Dance Marathon leaders realized a mistake in their calculated total when the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital asked for their donation. The offline contributions were counted twice, resulting in the actual amount being $61,445 short of the initial total.

The amount that was first calculated was $388,477.16, but the actual amount of money raised was $327,032.16.

“We were entering offline information into the online source to reflect the actual fundraising amounts of the dancers, so that they knew what they were receiving at all times,” said Megan Breider, senior in biology and finance director for Dance Marathon.

Last year was the first year using a new system to keep track of donations and some of the complications of the system were not factored in, said Jessica Pearce, senior in kinesiology and health and co-director of Dance Marathon.

The committee discovered the error in August, said Anna Pringnitz, senior in communication studies and co-director of Dance Marathon.

Online donations go directly to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, and a request typically is made in August for a check for the remaining amount.

“The amount they asked, we didn’t have it in our account, so we knew something was wrong,” Pearce said.

It took several weeks to find out where the mistake had been made while Pearce, Pringnitz and Breider went through their records.

“We haven’t had the most wonderful, awesome precise record keeping system in the past, which is something we’re very proud of now having,” Pringnitz said.

When they found out that the offline donations had been counted twice, they called Sarah Adkins, fundraising coordinator for the Children’s Hospital, to figure out where to go from there.

After discussing the options, Adkins suggested that because Dance Marathon is a student organization, it could change the records to reflect the actual amount of money raised, Pringnitz said.

“We are so appreciative of the funding and support that we have received,” Adkins said.

Adkins said donors such as Dance Marathon are not under contract with the Children’s Hospital, which is grateful for any support it receives.

Students who have signed up for Dance Marathon have an online account that lets them track how much money they have raised. Breider collects check and cash donations and enters them into the system so students can see one total number.

“From an analytical side when we pull that up, it has an offline number, which is everything I’ve entered in, and an online number, and then a total number,” Breider said.

Last year there was not a distinction between the different sources of donations, which allowed for the double counting of the offline money.

Breider said the $327,000 raised last year is the second best in history and the mistake did not disrupt any of the major programs that ISU Dance Marathon donates toward.

The philanthropy has pledged to donate $1 million toward the new building fund during the course of the next five years.

“Had they raised a $100,000 or $100 or $1 million, it is their choice to send the funds our way, and it is greatly appreciated,” Adkins said.

Adkins said ISU Dance Marathon has been a loyal partner for 18 years.

Dance Marathon has set a goal of raising $465,000 for this year, which represented an increase of 20 percent from the miscalculated figure of $380,000, Pearce said.

Dance Marathon is using this as an opportunity to raise more money than ever before with a 43 percent increase over last year’s actual donation, Pringnitz said.