The MDA Muscle Walk is the nation s largest walk in support of individuals and families affected by muscular dystrophy.

Transcription

1 Team Captain Kit The MDA Muscle Walk is the nation s largest walk in support of individuals and families affected by muscular dystrophy. KMW-104 8/10

2 You Have More Muscle Than You Think. You ve Just Become a Team Captain. Teams are the Heart (and Sole) of the MDA Muscle Walk By building a team of people who mean something to you, you ve signed up to make your Muscle Walk not only fun, but significant. This is the heart of the MDA Muscle Walk. As a Muscle Team Captain, you will lead your team and encourage them to meet and beat their fundraising goals and make their lives more relevant in the process. What is the MDA Muscle Walk? The MDA Muscle Walk is a local walk event that pays tribute to children and adults with muscular dystrophy, while raising funds for MDA s programs of help and hope. The walks are family-oriented gatherings that are open and accessible to everyone children, adults, grandparents, students, corporate teams and more. About MDA The Muscular Dsytrophy Association is the nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research. The Association also provides comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy, education and a summer camp program.

3 10 Tips for the Team Captain 1. Team captains and co-captains are the volunteer leaders of the MDA Muscle Walk. Captains commit to help their teams reach their fundraising goals. The team captains most important role is to recruit co-captains and team members. 2. Recruit friends, family and co-workers. MDA recommends that you form a team of 10 people. If you have more than 10 people, congratulations! Form sub-teams and recruit co-captains to help. MDA recommends recruiting one co-captain for every 10 people recruited. 3. Register yourself and help team members register online. The MDA Muscle Walk is a fundraising event, so all team members are strongly encouraged to raise funds. The Muscle Team Captain Roster will help you keep track of your team. 4. Set a team fundraising goal, and encourage each of your team members to set their own fundraising goals. See the Goal-Setting Worksheet for additional details and information. 5. Plan a kickoff party or a Lunch & Learn for teams made up of business or organization members to tell potential team members about the benefits of joining the Muscle Walk. 6. Encourage team members to use online personal fundraising pages. The average online gift is 40 percent larger than a cash donation, so setting up online personal pages can greatly impact your team total. See the Online Toolkit for additional information on how to raise funds online. 7. Build team spirit! In addition to encouraging team members to raise money online, you can help organize some team events such as casual days, car washes, bowling nights, parties and other team outings. 8. Collect your team donations and turn them in the day of the walk or earlier. Your local MDA representative will tell you the best way to turn in your team donations. A printable Team Captain Donation Form is available. 9. Keep in touch with your local MDA office. It s your best source of information. 10. Muscle up and have fun! You have helped make a muscle and make a difference.

4 Set Up Your Team Page As an MDA Muscle Walk Team Captain, you and all of your teammates get a personal fundraising page and a Team Page. To access both the Team Page and personal pages, all you have to do is register. Here are some simple ways to make your page stand out: Team Captain Online Success Make it Personal Name your Team. Upload a personal or team photo. Write a short note of WHY your team was formed and WHY you are participating in the Muscle Walk. There is sample text available for you when you set up your page, but NOTHING IS AS POWERFUL as telling your own story in your own words. Remember: You don t need to have a direct connection to a person or family with a neuromuscular disease to have a powerful story. Walking because you feel lucky or blessed to have a HEALTHY family is a very compelling reason. Provide Online Links to Your Team Page Create a URL Team Page shortcut to direct people right to your Team Page. Include a link to both your personal and team fundraising page in your signature, your Facebook profile, Twitter, LinkedIn and any other social networking sites you use personally and professionally. Take a look at the Muscle Walk Online Toolkit to download banners, Muscle Walk signatures and more. Raise More Money with Facebook By using the new Muscle Walk Boundless Fundraising application, you can now use your Facebook account to extend your fundraising to your Facebook friends automatically. Add the new Boundless Fundraising application now by logging into your personal fundraising page and clicking on My Walk Hub. From there, click on the link to Boundless Fundraising, and you re on your way. Recruit Team Members Online It s much easier to recruit team members online than to spend time on the phone or through the mail. Ask your prospective team members to join your team directly from your Team Page or use the tools online to send a team registration link via . See your local MDA representative with any questions. Raise Money Online After you set up your personal pages and send your to friends, family and co-workers, watch your upto-the-minute fundraising tracker. The online tools make it easy for your friends and family to donate online. Encourage Team Members to Use Their Online Personal Pages Encourage your team members to join you and use the online tools too. Pump up the team spirit by providing incentives for them to raise money online: Offer movie tickets or a T-shirt to the team member who raises the most the first week. Offer a coffee gift card to each team member who receives at least 5 donations online. Be creative and make it rewarding to be on your team.

5 Steps to Success Register. Recruit. Raise Funds. Recognize. Register. Your first step as a team captain is to register, either in person at an MDA office or online. Your online team page will allow you and your team to easily track the team s fundraising progress. Recruit. Spread the word and encourage others to join your team. Teams of 10 work well. MDA recommends recruiting one co-captain for every 10 team members. Tips for recruiting members: Send an to everyone in your address book. Ask your boss to send an internal endorsing the MDA Muscle Walk and encouraging participation. Host a Lunch & Learn luncheon or other kickoff event at work to launch the program. Invite the employees at your favorite restaurant, bar or a shop. REACH OUT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW AND ASK! Raise funds. The MDA Muscle Walk is a fundraising event, so all team members are encouraged to raise funds either online or offline. Encourage team members to set up a personal fundraising page which allows them to send invites to their friends, family and co-workers. Once they ve created their page, friends, family and co-workers can contribute easily to their efforts online. New for 2010 are customized Muscle Walk social networking and fundraising tools, including an app designed for raising funds through Facebook. Sign up to access all these new tools. RECOGNIZE. Recognition of your team members is a MUST for an effective team! Team members who reach certain levels of fundraising may be eligible for special prizes and incentives, depending on the MDA Muscle Walk location. Each MDA Muscle Team event has its own reward and incentive guidelines, so check with your local MDA representative.

6 Build Your Team Finding Stellar Team Members Everyone you know (and even some you don t know) are potential team members. Use the chart below to start recruiting the people you care most about (and who care about you) to join your team. 1. Immediate MDA Family: spouse, parents, siblings 8. Neighbors and Friends 2. Extended MDA Family: aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents IT STARTS WITH YOU! 6. Where do you Shop & Eat? Restaurants, Hair Stylist 3. Health Care Contacts: M.D., D.D.S, Pharmacy, Insurance 5. School and Work Support 4. Religious Affiliations, Clubs, Organizations

7 Set Goals Help Team Members Set Individual Fundraising Goals As a team captain, your first step in fundraising is to encourage each team member to set his/her individual fundraising goal. MDA recommends a goal of at least $200 per participant, but we encourage participants to raise more if they can. Determine the Team Goal Now that individual pledge goals are set, calculate your overall team fundraising goal. First, add up individual pledge goals for a Team Pledge Total: $ Next, factor in any team special events (bake sales, parties, etc.) that your team will organize. Write those in below. Team Fundraising Event Date Event Fundraising Goal Activity #1 $ Team Fundraising Event Date Event Fundraising Goal Activity #2 $ Total Event Fundraising Goal: $ Team Pledge Goal + Event Fundraising Goal = Team Goal $ $ $ Research proves that a shared goal is the most powerful and most likely to be obtained. A team of people all sharing the same goal dramatically improves your chance of success.

8 Eight Great Ways to Raise More $ 1. Raise Funds Online: The online donation pages are powerful tools. Customize your fundraising page with your personal story of why you are walking, message and photos, or simply use the content provided. Reach out and everyone you know and watch as the donations come in. 2. Social Media: Take advantage of the network of friends and family you have at your fingertips with the Muscle Walk social media tools. Tell your story through Facebook and highlight your involvement with MDA. Take advantage of MDA s new Boundless Fundraising for Facebook app online, as well as social networking badges, widgets, signatures, wallpaper and loads of social networking ideas. 3. Personal Letter Campaign: Sending personally written letters and s is a great way to invite friends, family co-workers or business contacts to donate to your Muscle Walk. Sample letters and s are available online. 4. Vendor Letters: With your company s permission, send letters to company vendors asking them to support your efforts. Sample letters are available online. 5. Matching Gifts: Remind your team members and donors to submit matching gift forms to their companies. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to increase your Muscle Walk contributions. More Matching Gift information is available online. 6. Team Fundraising Events: As a team captain, there are endless opportunities to turn your resources, contacts, skills and interests into a way to earn funds for research, clinics, summer camp and other MDA programs. Organizing smaller events such as these not only raises money, but it helps build awareness and team spirit. Casual/jeans days Happy Hour home parties Putting contests Make A Muscle paper mobile sales Garage sales Bake sales (Especially at work. Yum!) Car wash Bowling events Bingo Silent auctions Restaurant benefit nights Office cookout luncheon Coin canisters (canvas your favorite restaurants and bars in your neighborhood.) 7. Give It Up for MDA Week: Ask team members to join you in giving up one thing for a week movie, weekly manicure, expensive coffee and contribute the amount saved to MDA through the Muscle Walk effort. You ll be surprised how fast the contributions add up. 8. Competition & Incentives: Encourage team members or groups within your company to compete with one another, and offer small prizes and recognition for the top fundraising individuals.

9 Team Captain Checklist Get Started (3-4 months out) Choose team name (if you are not a family team, ask MDA to introduce you to an MDA ambassador who can help inspire your team.) Set up and customize team page. Set your team goal for money raised and team members recruited. Call a team meeting to strategize with MDA staff. Invite everyone you know to join your team or support your efforts with a donation. Find out about your company s matching gift policy. Send s to everyone you know. Place articles in company newsletters or intranet site to recruit team members. Set up team incentives, T-shirts and internal competitions. Make sure all team members are registered. Keep Up the Momentum (1-2 months out) Send out fundraising s to ask for donations. Update the team Web page with personal stories, photos and progress. Distribute MDA Muscle Walk brochures and/or Make A Muscle paper mobiles to shops and restaurants in your neighborhood. Host a team fundraising event or two. your team weekly with fundraising updates. Collect team pledges and turn them into MDA. Event Day Show up. Smile. Have fun. Arrive early. Register any unregistered new team members. Turn in to MDA any donations collected in person at event. Take team photos. Enjoy the day and bask in the feeling of doing something great! Post Event Bask in your success. Congratulations! Send thank-you notes to all donors. Send notes to team members with team standings and event results. Send follow up s to those who didn t donate to you. Share your experience with them and give them another chance to donate. Collect and turn in any outstanding pledges to be included in any walk incentives. Host a team wrap party. Start planning for next year!