DM fundraising totals, adjusted for inflation
Looking at the totals Dance Marathon has raised every year since its inception in 1975, the upward trend over the 33 years looks impressive.
It raised almost $700,000 more in 2007 than it did in its inaugural year. Or at least, that’s the picture using nominal dollars. But in the alternate economists’ world, a dollar today is worth a quarter in 1975.
For example, using the value of 1975 dollars, DM brought in only $170,000 more in 2007 than when it began with 21 couples dancing in Blomquist Memorial Gymnasium. So while DM has exploded in size, inflation has exaggerated the true value of funds raised.
DM’s growth in 1985 from it’s inauguration was more than half accounted for by inflation. It’s like zooming in on a picture on a monitor and then expecting the printed result to be larger — inflation, by making a dollar worth less, is a visual trick. This is why adjusted totals give the truer and considerably more conservative impression.
Annual growth in DM totals, adjusted for inflation
And while it seemed DM did better from 2000 to 2001, adjusting the change for inflation shows that they actually saw a loss in total raised. Plotting the change from previous year and adjusting it for inflation reveals how DM hasn’t seen the constant growth its real totals would otherwise suggest.
* All calculations made using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator that uses CPI with base year 1975.