Team Captain Handbook

Transcription

1 Team Captain Handbook

2 !! Welcome! First off, on behalf of the Down Syndrome Society of Mobile (DSSM), our board of directors and the Buddy Walk planning committee, let me thank you for participating in the 2015 Buddy Walk by being a team captain! Since 2008, DSSM has hosted its annual Buddy Walk in October to promote acceptance and inclusion of those with Down syndrome in the Mobile area. Team captains play a key role in the success of the Buddy Walk. You are the personal face of the walk, sharing your stories, increasing awareness of Down syndrome in our community and educating others about DSSM. You also raise vital funds for our organization. The funds you and your team raise enable us to continue our mission of providing support, education and advocacy to Mobile s adults and children with Down syndrome, their families and their communities. A Team captain is the leader of a Buddy Walk team; recruits family, friends, and colleagues to join their team; builds excitement and commitment; maximizes the fundraising potential of all team walkers; provides inspiration and motivation; and recognizes and acknowledges all efforts made by the team. Your leadership is invaluable to DSSM, and your dedication and hard work are greatly appreciated! We can t wait to see you and your team at the Buddy Walk on October 17! Sincerely, Jennifer Cooley DSSM President Page!2

3 Important Deadlines September 25 Last day to register walkers at $15 and to guarantee their t- shirt. Registration after September 25 will be $20. September 30 October 1 October 15 Corporate sponsorship deadline. Last day for exhibitor/vendor forms. Last day to register online. On-site registration is available the morning of the Buddy Walk starting at 9 a.m. At 5 p.m., we close our team competitions (Most Funds Raised and Most Walkers). Winners will be announced on our Facebook page on October 16. Of course, we encourage you to continue to fundraise up until the day of the walk! October 16 October 17 Team t-shirt pick-up at the Goodwill Easter Seals Child Development Center located at 10 Westminster Way. This is the ONLY day available for early shirt pick up, so please send a team representative if you (the team captain) are unable to come. Any shirts not picked up this day will be available for pick up the day of the event. BUDDY WALK! On-site registration starts at 9 a.m. Walk begins at 10 a.m. Event ends at 12 noon Build and Motivate Your Team Whether it s with family, friends, colleagues, or members of other organizations you belong to, building a team can really boost camaraderie and morale. As a team captain, it s important to find ways to build excitement and commitment with team members. A few ways to do this: Host a kickoff party people weekly with a fundraising tip, inspirational quote or story, etc. Make event posters for bulletin boards, doors, waiting rooms Post sponsor and walk sheets in high traffic areas at work, where colleagues can make a pledge or join your team Page!3

4 Create friendly competition between different departments or family members Some Buddy Walk teams make team-specific t-shirts, costumes, hats, posters, buttons, banners any and all of this is encouraged! Tips for Achieving Your Fundraising Goals Here are some more quick and easy ways to tackle fundraising for your Buddy Walk at the grassroots level. Feel free to contact us at to discuss other fundraising concepts that might work best for you. Suggestions and ideas are encouraged! Start now! There is no such thing as too early! Arm yourself with facts about Down syndrome and DSSM: More than 400,000 people in the United States have Down syndrome. One in every 733 births result in a baby with Down syndrome. Parents can be of any age, ethnicity, and socio-economic level. Trisomy 21 is a genetic condition, and it is not hereditary. Along with the National Down Syndrome Society, DSSM promotes awareness and inclusion for people with Down syndrome and raises funds for local and national advocacy, inclusion & awareness programs. Ask people who are likely to support you. Past supporters are the best and easiest people to start with. Also, people give to people they know, so don t be afraid to ask. This is a great way to CELEBRATE Down syndrome and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. It is best to spread the fundraising activities over a period of time. Developing a fundraising plan that includes events throughout the year is a great way to keep the excitement going and raise a tremendous amount of money along the way! Dedicate your personal or team fund raising effort to an individual with Down syndrome. Walk and raise funds in their honor. Your honoree can be a coworker, friend or family member with Down syndrome. Putting a face with the cause helps donors realize their impact. Make it easy to donate. Fully utilize your personal fundraising page and add the link to your signature and social networking profiles. Personalize your materials as much as possible. Although it can take extra time, it makes a big difference and will pay off in the end. Use multiple ways to reach out to people. Online is the most popular, especially social media sites like Facebook, but don t forget about s, posters, and personal phone calls. Follow up is important. Find more information on using social media for fundraising below. Start a letter writing campaign. Page!4

5 Specify your ask. People like options, so come up with three levels of giving and add an other category (for example $100, $50, $25, other) for people to choose from. Tell your story. Talk about why you participate in the Buddy Walk, or what DSSM means to you and your family. Your personal experience is what will inspire and gain support Be enthusiastic about your participation. Whether asking for a donation or for someone to join your team, your enthusiasm will be contagious and others will want to support you. Remember to ask your donors if their companies have a matching gifts program. You can easily double your fundraising through matching plans! Once fundraising begins, remember to say Thank You! You may choose to write personal notes, send a standard letter, and write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or company newsletter, use or a big poster in the company break room to thank your donors for their support. Tips on Using Social Media for Fundraising Like DSSM on Facebook (facebook.com/dssmobile) and be sure you are attending the official Buddy Walk Mobile event on Facebook (facebook.com/ events/ ). Invite your friends to like our page and to join the event. Use our official Buddy Walk hashtag on your posts, across all social media #buddywalkmobile Repost/Retweet DSSM page posts to generate excitement. Create a Facebook Group for your team, where you can post important registration and donation information, thank team members and donors as well as day-of information. Use social media to: Provide a link directly to your team page Organize your Team Kick-off Party State your purpose and request clearly Create buzz and excitement; share a story about your buddy or team Post updates regularly about goals you are setting and reaching as a team Post pictures of last year, your buddy, preparation for day-of, etc. Ask for a specific amount on a specific day, i.e.: Help us reach $1,500 by the end of the day. Only $250 to go. Page!5

6 Team Fundraising Ideas Get Your Child's School Involved - A teacher at a private school instituted a "dress down day" or casual day for the entire student body and faculty. For a $5 donation, a student or teacher could dress in jeans or other casual clothes for a day instead of the uniform. If students already have a casual dress policy, invite them to wear a hat, shorts or other attire that is normally not allowed. It also helps to remind the school that October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month A Letter Writing Assignment - Students can compete to see who receives a donation from the longest distance away. Ask them to write letters about the Buddy Walk to people or companies located out of your state or out of the country. The student who brings in a check from the farthest point wins a prize. Get Your Company Involved - A district manager of a national retail chain encouraged her company to participate. The employees of each store challenged one another to form at least one team per store and raise money for Down syndrome. They had fun, raised money and increased morale all at once! Another way to have your company raise money is to have one (or more) dress down days with the money collected going towards the Buddy Walk. Get Your Religious Organization Involved - Ask to put a poster on the bulletin board. See if an announcement can be made during a service. Leave a donation envelope in the coffee room or in the lobby. See if the youth group is looking for a social action activity. Contact Your Child's Girl/Boy Scout Troop - Scouts could be eligible to earn a variety of badges by participating in a Buddy Walk. Scouts may also want to help set-up or teardown your event, so keep them in mind as volunteers as well. Community activities - Car wash, a dog wash, garage sale, bake sale, "Dimes for Down Syndrome Day" at work, school or your local bank. Places you go - Encourage walkers to get pledges from family, friends, colleagues, doctors, dentists, dry cleaners, hairdressers, and places where they are frequent patrons. Use incentive prizes to reward participants for their fundraising efforts. For example, if you raise $50 you will earn a baseball hat, if you raise $100 you will earn a tote bag, etc. Set a deadline so that your walkers are motivated to raise money at a quicker pace (leverage the competitive spirit of your Walkers). Sell raffle tickets and hold a drawing (or drawings) for items that were donated by local organizations. Page!6

7 Dinning for DS - Work with local restaurants and stores to have a day or night each month where a portion of the proceeds will go to your team to raise money for your Buddy Walk. Dining for Down syndrome is becoming popular across the country! Sell Buddy Walk lollipops, cookies or other treats near the cash register at local businesses. This is a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth and raise awareness of your organization and event. The Luzerne County Down Syndrome Network has been very successful selling Buddy Walk lollipops at their local Wendy s restaurants and other smaller shops. Make and sell Buddy Walk ribbons (in the blue and yellow Buddy Walk colors) and sell them for $.50 or $1.00 to increase awareness of your Buddy Ask local businesses if you can place cans in their shops to raise Dimes For Down syndrome (or any spare change). Decorate the cans with DSAH logo, your team name, and information about the Buddy Walk (date, time, place) so people who drop in their change can learn more about the event. You can also ask your school, place of employment or house of worship, if you can have a special collection of spare change for the Buddy Walk Hold an auction: Auction a prime parking space at work, a half or whole day off or yourself to work a day for someone. A little change makes a lot of cents: Ask your bank to post this message at the teller line, "Dimes for Down syndrome to help celebrate diversity and Down Syndrome awareness. Use your green thumb: Sell corsages, your extra houseplants, or bouquets from your garden. Schedule a game night: Host a Monopoly, poker, bingo or other game night and charge admission. Organize a pretty baby contest: Gather employee baby pictures, have donation jars set up as votes - the jar with the most donations wins. Get prizes donated for the winners. Sell your career skill: For example, if you re a CPA, offer to do your friends taxes for a fee that goes toward your goal. Schedule a share-the-profit event: Many local restaurants will give a portion of a day s profits to a specific cause. Set this up with restaurant management and notify your friends, family, etc. to visit the establishment on the scheduled day. Host a yard sale: Sell your unwanted items and put the profit towards your goal. If family/friends don t want to give money, suggest that you sell their unwanted items and keep the profit. Turn a gift to you into a gift to the Society: Ask family/friends to donate money on your behalf to the Buddy Walk instead of giving you presents at your upcoming birthday or anniversary. Present an instructional class: Invite possible donors to participate in a howto class and charge a fee that goes toward your goal. For example, if you re a Page!7

8 great dancer, offer to conduct classes for your friends with the proceeds benefiting the Buddy Walk. Host a party: Throw a great party and charge admission! Have the party at your house or partner with a local bar that gives you a portion of the evening s cover charge. Host a block party: Invite your neighbors to a neighborhood block party. Sell food and charge admission. Bake Sale: Hold a bake sale at work, church, or school or sell donuts, bagels and coffee in the morning. Book Smart: Dust those bookshelves and have a book sale. Snack Bar: Set up an inexpensive snack bar. Every day employees purchase snacks sandwiches, chips, cookies, juices and soft drinks with all the proceeds going toward your fund raising goal. Coin Saving: Ask five to ten people to save their change for you for a month. Give them buckets decorated. At the month s end, invite them to your home for a counting party. Meals on Wheels: Have a meal day where you will cook and deliver breakfast, lunch or dinner to other businesses in town. Fax them a few days ahead of time to inform them of the menu, cost and how to order. Garage Sale: Have a garage sale in your company parking lot or at your home and have all your friends, coworkers, and team members bring items from their homes to sell. Car Wash: Get your team together on a weekend to hold a car wash. Some good places to have a car wash are parking lots of fast food restaurants, grocery stores and churches. Be sure to check with the owners before setting up! Raffles: Ask a local merchant to donate a prize (restaurant gift certificate, TV/DVD player, hotel weekend getaway, airline tickets, etc.) to be raffled. Make tickets and start selling. Yard Displays: Place plastic pink flamingos, wooden cows, or whirly birds in the front yard of unsuspecting donors...request a donation for them to be removed, an additional donation for the homeowner to pick whose yard they are to be placed next, and another donation as "insurance" that they don't wind up back in their yard. Promote Yourselves: Call your local newspaper and let them know what your team is doing. Send a letter or press release about your team with a photo. Your company can also write a newsletter article about you and other employees involved in the Buddy Walk. Publicity helps generate donations. Brown Bag Lunch Day: Encourage employees to bring their lunch to work and hold a brown bag party. Ask them to donate their lunch money to you. The money saved from not going out that day can be contributed to the Buddy Walk. Page!8

9 Fundraising Parties: Schedule a fund raising party to benefit the Buddy Walk. You can have it at your home, office or partner with a local restaurant or bar to sponsor the event by donating food or the space. Promote the party to everyone you know and charge a cover. The restaurant/bar will benefit from the free publicity and the money you raise will go toward your goal, not to mention it s a lot of fun! Don t forget to get pledges from people who have supported your loved one. Colleagues, doctors, dentists, dry cleaners, hairdressers, and places where you are frequent patrons. Contact Us For more information, not contained in this packet, or questions, please contact our Buddy Walk planning committee! dssmobile.org facebook.com/dssmobile downsyndromesociety@gmail.com (888) Good luck to you and your team! Happy Buddy Walking! Page!9