Online Fundraising Guide
Table of Contents 1) What is your participant center? 2) Why fundraise online? 3) How to use your participant center a. Edit your personal page (fundraising website) b. Send e-mail to ask for donations and/or ask people to join your team c. Enter donations received offline d. Track your progress e. Edit your fundraising goal 4) Why send e-mails through your participant center?
What is Your Participant Center or My Account? Web based fundraising software that is provided to all event participants Username and password are automatically generated and e-mailed to you upon registration (If you forget your username or password and need them reset, e-mail WalkMSGNE@nmss.org and our staff can assist you.) To access, visit www.msnewengland.org then click on Walk. Click on the Participant Center link on the right side of the page.
You can also access your participant center by clicking on the My Account link on the left side of the event page for the Walk MS site you re participating in Why Fundraise Online? The National MS Society is leading the way in online fundraising. Moving money online is faster and safer than handling checks and cash With online fundraising a receipt is automatically generated and sent to your donor at the time of their donation Participants who fundraise online have the donations they receive processed sooner and often raise bigger sums thank those who fundraise only with offline methods Online fundraising in combination with social media tools (like Facebook.com) can help you reach potential donors you would not have thought of asking through sending a letter Friends and family can donate wherever they are Studies have shown that those who give online give larger gifts
How to Use Your Participant Center Log into your participant center as described on page 1 When logged in, your screen will look similar to the screenshot below From your participant center you can 1) Edit your personal page (fundraising website) 2) Send e-mail to ask for donations and/or ask people to join your team 3) Enter donations received offline 4) Track your progress 5) Edit your fundraising goal 6) Utilize team captain only options
Edit Your Personal Page Your personal page is your individual fundraising website, where donors can donate to your Walk MS fundraising. Make it personal by: Writing why you chose to participate in Walk MS Adding pictures from previous years, of the loved one you walk for, of your training, etc. Adding a personal blog to update others on your fundraising/training process To edit your personal page, click on the personal page tab on the top right of your participant center You can customize the URL for your website by clicking edit on the right of the page next to personal page URL and settings
Once you click edit, you can enter a shorter ending to the default URL, after http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/ Be sure to click save after customizing the URL To edit the content of your personal page, click on the Content link on the right side of the page. Replace the title and body of the page with your own words. Remember to click save. If you d like to see what your personal page will look like to others, click the preview link on the bottom of the page. This will open up a preview screen of your personal page in a new window.
To add photos or video to your personal page, click on the photos/video link on the right side of your participant center Click the circle next to photos or video to be prompted with upload instructions Use the Components link on the right side of your participant center to enable/disable your fundraising status thermometer and fundraising honor roll. (Enabled by default) You can also enable your personal blog.
Send e-mail to ask for donations and/or ask people to join your team Click on the email tab on the top left of your participant center Enter the e-mail addresses you would like to send to in the To field Enter a subject line Enter the body of the e-mail in the white space under the formatting buttons
Select a layout by clicking the image you would like at the bottom of the screen, followed by the done selecting link To save your e-mail as a template you can use for future e-mails, click the Save as template link You can view templates of suggested e-mails by clicking the Use a template link. Template e-mails include, Join My Team Support Me Thank You for Sponsoring Me and Team Message
Enter donations received offline To enter an offline donation that you ve received from a donor, click on the Progress tab Next, click the Enter a new gift button on the right side of the page. It will open the following screen, where you can enter donation information. Click Add or Save and Add Another when finished To help process your donations in a timely manner, mail the checks you receive to National MS Society, Greater New England Chapter PO Box 845945 Boston, MA 02284-5945 Make sure to write your name on the memo line of the check and Walk MS with the name of the city you re participating in. For example, Jane Doe - Walk MS Boston
Track Your Progress You can track your fundraising progress by viewing the progress tab The progress tab will display graphs of your fundraising, and allow you to view donations/download a list of donations that have been made to you. Edit your Fundraising Goal You can edit your fundraising goal by clicking the change link next to My goal on both the progress tab and the home tab
Team Captain Only Team Captains can post a message to their team members that will appear on the home page of the team members participant center by clicking Edit under the Message from Your Team Captain box on the right side of the page. Team Captains can e-mail their team by clicking the Email Team link on the right side of the home page or by using the Email tab
Team Captains can edit the team webpage by clicking on the Team Page tab on the top right of the page
Why Send E-mails Through Your Participant Center? A link to your personal page will automatically be included You can use the Walk MS layouts to give your e-mails a more polished look Templates offer suggested text to help you draft your e-mails You can keep track of the number of e-mails you have sent to each contact and see who has made a donation and/or visited your personal page as a result of your e-mail
Questions E-mail WalkMSGNE@NMSS.org with any questions and our walk staff will be happy to assist you. You can also call 781-890-6097. Thank you for joining the movement to create a world free of MS! We look forward to seeing you on the day of the walk.