Welcome to March for Babies We re so glad you decided to join us in walking together for stronger, healthier babies. March for Babies is the number one corporate fundraising event and a great opportunity for your company to show you care about the babies and families in your community. As a team captain, you re responsible for your company s success and making sure everyone on the team has a rewarding experience. It s an important job, and we re here to help! Table of contents Your Support Helps Babies Your Role as Team Captain Campaign Structure Sponsorship Step-by-Step to a Great Campaign Tips for Your CEO Online Fundraising Materials Sample Bank Day Instructions Plan for Day of Walk Sample E-mail Messages Sample Voice Messages Sample CEO Letters 2 3 5 7 8 13 14 18 20 22 23 25 26 Last updated 11/17/10 2010 March of Dimes Foundation
Your Support Helps Babies The March of Dimes is one of the best-known charities in the country. Through chapters all across the county and the nation s premier walking event, March for Babies, we work to improve the health of babies. Each year, premature birth costs the United States more than $26 billion. The average medical costs for a baby born preterm is more than 10 times as high as they are for a healthy, full-term baby. In addition to being a very difficult and expensive situation for a family, premature birth also affects the parents work productivity as well as that of their co-workers. How does the money we raise help? The March of Dimes spends 75.4 percent of the money raised in March for Babies on research and programs that promote the health of babies. By walking and raising money, your company helps us: Support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects Fund programs in your community that give moms-to-be the best chance of having a healthy baby Provide comfort and information to families with a baby in intensive care Advocate for newborn screening, and health insurance for all pregnant women and children In addition, programs such as our Healthy Babies, Healthy Business intranet portal, which we provide free to companies, help employees have healthier babies. By providing educational information about pregnancy health, families and the companies they work for directly benefit from your participation in March for Babies. Visit marchofdimes.com to learn more. 2
Your Role as Team Captain Job description A great team needs a great captain. Serving as a team captain and rallying your company around the cause of healthy babies is an important job and a valuable leadership experience. As a team captain, your job is to inspire teammates to maximize the campaign. You are responsible for recruiting and motivating your team. Communicate clearly with your team members and let them know exactly what you need them to do to reach your company s fundraising goal. If you ve initiated your company s involvement with March for Babies, it s important to secure senior management s support to help launch a company-wide campaign. Their help will make your work even more effective. On your team CEO: Corporate executives play a vital role in the campaign. See the Tips for your CEO section for more information. Executive Champion: This is a senior-level executive who serves as your liaison to the CEO and who understands the mechanics of the company and can help lead the way to a successful campaign. Co-captains: Depending on the size of your company, most captains need to recruit and manage co-captains to ensure each employee is personally asked to participate. Rule of thumb: one captain for every 50 to 100 employees. Company Ambassador: This is an employee who has been touched by the mission of the March of Dimes and who is willing to share their personal story with employees of the company at presentations and meetings. 3
The tools The step-by-step information in this guide will help you execute a great March for Babies campaign. Make your job easier by managing your team online at marchforbabies.org. Don t hesitate to contact our March of Dimes fundraising experts for ideas, direction or support. 4
Campaign Structure In addition to the campaign leadership of the CEO, the executive champion and lead team captains, other captains are needed to help maximize funds raised. Walker recruitment captains (there should be at least 1 for every 50 to 100 employees) play a vital part in the campaign. Sometimes this person is the same as the overall team captain, but it is best if you can have someone charged with participant recruitment. This way your lead team captain can focus on the big picture, while the walker recruitment captain can focus on building participation. The key concept in setting up walker recruitment is coverage. This means that there are enough captains in each area of the company that, essentially, each employee is personally asked at some point during the campaign to raise money for the March of Dimes. In a very large company, this may mean that you will have several hundred captains. The structure of the walker recruitment captains should generally follow how the company is structured. Some structures include: By department because it follows the company s reporting structure, having captains per department makes a great deal of sense. Depending on how large a department is, you may have several captains in a department. By location sometimes a company has branches, several buildings and different offices that need to be taken into account. A few examples of this include: o Speaking opportunities at corporate kick-off and March for Babies day o Banks that have a number of branches as well as a processing center. Appoint a captain for each branch and a committee at the larger facility. o Hospitals may have several locations, so you may have a lead person at each hospital, who in turn will recruit a committee at their location. 5
o In an office building, it may make sense to have a captain for each floor the company occupies. Even though walker recruitment is the most important piece, there are a few other areas that it can be beneficial to have someone lead: Internal communications Marketing/sponsorship Vendor campaign Reporting/collections T-shirts Day-of activities/volunteers Executive challenge Company ambassador/mission integration 6
Sponsorship [Customized by your division] Corporate sponsors are key to the success of March for Babies. Each year, hundreds of major corporations, local companies and small businesses across the country sign on as sponsors of March for Babies. By doing so, they provide support and help engage their employees to raise awareness and funds through March for Babies. The relationship between the March of Dimes and the businesses that choose to support us is mutually beneficial. We provide marketing benefits, recognition opportunities and help spotlight the good work our corporate sponsors are doing for the community. There are a number of sponsorship levels that come with corresponding benefits. The top three sponsorship levels are: [Insert sponsorship level name] $XX,XXX o Customized benefits to meet your business needs o Logo on all printed material o Speaking opportunities at corporate kick-off and March for Babies day o Others [Insert sponsorship level name] $XX,XXX o Customized benefits to meet your business needs o Modified logo on all printed material o Others [Insert sponsorship level name] $XX,XXX o Customized benefits to meet your business needs o Name listed on printed materials o Others To find out more about sponsoring March for Babies, please contact your March of Dimes representative at (name)@marchofdimes.com. 7
Step-by-Step to a Great Campaign This 5-step program and timeline takes you from securing support to recruiting walkers, to raising money and, finally, to thanking your team! Step 1: Get organized August Meet with your March of Dimes representative and develop a campaign plan. Secure support from your CEO and senior management and develop CEO s campaign role, captain structure and goals. Identify company s executive champion. Pitch company sponsorship. September Recruit co-captains e.g., at least 20 captains for 2,000 employees. Establish meeting schedule for executive champion and team captains. Confirm captain structure, goals and methods to reach goals. Set a walker goal aim for at least 20 percent of employees raising money. Set a dollar goal $200 (or higher if your team average is higher) per walker is a good guideline. Secure sponsorship and ask company vendors for support. Secure internal incentives, such as a parking spot or extra vacation day. October Make sure your team has an online administrator so your team can be managed online. It can be you or someone else in your company. Finalize team captain recruitment. Present campaign to company management. Conduct team captain trainings and include CEO participation. 8
Announce the campaign to all company employees. Confirm sponsorship and begin activation. Begin walker recruitment begin with previous March for Babies walkers in your company. Ask your March of Dimes representative about possible March for Babies day activities, such as a company picnic or team tent, and plan accordingly. November Continue team captain meetings. Present campaign at department meetings. Tour NICU with co-captains. Continue sponsorship activation. December Continue team captain meetings. Present campaign at department meetings. Tour NICU with co-captains. Step 2: Kick off your campaign January Continue team captain meetings. Begin regular progress reports. Present campaign at department meetings. Recruit a team ambassador to inspire your team; this could be a co-worker s child who was born prematurely. Send out New Year announcement. Organize internal company kick-off rally with pep talk by CEO and company ambassador. Conduct March of Dimes kick-off breakfast for CEOs. 9
Organize a company kick-off rally with a pep talk from your CEO and team ambassador. Ask your CEO to sign a company-wide e-mail or memo to encourage fundraising. Use voicemail, e-mail, memos, and bulletin boards to encourage sign-ups. Update your company s online team page with the team goal, team photo or team ambassador photo, why the company is walking, etc. Customize the link to your team s online page so it is easy to remember and be sure to include the link in every communication about March for Babies. February Continue team captain meetings. Continue regular progress reports. Present campaign at department meetings. Conduct internal company kick-off rally and March of Dimes kick-off breakfast for CEOs (if you have not done so). Send encouraging communications from CEO. Use voicemail, e-mail, memos and bulletin boards to encourage sign-ups and fundraising. Update your company s online team page. Step 3: Raise funds March Continue team captain meetings. Continue regular progress reports. Present campaign at department meetings. Send encouraging communications from CEO. Encourage each walker to reach a goal of $200 or more. Tell team members to ask all donors if their company offers matching gifts. Promote friendly competition between departments. 10
Update your company s online team page. Use resources that have been created for you at marchforbabies.org. Click on the company teams tab to find: the Goal Poster to track your progress. the Spotlight Poster to highlight your top fundraisers every week. April Use online team reports to highlight top fundraisers on your team and focus team members on the team s goal. Strive to meet fundraising goal. Continue team captain meetings. Continue regular progress reports. Send encouraging communications from CEO. Encourage each walker to reach a goal of $200 or more. Tell team members to ask all donors if their company offers matching gifts. Promote friendly competition between departments. Use resources that have been created for you at marchforbabies.org. Click on the company teams tab to find: the Goal Poster to track your progress. the Spotlight Poster to highlight your top fundraisers every week. Use online team reports to highlight top fundraisers on your team and focus team members on the team s goal. Begin collections. Step 4: Organize final stretch 1 to 2 weeks before event Send last-minute reminders by e-mail, voicemail, memos or flyers. Ask your chapter when bank days are held and schedule an appointment. Arrange for company signs and banners to promote the team at the event. 11
Ask your chapter what to do with last-minute cash and check donations. Finalize day-of plans for your company s team. Send out a reminder with the date, time and location with directions. Assign a photographer to take photos and a group shot at the event. Step 5: Share your appreciation May/June after your walk Send thank-yous to team members, team captains and CEO s direct reports. Share photos of March for Babies day. Praise the team in your newsletter and/or send a press release to your local newspaper. Conduct team captain post-event debrief and progress report. Schedule wrap-up meeting with CEO. July Continue collections. Begin process for next year. 12
Tips for Your CEO Nearly every successful March for Babies campaign involves an executive who plays a significant role. From providing the framework of the campaign to authorizing the use of company resources and capitalizing on his or her position in the company, an executive s support and involvement makes a tremendous difference. A few ideas your CEO should consider: Help develop and support a campaign and fundraising strategy. Authorize and encourage the organization of a campaign committee on which roughly 1 to 2 percent of the workforce is represented as co-captains. Communicate the importance of March for Babies to your direct reports, all management and all employees to motivate them in fundraising. Keep the focus on individual and online fundraising; limit the number of bake sale type fundraisers. Personally commit to participating in March for Babies activities, such as the kickoff, rallies, day-of walk and thank-you parties. 13
Online Fundraising Signing up, managing your team and monitoring your team s progress is easy to do online. At marchforbabies.org you ll find everything you need to help your team succeed. In a case study (illustrated below) of walkers raising funds online versus wraparound-focused fundraising, the online focus raised $12,500 (50 walkers @ $250 online average) and the wraparound raised $3,065 (sale of bean bag bears and cutouts, bake sales, raffle tickets, etc.). Raising funds online is the best strategy and skip the time-intensive and low-yielding fundraising activities. E-mail your friends, family and colleagues and begin raising funds online. 14
Sign up your team Typically, your March of Dimes representative will talk to you about how to set up your team for online fundraising. Ask them about setting up competitions or how to recognize fundraising successes. Once you are set up, go to marchforbabies.org and click join a team and follow the prompts. Team captain dashboard Online administrators can use the dashboard to manage teams. Check with your chapter representative if you have this role. A team captain is not always the administrator. Personalize your team page Add a picture of the team or your team/company ambassador and include a message. Tell the story of your ambassador or another reason why your team is participating. Making a personal connection to the March of Dimes mission increases participation. 15
Spread the word Create an easy-to-remember URL for your team page by clicking on edit page on your dashboard. Click edit address and scroll down to enter your company or team name under team vanity URL. Copy the link and include on your flyers, posters and in e-mails to make it easy for people to sign up or make their donation. Communicate, communicate, communicate From your team dashboard, import and manage e-mail lists and send e-mails to the team. Send invites to your kick-off, announcements and updates on your team s progress. We keep track of current and past team members so you can easily e-mail them team updates and recruitment messages. Help the team raise money Having your team members register and raise money online makes your job easier and helps improve results. Here are things you can do from the dashboard to help your team succeed. Set a goal and post it. Teams raise more money when a goal is promoted. Ask vendors and associates to donate to the team online. Ask people who can t or don t want to walk to support the team with a donation. You have access to real-time progress reports. Share how many people have joined, how much has been raised, who the top fundraisers are, etc. Raise money with your Facebook friends Use our Facebook application to communicate with your March for Babies account and fundraise in real time with your online friends. Promote your company s involvement with March for Babies on your company s Facebook page and encourage your employees to promote their involvement by including the link to their marchforbabies.org fundraising page on their Facebook page. 16
OFT help For help, contact ofthelp@marchofdimes.com or call (888) 274-3711 for live help. 17
Materials Included in this guide and available at marchforbabies.org are materials to help you execute a successful campaign. Click on the company teams tab to find sample messages, posters, banners and badges. Use them to spread the word and motivate your team members. The following items are available online in the Team Captain Tool Kit. Sponsor form Each team member should have their own form to use to collect and turn in funds; this helps the March of Dimes recognize each walker, the funds they raised and their qualification for incentive prizes. Walkers should fill out all parts of the sponsor form and be sure to attach forms for funds raised online. If your company provides a matching gift, please be sure your team s walkers note this on the sponsor form and include any required forms. Team goal poster Put this poster up where everyone can see it. Use a marker to fill in your team goal and track your progress. Be sure to update often and keep management in the loop. Write the link to your team fundraising page on the poster: marchforbabies.org/team/xxxxx. Spotlight poster Print out, fill in and put up each week. Highlight your top fundraisers or people who did something special for the team. This is a great thank-you and motivator to others to step up their game. Hang the spotlight poster next to your team goal poster or tape it to the door or cubicle of the team member you re highlighting. 18
I m a March for Babies walker poster Fill in the space provided with your personal fundraising URL, and then hang this poster up on your office door or cubicle. Use it as a way to announce that you are fundraising for March for Babies. Write the link to your personal fundraising page on the poster: marchforbabies.org/xxxxx. Team captain tracking poster Print out, fill in and put up. Use this poster to track how many captains and walkers are on your team. Mark what their goals are and track their progress as they reach those goals. Hold a contest to see which captain can raise the most money and recruit the most walkers. 19
Sample Bank Day Instructions [Tailor instructions to follow your division s policies] Attend a bank day held before the actual March for Babies event to turn in your team s funds. Call your March of Dimes staff person to find out about bank day and to see about scheduling an appointment. To help make your appointment go faster, please fill out all paperwork before arriving at bank day. The following are sample instructions only; check with your March of Dimes representative for information about how they conduct bank day. Sample instructions for walkers Please have your fundraisers fill out their sponsor form completely (name, address, team name, walk site, total raised). Have your fundraisers put all cash, checks, matching gift forms and their printed online sponsor form into their sponsor envelope. Be sure they seal the envelope. Be sure they write the total raised in the bottom right-hand corner of their sponsor form, including money raised online. Have your fundraisers turn in their form and envelope together (team captains: do not open the envelopes and do not count the money). Sample instructions for team captains team captain collection envelope (TCCE) Fill in your team captain information: use a separate TCCE for each walk site; on the front of the TCCE, fill out your walk site; fill out your team s name. Each branch, location, line of business, etc. should have its own TCCE. If you are collecting for more than one team, fill out a separate TCCE. Fill out your contact information. 20
Record and total your walker dollars: on the front of the TCCE, write each walker s name, amount raised and T-shirt size only if they raised more than $200. If there are more than 20 sponsor forms, use an additional TCCE. Add all cash and check amounts listed and write down the total. Put all sponsor forms in the TCCE. Record monies from other fundraising activities: fill out the wraparound events lines on the TCCE. Other money should be placed in its own event envelope with the source of the money (Blue Jeans for Babies, Bean Bags for Babies, corporate sponsorship, actual matching gifts, etc.) written on the outside of the envelope. All the monies from other activities should be listed and totaled. Put the envelopes in the TCCE. Total the amount enclosed. 21
Plan for Day of Walk [Tailor to division walks] Talk to your March of Dimes representative about what to expect on the day of the walk. Walk through the day-of-event schedule with your representative and share this information with your team. Be sure your team knows the event s date, time, place, directions to walk site, where your team will be located, and other logistical information, such as parking. Inform team members what to expect when they get to the walk site, including procedures for turning in money and how the event will run. Find out what other teams do at the walksite, such as rent a company tent, provide a catered lunch or have a company picnic. Find out what your team members can expect on the walk route, including length of the walk, where the walk goes, what to do during the walk, and what happens after the walk. Find out what amenities will be available at your walk site, such as food, beverages, entertainment, area for kids, post-walk festival area, etc. 22
Sample E-mail Messages Send out these e-mail messages to introduce yourself as team captain and encourage registration and fundraising. Ask your March of Dimes representative for state statistics. E-mail to recruit walkers Our company is participating in March of Dimes March for Babies to help improve the health of babies. Each year, more than half a million babies are born prematurely, and more than 120,000 babies are born with serious birth defects. Right here in (state), (number) are born too soon. That is why (company) is walking together for stronger, healthier babies. We have a lofty goal: $(amount). But I know we can pull this off. We need (number) walkers on the team. Can we count you in? Signing up and raising money online for March for Babies is easy. Visit marchforbabies.org/team/xxxxx and click join this team to get started. Our event takes place on (date) at (location). I know we ll have a great time. But first, there s work to be done. Let s show everyone how much (company) cares about babies! I m your team captain, so please contact me with any questions. E-mail to encourage fundraising Thank you for joining the team. I know you will make (company) and the babies in our community proud. Too many of them start life in newborn intensive care after they were born too soon or very sick. We can change that. Have you set up your fundraising page yet? This is fundraising made easy! You can import your address book and send out e-mails asking for support. And you can download fun widgets and badges to use in your e-mail signature or on your Facebook page. We have (number) weeks to go to March for Babies, and there s a lot of work to be done. We already raised $(amount) towards our $(amount) goal. If you have any questions, please contact me at. 23
E-mail to announce bank day How is your fundraising going? Remember, those dollars mean a lot to the families of babies born too soon or sick. And they will help give new babies a chance to get a healthy start. If you ve received any cash or check donations, mark your calendar! We re having a collection day on (date) between (time) and (time). Just stop by (location). I ve just checked, and as a team, we re now up to $(amount)! Our top fundraiser is (name), who raised $(amount) so far. Congratulations! If you have questions, or need anything else, please contact me at. E-mail with event details We re just a week away from March for Babies. Don t forget to mark your calendar: (date), (location). We re meeting at (time) for a group photo and to start the walk together. I ve attached the directions to the event. And, yes, that s my cell phone number at the top just in case you need to get a hold of me. I also wanted to give you an update. Right now, we re still $(amount) short of our goal of $(amount). So, send out those last-minute e-mails! Remember, every dollar you raise helps the March of Dimes improve the health of babies. Thank-you e-mail You raised money, you walked, and you showed just how much (company) cares about babies. We had a great time at March for Babies day and now have some great pictures to show for it. I ve attached my favorite team shot. I m happy to say we reached our goal! We raised $(amount) by walking together for stronger, healthier babies. I m proud of each and every one of you. Thank you so much! Let s do this again, only bigger, in 2012! 24
Sample Voice Messages Ask your CEO to record these voice messages to encourage registration and fundraising. The telecommunications department in your company can often blast them to all employees, specific locations or whatever you choose. You can personalize the messages to include information specific to your company. 5 weeks to go This is (name). Did you know our company is walking in March for Babies on (date)? We ve got a great cause to rally behind: helping babies in our community. Our goal is to raise $(amount) to help the March of Dimes prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. To do that we need (number) walkers on the team. Can I count you in? 4 weeks to go This is an urgent reminder from (name). (Company) is getting ready to walk in March for Babies on (date), but we need (number) more people on the team. With 4 weeks to go, there is still plenty of time to raise money and make a difference for our babies. Let s keep working toward our goal of $(amount)! 3 weeks to go Hi, this is (name) with an update on March for Babies. So far, we ve raised $(amount). Just imagine the good that money can do to protect the health of babies. But we have a way to go to reach our goal of $(amount). More money is urgently needed to help prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Keep up the good work! 2 weeks to go (Name) here, for March for Babies. We re just 2 weeks away from the big event. Mark your calendar: (date), (location). We re (amount) short of our goal of $(amount). Every dollar you raise helps protect the health of babies. Make (company) proud! 1 week to go This is (name). We have 1 week to go to March for Babies! So, send out those last reminders to your family and friends. We raised (amount) and I know we can reach $(amount). Let s show everyone how much (company) cares about our babies! 25
Sample CEO Letters Letter to recruit co-captains Ask your CEO to send this letter as a memo to all department heads, asking them to appoint their captains. Our company is participating in March for Babies again this year to help the babies in our community. Each year, more than half a million babies are born prematurely, and more than 120,000 babies are born with serious birth defects. In (state), (number) are born too soon. That s why (company) is walking together for stronger, healthier babies. Our event will take place on (day), (date). I ve asked (executive champion) to lead the charge for our company. (He/She) has recruited (your name) as our team captain to assist (him/her) with all of the details of the campaign. And I need your help: Appoint one or more captains to lead the charge for your department. (Executive champion) and (your name) will work with you to set a department goal. We are encouraging each participant to raise a minimum of $200. We had (number) people who raised more than $1,000 last year! Support your captains by offering them the resources they need. Invite them to update the team during each staff meeting. Provide incentives for people to raise money, and lead by example. On March for Babies day, we will all walk together as a big team. We re having a team captain training on (day), so appoint your captains before then. With (executive champion) and (your name) s leadership and your full support, I am confident we can exceed our goal of $(amount) to support the March of Dimes. Let s show everyone how much (company) cares about babies! 26
Challenge letter Ask your CEO to sign this letter to send to other local businesses participating in March for Babies. Ask your March of Dimes representative for state statistics. Personalize the letter and print on your company letterhead. A little friendly competition can go a long way to inspiring people to do their best. My challenge for March for Babies is to see which company s employees can raise the most to help babies in (chapter). Each of our companies has about the same number of employees. I feel confident that my people are up to the challenge and will surpass whatever your employees raise. The executive team of the company that raises more will be hosted by the executive team that comes in second for a (steak cookout/barbecue/etc.). We are prepared to gloat at this event. The truth is that no matter who raises more, the real winner will be the (number) babies born each year in (state). This is our opportunity to help the March of Dimes protect the health of babies. Let the games begin. We ll see if you are up for a little challenge! 27
Letter to vendors Have your CEO or CFO send this letter to your vendors and business associates, asking them to support your team with a donation. You also may customize the letter to request in-kind donations or sponsorship. Print on your company letterhead. Dear (name): On (date), 2011, our company will be walking in March of Dimes March for Babies to protect the health of babies. The money we raise will support March of Dimes programs, right here in (community), that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the serious problems that threaten our babies, like premature birth. Affecting more than half a million babies in our country each year, premature birth is the #1 cause of newborn death. (Company) wants to do something about this. We ve set a team goal of $(goal). We ask that (vendor company name) support our efforts with a contribution of $(specify generous amount) to help end this national health crisis. Your support would mean a lot. Please join us in walking together for stronger, healthier babies. You can support us by visiting marchforbabies.org/team/xxxxx and making a donation or joining our team. If you have any questions, please call me at (phone number). 28