How we run our Elementary School Glow Run
Our elementary school Glow Run has become our biggest fundraiser of the year, and after sharing a Reel from this year's event, we've had so many PTOs ask how we do it! So we’ve gathered our links and tips.
This year we raised almost $35,000! We run the event ourselves with PTO volunteers, which allows us to keep significantly more of what we raise vs when we hired a fundraising company to plan the event.
Affiliate disclosure: Some of the Amazon links below are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, our PTO may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Fundraising Platform
We use FundHub for our fundraising platform.
Students get their own fundraising pages, and we can track individual students, classrooms and the school as a whole.
We ask donors to help cover the platform fees, and most do. This year, our actual platform cost will be only about 4–5% of what we raised.
Even after paying for the event itself, prizes and fundraising fees, we expect to net approximately 92% of the almost $35,000 raised.
We don't have students collect pledges based on how many laps they complete. All donations are simply flat donations made through their fundraising pages.
Walk through the space in the video below.
How we make our gym GLOW
One of the questions we get the most is: "How did you get your gym THAT bright?"
The answer isn't more blacklights. It's more things for the blacklights to reflect off.
The first year, we focused primarily on adding blacklights. What we've learned is that fluorescent and UV-reactive materials throughout the room make a big difference.
The more UV-reactive surfaces you put throughout the room, the brighter the entire space feels.
Blacklights
These rectangle UV lights have worked really well for us:
Blacklights (YANYCN 2 Pack 300W LED Black Light)
We use eight lights for our space.
The first year, we placed them directly on the floor. They worked, but the lights get HOT. That's true of basically every powerful blacklight we've tried.
This year we put the lights on stands, and it helped a lot.
Getting the lights off the floor kept them farther away from the kids, reduced the chance of someone touching a hot light and spread the UV light much better throughout the gym.
You will need an acorn cap nut to connect the blacklight to the light stand. We picked these up at a local hardware store but here are some on Amazon.
We still tell students during our safety instructions that they should never touch the lights.
Floor Tape
We use 2-inch ProTapes fluorescent gaffer's tape in 50-yard rolls.
We use the tape to create a double-lined running track around the gym and define the dance/activity areas in the middle. We also used it to add arrows and other marks on the floor.
Because the tape itself reacts under the blacklights, you're essentially turning the entire floor into part of the decoration. This adds a lot of light and fun! It’s a cost that we found very worth it.
Fluorescent Gaffer's Tape
Decorations
A lot of our decorations are fluorescent materials combined with things our volunteers make. We also cover/block our windows to make the gym as dark as possible.
Signs
We have a volunteer committee make large signs and banners using fluorescent paint on black paper or florescent paper cut out with a cricut. Make sure to test your materials to ensure they glow!
Our gym has brick walls, which can make decorating tricky.
These have been the best thing we've found for hanging signs on brick:
Balloon Arch
We use a 10 ft backdrop stand we already own to create a big neon balloon arch.
It looks awesome under the blacklights and creates a great focal point.
Because kids are running around the gym, we station two adults on either side of the arch to make sure no one runs into it.
Glow Tattoo Station
The glow tattoos were a huge hit, but we've learned that not every tattoo actually looks good under blacklights.
These are ones that actually worked for us:
We use these little sponges to apply them quickly:
Having multiple volunteers applying tattoos at once keeps the line moving.
Glow Sticks
Every student gets two glow sticks when they come into the event.
DJ
We found a very affordable local DJ. It meant our volunteers didn't have to worry about managing music, speakers, playlists or transitions.
The DJ keeps the energy up while we focus on running the event.
Inflatable Mascot
This wasn't purchased specifically for the Glow Run, but people asked about our giant inflatable mascot.
Ours is from Custom Inflatables:
https://custominflatables.com/
It makes a great event decoration and photo opportunity.
How the Event Works
Our school events have to happen during "specials time"—when students would normally be at PE, music or art.
Each grade level comes to the gym for approximately 40 minutes. We have 6-7 classes per grade.
When students first enter, we have everyone sit down while the lights are still on.
We quickly explain the ground rules:
Don't touch the blacklights because they get hot.
Don't pull down decorations.
Watch where you're going.
Running isn't required,
Two classes on the track at a time. When you are not on the track, you can hang/dance in the middle, on the sides, or get tattoos.
About every 10 minutes, we rotate and another two classes get their turn on the track.
Prizes and Communication
We announce the Glow Run 2-3 weeks before the event and sent home the flyer above. In addition we use emails and social media posts. Here are links to our prizes:
We also send home stickers we make with our Munbyn Thermal Sticker Printer.
Our students really love the glow run, and it’s been a fantastic fundraiser for our school! We hope you found this guide helpful!