University of Nebraska Omaha Dance Marathon: A Case Study

A young college dance marathon that started in a campus office

UNO Dance Marathon (UNODM) is the student dance marathon at the University of Nebraska Omaha. It raises money through Children's Miracle Network Hospitals for Children's Nebraska, which the university describes as the only full-service pediatric specialty health care center in the state. Its year-end event is called OMAthon and is held in the Milo Bail Student Center.

The program is recent by dance marathon standards. Per UNO's April 15, 2026 news release, it was established in 2015 by the university's Office of Student Involvement. The April 9, 2024 release dates the first OMAthon to 2016. That start inside a campus office, rather than as a student club working alone, is part of the story: in 2026 the university quoted the director of its Office of Spirit, Tradition, and Signature Events on the career skills students build, including fundraising, marketing and event planning.

A decade of dance marathon growth, year by year

Two university releases give four data points:

Year	Reported total	Goal or comparison	Change from the prior figure
First year	$36,000	Per the 2026 release	—
2024	$63,788.66	Beat a $60,000 goal	—
2025	$70,000	Per the 2026 release	About +10%
2026	$85,000	Beat the 2025 record by $15,000	About +21%

The percentages are our math. Neither release says whether the totals are gross or net, and the 2025 and 2026 figures are round numbers. The 2024 OMAthon ran 12 hours; the 2026 release describes "hours of non-stop fun, dancing and games" without a length.

The pattern is steady growth with no single breakout year. The program more than doubled its first-year figure over about a decade by adding to each year rather than reinventing itself. It's a useful example for a new student board that expects a jump in year two.

The year-round calendar behind the event

OMAthon is the end of the year, not the whole of it. The 2024 release lists the fundraisers that led up to that year's event:

• FEBRUhairy
• Clothing for a Cause and limited-edition sweatshirts tied to the university's hockey program
• A Leap Day Push
• Food nights at area restaurants
• Cookie dough sales
• Sponsorships, plus other unnamed events

A themed month, a one-day push and a restaurant night are small, repeatable efforts, and each gives supporters a fresh, specific reason to give outside the event itself. The 2026 release confirms the model continued: UNODM runs events, initiatives and campaigns throughout the year, with OMAthon as the year-end event.

For a short school dance-a-thon, a full year of side events is too much. One or two well-timed extras, such as a restaurant night during the pledge window or a spirit-wear sale, can still help. Our list of dance-a-thon fundraising ideas sorts options by effort.

Two releases, and running totals that don't add up

We re-read both releases on October 20, 2026. They support the dates (April 6, 2024 and April 11, 2026), the venue, the totals, the 2024 goal, the year-round fundraisers, the beneficiary and the program's founding.

The cumulative figures don't line up cleanly. The 2024 release says more than $250,000 since the first OMAthon; the 2026 release says more than $500,000 since 2015. Adding the 2025 and 2026 totals to the earlier figure gives about $405,000, not $500,000, and the releases don't explain the gap. We report the single-year totals and treat both running totals as the university's own statements. Neither release gives participant counts, costs, net proceeds, a minimum to attend or the committee structure, and the first-year date differs between them (2015 founding versus 2016 first event).

Planning for steady growth

OMAthon's totals come from a year-round college program and don't transfer to a short school dance-a-thon. It also sits far below the large college programs in our results database, which makes its growth pattern easier to compare with a school event than a flagship's.

• Find an institutional home. UNODM started inside a campus office. At a school, that's an adviser, a principal's sign-off and a set place on the school calendar.
• Set a goal you can beat, then raise it. UNO beat $60,000 in 2024 and kept raising the bar.
• Project gradual growth, not doubling. UNO's recent years grew by roughly 10% and 21%. The dance-a-thon fundraising calculator lets you set conservative and optimistic cases around last year's numbers.
• Give each extra fundraiser a short window and a name.

See how UNO compares with other programs in the rest of our dance-a-thon case studies, or read the college dance marathon guide for how to start a chapter.