For Captains
As Team Captain, you will have the unique pleasure of guiding your team members through the Heart&Stroke Ride Run Walk experience from start to finish. Our Team Captains are a special bunch. They’re true leaders who fundraise above $1,200 on average. And their enthusiasm is infectious. They all find the experience rewarding, challenging, engaging, and enjoyable. If you aren’t already, be one of them!
Here are a few simple steps to success:
What you will want to consider, however, is the right size of team, the right mix of cyclists, runners and walkers, and the fundraising expectations for each individual.
Fundraise
Don't sweat. Fundraising is not as scary or as difficult as you may have heard. As Team Captain, you’ll lead your team with confidence as long as you follow our expert advice! There are a few tried-and-true formulas and techniques you can implement that will ensure fundraising success.
You can set a challenging goal while still being realistic about your team’s unique abilities. There's actually a science you can use to set just the right goal that will be inspiring, challenging, and rewarding when you complete it:
VIPs— recruit “heavy-hitters” who can fundraise $1000+
VIPs (Very Important Philanthropists) can be experienced fundraisers, people with strong networks, or people with a personal connection to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. They can really change the fundraising experience for the team. Strength in numbers — recruit a large team fundraisers. If your company can host a large team, go for it. Each team member represents a minimum of $100 in fundraising so you can estimate a baseline team goal by multiplying the number of team members by the fundraising expectation per person.
Suppliers and vendors are key — is a perfect opportunity for them to give back
If your company does regular business with any suppliers or vendors or, if your company is the long-term client of a firm or agency this is a perfect opportunity to ask them for a donation. They will see it as a valuable opportunity for relationship-building. Don’t leave this stone unturned; it’s the #1 Best Practice of our top fundraising teams!
Plan team events — they boost your team total, raise your profile, and build team spirit
Plan at least two group fundraising activities. They can be as simple as a bake sale, book sale, or jeans day. Or you can do something a little more exciting, like asking your CEO to participate in a challenge to drive fundraising. On average, team events raise about $200 per event.
Ask for a match — if you don’t ask, you don’t get
If your company does not match employee donations, ask for a corporate contribution to the team total. If you need any support for this request, such as a letter from the Foundation, please reach out to CorporateChallengeNL@heartandstroke.ca
Mix and match these five elements to create the fundraising goal that works best for your team. Be creative, driven, ambitious and ultimately realistic about what you can do together to raise money for critical research that prevents heart disease and stroke, saves lives, and supports survivors and their families.
Your team members will need to hear from you every once in awhile for encouragement, get important information, and occasionally be reminded about a deadline or fundraising minimum.
Plan your communications in advance so that you don’t have to suddenly fit it into your already busy schedule. Set a calendar reminder every four or five weeks or so until event day. Use these reminders to check in with your team members and their fundraising progress.
All this will boost your own profile as well. And who doesn’t enjoy recognition for their good deeds?