Written By: Faith Houpt, Jacob Deglin, Julia French, Kayla Wakeley, and Pratham Shah
With the holiday season officially here, it is also the Season of Giving. What better way to ring in the season than by making your impact count on Matching Day and the Season of Giving Lottery. These initiatives offer students, alumni, parents, and supporters the opportunity to give back while maximizing the impact of every donation.
Matching Day is a one-day fundraising event created to amplify donations and build early momentum for THON™ 2026. During Matching Day, select donations will be matched at different times throughout the day, allowing contributions to go even further.
Matching Day will take place on December 30th, with matching opportunities available while funds last. At 8:00 AM EST, every third donation will be matched up to $100. At 12:00 PM EST, every third donation up to $100 made by a parent or to a THON Nation page will be matched. Later in the day at 6:00 PM EST, every other student donation will be matched up to $10.
In addition to matched donations, organizations have the chance to earn extra incentives on Matching Day. For every $200 raised, organizations will receive an additional entry into the Season of Giving Lottery. The committee that raises the most throughout Matching Day will also win a piece of THON merchandise.
Following Matching Day, the Season of Giving Lottery will run from December 19th through January 10th. During this period, there will be two active lotteries, one for organizations and one for IDCs. Organizations earn lottery entries for every $500 raised, giving them the opportunity to win impactful prizes.
Guaranteed organization prizes include additional guaranteed dancers for first and second place, $4,000 for third place, $2,000 for fourth place, and $1,000 for fifth place. Both organizations and IDCs are also eligible for additional lottery prizes. First place winners will receive an IDC pair or guaranteed dancers selected to dance at THON. Second place will receive $1,000, third place $750, and fourth place $600. There will also be eight random drawings for $500 in crediting funds.
As the season of giving continues, Matching Day and the Season of Giving Lottery encourage the THON community to come together, maximize fundraising efforts, and make a meaningful difference for children and families in need, all For The Kids®.
To ensure that THON is able to donate 96 cents of every dollar raised to Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, we heavily rely on donor support. These donations provide us the resources to create endless memories for our Four Diamonds families & foster a deep love & connection to our mission for our volunteers through Pre-THON Events, alternative fundraisers, & THON Weekend.
