Friends of Skinner North, the school's parent group, says money from the walk-a-thon "will help our school support Kiss-N-Go, school lunch and recess staffing."1 That puts the event in a different category from walks that pay for assemblies or a new playground. Here, a bad year doesn't mean one fewer field trip; it means fewer adults on duty at the busiest moments of the school day.
Three numbers instead of one
The 2025 recap reads: "In 2025, 513 individual donors raised $82,942, beating our fundraising goal by $17,942." It adds the physical side: "In total, Skinner North students ran 5,546 laps, an average of nearly 616 laps per grade!"1
Dollars, donors and laps each answer a different question. The total says whether the school can pay for the staffing. The donor count says how widely families asked: 513 separate donors, not a handful of large checks. The laps give students a number they produced with their own legs, a result every child can own regardless of what their family gave. If you plan to publish a lap total, the lap counting guide covers how to keep one accurate.
The group's pages also say "last year, we raised over $85,000," a little higher than the itemized recap.1,2 We use $82,942 because it comes with a donor count and a goal; the larger figure may include late gifts.
A prize for running, a prize for raising, a shirt for everyone
"Students who run the most laps or raise the most money from each grade will earn prizes."2 Splitting the rewards means a child whose family can't give much still has a way to win, by running. The baseline is unconditional: "Every registered student will receive a free walk-a-thon t-shirt, regardless of fundraising efforts." Both choices line up with what our prize ideas guide recommends.
On the day itself, it's "a walk/run on a designated course around Stanton Park," and "students will run/walk laps to high-energy music while staff and parent volunteers cheer them on." The parent group pitches the event as more than fundraising: "Walkathon combines five important skill sets: education, fitness, leadership, community, and fundraising!"2 Its pages don't give costs or how many students took part, so a net or per-student figure isn't possible.
Setting the next goal below the last result
After raising $82,942 against a $65,000 goal, the group set its 2026 goal at $70,000, for a walk on October 16, 2026.2 That's $5,000 more than the previous target and nearly $13,000 less than the previous result.
It's a quietly smart move. A goal pegged to last year's best result turns an ordinary year into a disappointment; a goal set modestly above last year's target asks for growth and keeps the "we beat it" moment within reach. A walk that funds staff positions needs families to feel good enough in October to do it all again the next fall.
To use the same approach, start from three numbers in last year's recap: the goal, the result and the donor count. Skinner North's 2026 goal is 7.7% above its old goal and about 84% of its old result. A reasonable range for a new goal sits between those two points: above last year's target, below last year's best. Where to land depends on whether anything has changed, such as enrollment, a new sponsor or a different walk date. The donor count tells you how. At $82,942 from 513 donors, the average gift was about $162, by our arithmetic. Adding $5,000 to the goal means finding about 30 more donors at that average, a target a class parent can actually work toward. Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in San Francisco sets its targets the same way, at a far larger scale.
Sources
- Friends of Skinner North, Walk-a-thon (accessed October 19, 2026).
- Friends of Skinner North, Walkathon (accessed October 19, 2026).