Quick answer. Leggee Elementary's PTA ran its fun run itself, without paying an outside company. The third annual run in 2012 raised a little over $25,000, with $1,500 from 24 local sponsors and expenses the treasurer put at $550. The money bought classroom SMART boards and paid for field trips and assemblies.
Leggee Elementary's PTA in Huntley, Illinois, is a rare case where a school fun run's costs were published alongside its results. Across three years of local coverage, the PTA ran its own fun run without hiring anyone, raised a little over $25,000 in 2012, took in $1,500 from 24 local sponsors that year and, according to its treasurer, kept expenses to $550. The story is from 2011 to 2013, but the arithmetic of a do-it-yourself school fun run hasn't changed.
Three years of numbers from one PTA
| Year | Edition | What the sources report |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Second (implied) | Students ran for 30 minutes. The run raised "just over $24,000"; the school kept about $22,000 after the PTA paid for prizes and equipment. |
| 2012 | Third annual | "A little over $25,000" raised; $1,500 in sponsorships; expenses $550; 24 sponsors listed. |
| 2013 | Fourth annual | Held September 6 during P.E. time for kindergarten through fifth grade; sponsor drive opened in July. |
The 2011 figures come from two Patch pieces: a parent-submitted post headlined "Raises $22,000," and a Patch staff report a few weeks later that gives both the gross and what the school kept. The 2012 figures come from Patch's staff report on the third annual run, and the 2013 details from the PTA's own sponsorship letter posted to Patch. Because the 2012 run was the third, the first was presumably in 2010.
Running the fun run in-house
The October 2011 report makes a point of how the run was organized: the PTA ran it itself, so the school did not pay a third party. Principal Scott Iddings called PTA volunteers "the hardest working people I know" and said of the results, "We were very pleased with the results and we will try it again next year."
The format was simple. In 2011, students ran for 30 minutes. By 2013, the sponsorship letter described kindergarten through fifth grade running or walking the course during their P.E. time, with a DJ and a healthy snack and drink for every finisher. Scheduling the run inside P.E. classes means no separate evening or weekend event, no extra supervision plan and every student included by default. The trade-off is fewer parents watching, since it happens on a school day.
If you're weighing the same choice today, our comparison of hiring a fun run company or doing it yourself walks through the costs and the control each option gives you.
What a $550 fun run budget looks like
The 2012 report says PTA treasurer Kate Darnall told Patch the PTA kept expenses "down to $550." On a total of a little over $25,000, that is about 2 percent (550 ÷ 25,000 = 0.022). The source does not say whether $550 covered prizes, shirts, the DJ or snacks, or whether some of those were donated.
The 2011 numbers suggest how costs moved. The PTA raised just over $24,000 and the school kept about $22,000 after prizes and equipment, implying roughly $2,000 in costs that year. That is our subtraction of two rounded figures, so treat it as approximate. Even so, the second year's spending was about four times the third year's. One plausible reading is that equipment bought in 2011 didn't need repeating, but the sources don't say.
Track every fun run cost on one sheet, including donated items at their value, so next year's committee can see what was a one-time purchase. The fun run budget guide has line items and a free template.
Sponsors at a school-sized scale
The 2012 sponsor list has 24 names: a plumber, a heating company, a trampoline park, a guitar shop, a salon, a photographer, a smoothie shop, a wine shop, a home builder, a realtor, a vein clinic, a fitness instructor, a cheer program, the local fall festival, the park district and a village trustee among them. Together they gave $1,500, which averages $62.50 each (1,500 ÷ 24). Sponsorship was about 6 percent of the total, so the run lived on family giving.
The 2013 letter shows the pitch. The PTA promised exposure "to over 1100 students and their families," asked sponsors to mail a form and a check by August 5 and to email a logo image, and identified itself as a 501(c)(3). It also told sponsors what the PTA's money pays for. The letter called the fun run the PTA's "biggest opportunity to earn money" in the 2012-13 school year.
Small sponsorships from many businesses don't add much money, but they add names to the shirt or banner, local goodwill and a reason for the paper to cover the event. Our fun run sponsorship guide includes letters and tier ideas.
Where the money went
Across the three years, the sources list assemblies, field trips, classroom technology, reading programs, D.A.R.E. graduation, and art, music and P.E. supplies. The 2013 letter says most grades take two field trips a year. Technology was the headline: in spring 2011 the PTA donated five SMART boards (interactive whiteboards), each costing "a few thousand dollars," according to the October 2011 report, and the 2013 letter says several more were bought in 2012-13. The principal explained the need plainly. Neither the district nor the school had money for new classroom technology, because their budgets went to maintaining existing equipment.
Field-trip funding had a direct effect on families: the principal said parents would pay nothing or about $1 or $2 for trips.
What other organizers can borrow
- Hold the run during P.E. if your school allows it. Every child takes part, and you avoid a weekend event.
- Write down your costs and publish them with the total. A treasurer who can say "$550" builds trust for the next ask.
- Collect small sponsors early. Leggee's letter went out in late July with an early August deadline, a month before the run, so logos could make it onto printed materials.
- Name a concrete purchase. "Smart boards for classrooms" is easier to give to than "general PTA funds."
- Do it yourself if you have the volunteers. See the PTA and PTO fun run guide for committee roles and approvals.
What the sources don't tell us
None of the reports give the number of participants, the pledge method (per lap or flat), average gift, or a net figure for 2012. It isn't stated whether the 2012 total includes the $1,500 in sponsorships. The 2011 "$22,000" headline is the amount kept, not the gross. The 2013 results were not found, and later years were not covered in sources we could read.
Read more fun run case studies, compare totals in the results database, or plan your own with our step-by-step fun run fundraiser guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much did the Leggee Elementary fun run raise?
Just over $24,000 in 2011, of which the school kept about $22,000 after prizes and equipment, and a little over $25,000 in 2012, according to Huntley Patch.
What did the Leggee fun run cost to put on?
The PTA treasurer said 2012 expenses were kept to $550. The 2011 figures imply roughly $2,000 in prize and equipment costs, though that is a subtraction of rounded numbers.
How did Leggee fit the fun run into the school day?
By 2013, kindergarten through fifth grade ran or walked the course during their P.E. time, with a DJ and a healthy snack and drink afterward. In 2011, students ran for 30 minutes.
How much did sponsors contribute?
In 2012, 24 local sponsors gave $1,500 in total, about 6 percent of the money raised. Most of the total came from families.
Did Leggee use a fun run company?
No. Patch reported in 2011 that the PTA organized and ran the event itself, so the school did not pay a third party.