Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit PARTICIPANT GUIDE
Welcome to Give A Meal Team Challenge! We re so excited that you have joined Give A Meal Team Challenge to help fight hunger in your community. Your participation will help Feeding America provide food to the 49 million children, seniors and families who struggle with hunger in the U.S. For every $1 raised, you will help provide 3 meals to those in need. Thank you for registering! As a participant of Give A Meal Team Challenge, we count on you to raise funds and we are here to help you every step of the way. This Participant toolkit can be used as your step-by-step guide to reaching your Give A Meal Team Challenge goals. Enclosed, you will find valuable materials filled with helpful information and tips to fundraise in the most effective (and fun) way possible. WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS GUIDE ABOUT FEEDING AMERICA GETTING STARTED & FUNDRAISING TIPS PARTICIPANT CENTER GUIDE SPREAD THE WORD CONTACT US CONTACT INFO: Feeding America 35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 2000 Chicago, IL 60601 Phone: 800-914-6307 2 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
ABOUT FEEDING AMERICA In many ways, America is the land of plenty. But for 1 in 6 people in the United States, hunger is a reality. Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are confined to small pockets of society, certain areas of the country, or certain neighborhoods, but the reality is much different. Right now, 49 million Americans are struggling with hunger. These people are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days. Feeding America is the nation s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Our mission is to feed America s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. Through the assistance of local and national food assistance programs, Feeding America is able to provide nutritious, fresh foods to Americans struggling with hunger; safe and nurturing places for children to have a meal; emergency assistance for disaster victims; as well as a chance at self-sufficiency for adults trying to break the cycle of poverty and hunger. HUNGER IN THE U.S. 49 million Americans, which is 1 in 6 people, struggles with hunger. 16 million children, 1 in 5, live at risk of hunger. Approximately one-third of households report having to choose every month between paying for utilities, housing, medicine and food. FEEDING AMERICA S IMPACT 46 million Americans served each year through our network of 200 member food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs. 3.3 billion meals are sourced annually. $1 = 3 meals for people facing hunger. 3 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
GETTING STARTED Start early! Follow these tips to get an early start, keep the momentum up and exceed your goals. There s even a week-by-week checklist to make sure you are staying on track! FUNDRAISING TIPS Set a Goal! Encourage team members to set a goal of raising $300, which will provide 900 meals. Share these steps and see how easy it is to reach your goal! 1. Make a personal donation $25/75 meals 2. Ask 5 family members to match your donation $125/375 meals 3. Ask 5 friends on Facebook to donate $10 $50/150 meals 4. Ask 5 co-workers to donate $10 $50/150 meals 5. Ask 5 friends to donate $10 $50/150 meals Total $300/900 meals! Get a friendly competition going. Start up a friendly competition between the various departments in your company. Which department can donate the most meals or recruit the most participants?! Make it social! Tell your story on Facebook, increase awareness on Twitter and highlight your involvement on LinkedIn! (Samples in Spread the Word section) Share your personal story. Send an email to your contacts asking them to make a donation and to join your team! New team members then invite their contacts to give and join and on and on! (Sample letters are available in your participant center) Matching Gifts can double your funds raised! Many companies have programs that will match employee donations. Contact your Human Resource Department to find out if your company has a Matching Gift Program and how it works. Every penny counts! Get a big jar, place it on your desk at work and ask everyone to drop in their spare change. Watch it add up! Once totaled, make an online donation for that amount so it will be added to your total right away! 4 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
FUNDRAISING CHECKLIST WEEK 1 Set your fundraising/meal goal. $1 helps provide 3 meals. ($300 suggested goal) Upload your Email Address Book into your Participant Center. Build your personal webpage Include photos and why you are raising funds! Get Social Share the link to your fundraising page on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. WEEKS 2-3 Within your participant center, create your own donation request emails or customize the templates with your reason for participating. Send donation requests to all of the contacts in your Address Book. Ask all donors if their company offers matching gifts. WEEKS 3-4 In your participant center, send follow-up emails to anyone in your Address Book who has not responded to your email donation request share your goal and how many meals you have raised. Remember to thank individuals that have already donated to the campaign. WEEKS 4-5 Send a personal Thank You note or email to everyone that donated to your campaign. Announce your results and how many meals your fundraising could provide. 5 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
PARTICIPANT CENTER GUIDE Participation Center Toolkit HOMEPAGE Top navigation tabs allow you to customize and send emails, check your fundraising progress and personalize your fundraising page. Quickly import contacts! You can import directly from an excel document or email account. Not sure what your next step is? This checklist will keep you on track to fundraising success! Need more fundraising ideas? Download these tool kits to access the latest tips & tricks to make fundraising a breeze! SAIC Volunteer Reporting Form Approved Media Release Form 6 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
Participant Center Toolkit EMAIL Did you know? Individuals who send 1-15 emails on average raise more than 5 times the amount of someone who sends no emails? SEND YOUR EMAILS TODAY! Click here to help you compose your message(s), view drafts and import contacts. EASY EMAILS Choose from one of our pre-written templates to make sending emails even easier! There are sample messages to ask for donations, follow up and thank donors! 7 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
Participant Center Toolkit PERSONAL PAGE Participants who customize their personal page raise more than those who don t! Including your own photo and/or video is a great way to make your page reflect you! SHARE IT ON SOCIAL Once your page is customized for participating in Give A Meal Team Challenge, share it with the world! Use social share features to spread the word to your social networks. YOUR PERSONAL URL Click on url settings to create your own unique url that you can share with friends and family. Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit 3 8 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
SPREAD THE WORD Social Media Tips Social media provides you with a quick and easy way to broadcast your participation in Give A Meal Team Challenge to your entire network. Use these sample posts, cover photos and profile pics to help make your fundraising even easier! GENERAL BEST PRACTICES: Always include a link back to your personal page. Switch it up! Use photos in addition to text. Thank your donors publicly on their social media pages or by tagging them. Keep your networks updated on your progress. Make sure that your tweets don t exceed 140 characters (use the & sign, shorten your URL https://bitly.com/, use contractions when possible and sub numbers for words) When Tweeting, use the hash tag for your campaign #GiveAMeal Team Challenge and tag your company @ Tag @FeedingAmerica in your Tweets! FACEBOOK BEST PRACTICES AND SAMPLE POSTS Did you know there are 49 million people in America facing hunger? I m doing my part to help by raising funds for Feeding America. Donate today and help me reach my goal! I m on a mission to make a BIG impact for Feeding America! Donate today and help me raise big bucks to provide meals to American s struggling with hunger. Every $1 raised will provide 3 meals for those facing hunger. Support me as I strive to raise $XXX. I m excited to be participating in Feeding America Give A Meal Team Challenge and I could use YOUR help. Please support my fundraising efforts today. 9 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
I m working hard to reach my fundraising goal of XXX for Give A Meal Team Challenge. Donate today and help me reach my goal! I m raising funds to fight hunger! 1 in 6 people in America struggle with hunger. You can make a difference by supporting my Give A Meal Team Challenge fundraising! With 1 in 6 people in America fighting hunger, my purpose is clear raise funds to feed America s hungry. Join me in the fight! Feeding America is striving to eradicate hunger in the U.S. Support me in my efforts in the Give A Meal Team Challenge Today! I m raising funds for Feeding America in honor of {insert personal story}. Support me today! My Give A Meal Team Challenge is halfway over and I ve raised $XXX towards my goal. Don t miss your chance to support my efforts! Thank you to {insert donor name} for your generous support of my fundraising for Feeding America. Your generous gift will help provide XX meals! SAMPLE TWEETS I m kicking off my fundraising efforts for @FeedingAmerica. Hunger impacts people in every county in America. Please support my efforts! Did you know there are 49 million people in America facing hunger? I m doing my part to help donate today and help me reach my goal! Every $1 I raise will provide 3 meals for those facing hunger. Support me as I strive to raise $XXX. I m excited to be participating in #GiveAMeal Team Challenge and I could use YOUR help. Please contribute to my fundraising efforts. I m working hard to reach my fundraising goal of $XXX for #GiveAMeal Team Challenge. Donate today and help me reach my goal! 10 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
I m raising funds to fight hunger! 1 in 6 people in America are food insecure. Please support my fundraising efforts today! I m on a mission to make a BIG impact for @FeedingAmerica! Donate today and help me raise big bucks to fight hunger. With 1 in 6 people in America fighting hunger, my purpose is clear raise funds to feed America s hungry. Join @FeedingAmerica in the fight! @FeedingAmerica is striving to eradicate hunger in the U.S. Support me in my efforts in the #GiveaMeal Team Challenge Today! I m raising funds for @FeedingAmerica in honor of {insert personal story}. Support me today! My #Team Challenge #GiveaMeal Team Challenge is halfway over and I ve raised $XXX towards my goal. Don t miss your chance to support my efforts. Matching Gifts Matching gifts can be a great way to double or even triple your fundraising dollars for the Give a Meal Team Challenge. Remember, each dollar raised means 3 meals to Americans struggling with hunger so every dollar counts! Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. Your company may match your donation as well as donations made by your co-workers if they also apply for matching gifts. Some companies even match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses! Remember to ask your friends and family if their companies will match their gift! THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE GIVE A MEAL! 11 Give a Meal Team Challenge Toolkit Participant Guide
CONTACT US We are here to help. Please do not hesitate to contact Feeding America if you need: Help getting started with your fundraising Assistance with using the online tools Help answering questions about food insecurity in your local community Feeding America Attention: Philanthropy Operations Team 35 East Wacker, Suite 2000 Chicago, IL 60601 Phone: 800-914-6307