Find an event n e a r y o u ! A p r i l 9 : I o w a C i t y Family Team Captain Kit March for Babies 2016 So what are your next steps? A p r i l 2 3 : Thank you for 1. Add pictures and personalize your team page, as Cedar Valley well as your individual page. Set your team goal, D u b u q u e leading your team! and your personal goal too! S i o u x C i t y 2. Make a donation to your own page first– then ask others to match it! 3. Open up your email address book, and send your A p r i l 2 4 : link to everyone you know! Ask them to join you on your team, or to make a donation. Share your rea- Cedar Rapids sons for participating. 4. Use old-fashioned mail to get the word out! A p r i l 3 0 : 5. Reach out to your local staff to ask questions or get supplies. Q u a d C i ti e s 6. Post your Online Fundraising Link on your email signature, and your Facebook page. M a y 7 : 7. Help your team set their personal goals. D e s M o i n e s 8. Recruit and follow up on your team and donors. 9. Send weekly updates to your team members via email or FB. Highlight top fundraisers from your team. 10. Tell your donors and team members thank you! I n s i d e : Mission Boards 2 Managing Your 2 Family Team From Polio To Prematurity– The March of Dimes History It was his personal experience with polio that inspired President Franklin Roosevelt to found the March of Social Networking 2 Dimes in 1938 to defeat the crippling disease. Success came in the form of a vaccine, and there has not Goal Setting 3 been a single outbreak of polio in our country in more than 30 years. Family Team T- 3 For the March of Dimes, the polio vaccine was only the beginning. In the decades to follow, we helped to Shirts stamp out rubella, pushed for regionalized newborn intensive care, funded the development of surfactant therapy and other lifesaving treatments, promoted folic acid to prevent neural tube defects and brought Other Fundraising 3 newborn screening to every baby. Contact Us 4 From schoolchildren to scientists, from presidents to parent, from celebrities to citizens, everyone has made a difference. Your support today helps us continue cutting-edge research to determine the causes of birth 9o]]]]]]/;’.[ defects and premature birth. Let’s work together for stronger, healthier babies! Tools for fundraisers! Congratulations to the The most successful fundraisers use a combination of all the five channels below. 2015 Iowa Top 10 Family 1. Online! Join your team at marchforbabies.org and use the online tools to send emails, follow-up messages and thank yous. Keep track of your donations in real time with the March for Babies Teams! app for your iPhone or Android device. 1. Ian and McKenna’s 2. Social Media! Reach out to your Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and LinkedIn connections for Team $26,472 support and for help spreading the word. Another smart strategy: thank donors by tagging them publicly on social media. It’s the right thing to do, and a great reminder to those who haven’t donated yet. (Cedar Rapids) 3. In person! Not everyone reads email. You may have more success asking for donations from local mer- 2. Ella’s Crew $18,855 chants and service providers in person! Get your children involved too! Most people are happy to donate to kids! (Iowa City) 4. Letters! A letter shows you’ve made an effort and also serves as a physical reminder. Ask for a check 3. Blum Twins $14,513 donation (made out to the March of Dimes) when reaching out to people who may not be comfortable making an online donation. (Dubuque) 5. Family Team Sponsorships! Be sure to include those that you routinely do business with. Ask them to 4. SuperSpencer $13,648 support a great cause and help your team achieve its fundraising goal. (Des Moines) 6. Matching gifts! Many companies will match donations given to the March of Dimes by employees. Check with your donors to see if their company offers matching gifts. 5. Team Kamps^3 $13,146 (Des Moines) 6. Alexander Stopulos Managing Your Family Team $12,515 (Quad Cities) As the Team Captain, you support and encourage- have one. Plan plenty of 7. Team Amelia Boxleiter are responsible for man- ment to your team mem- time to order them! $11,187 (Dubuque) aging your Family Team. bers. What does this mean? It *Sharing essential details 8. Miracle Monsters may include things like: *Collecting donations with your walkers– infor- $11,100 (Des Moines) from your team mem- mation on where to park, *Helping your team mem- bers to turn in at Bank where to meet, and what 9. Team Elliott bers get registered for Day– and picking up and to wear! $10,583 (Dubuque) your event, and answer distributing any incen- questions about setting up tives that they may have *Making sure you send out thank you notes and pic- 10. Team Gavin Pote their online fundraising earned. tures to your team mem- $10,144 (Des Moines) tool. *Organizing and ordering bers and for donations *Setting a team goal, your own Family Team T after March for Babies is while helping to provide -shirts, if you choose to concluded. *WATCH for more specific Mission Boards details coming in the newsletters! Our Family Team Mission Boards Your Mission Board could include:Your Mission Board could are designed to celebrate ALL include: families– those with healthy *child or children’s name/s *child or children’s name babies, as well as those affected *Weeks early or weeks gestation by the March of Dimes Mission– *Weeks gestation or weeks with a baby born prematurely, *weight or length born early (i.e.: 30 weeks or with a birth defect, or to honor a 10 weeks early) child lost. *days in the NICU *weight and length These boards will be displayed in *any complications or surgeries *days in the NICU All-Star Avenue or the Avenue of *passing date (if applicable) Angels to celebrate our families *any complications or surgeries and honor our children. *a “then” and “now” picture Who’s on your Be your BEST for Babies! list? All Family Teams participate for Consider: Recruiting Walkers! many different reasons. While When you brain- *Recruiting the number of walk- Try to have each of your team we may vary in size, and have storm a list of ers to match the number of days members set a goal of raising different personal reasons for family, friends, walking, there is a common a baby was in the NICU $100 and earning a t-shirt. Get and contacts to bond– the hope that one day 10 walkers, and you are at *Setting a dollar goal to repre- every baby will be born healthy! $1000– way to go!! send your team sent baby’s birth weight ($2,000 link, email, or for 2 lbs) Set an obtainable and meaning- fundraising letter ful goal for your team that re- *Setting a dollar goal around to– remember, it flects special meaning. Make Need supplies? child’s birthday ($925 for Sept. your goal realistic, and don't doesn’t hurt to 25th) be afraid to extend your goal if Your local office is glad to ASK everyone! provide the following: you get close! You can set goals *Setting a goal to represent the for the number of walkers, or Employer number of days, hours, or *Sponsor forms and buttons the amount that you want to minutes that your baby lived Clients raise as a team. Share your goal *Posters and Cutouts Aunts & Uncles with your team members, and *Setting a goal to represent a College Friends help them reach their own goals healthy birth (9 walkers for 9 *Coin collection banks Co-Workers too! months!) Doctor & Dentist Hair Stylist Family Team T-Shirts Insurance Agent 2016 Parents Shirts! Cousins Former Teachers Grandparents Many family teams decide to have Siblings matching shirts designed to wear the day of their March for Babies event. CPA You could contact local a business, or Neighbors work with EAGraphics, a National March Facebook Friends of Dimes Supplier. They have templates Preschool that you can customize, or choose to personalize the National T-shirt. Daycare No matter which shirt you choose, National Family Team T-shirts can be personalized for a small fee. allow plenty of TIME! Contact EAGraphics at 1-800-343-6983 for more details. Visit: www.eagraphics.com/march_of_dimes for pictures and order forms. Other Fundraising Ideas Get creative! Don’t forget there are many other things that you can do to help boost your Team’s Fundraising Total! *Host a cookout, hold a chili cook-off, or sell donated pizza by the slice over your lunch hour *Host your own auction full of donated gift certificates and unique gift items *Host a Blue Jeans for Babies Day at your work *Bake Sale for Babies *Host a Poker, Bunco, Rummy, Monopoly, or Go-Fish night with your neighbors. $5.00 buy in! *Want to sell Cookie Dough? Contact your local office for more details! *Wait tables at a local restaurant or bar and donate all your tips to your team Counting Dimes: Basil O’Connor *March (for Babies) Madness– Sell tourney brackets and get donated prizes (President, National Foundation for Infan- *Host a can and bottle drive! *Host a Dinner/Cocktail/Wine and Cheese Party! tile Paralysis) and President FDR, counting *Change-purse clean out *Contact an Independent Consultant and host a party dimes at the White House.