in order to do that, it had to work around one of its biggest challenges of being a student-run organization — turnover.
