We re in it until Alzheimer s is finished. Team Captain Kit

Transcription

1 We re in it until Alzheimer s is finished. Team Captain Kit 1

2 Table of Contents Welcome 3 Build Your Team 4 Plan Your Team Activity 5 Ask for Donations 7 Your Participant Center 11 Connect with The Longest Day Online 20 The Longest Day Event Day 21 FAQ 22 Additional Help 27

3 Welcome Welcome! Thank you for committing to lead a team for this very special event. The Longest Day is a sunrise-to-sunset relay event to raise funds to fuel the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer s Association. Held on June 20, 2012, the longest day of the year, this event challenges you and your team to push your physical limits for approximately 16 hours of consecutive endurance activities such as biking, running or walking. It is one day to honor the passion, dedication and strength people with Alzheimer s and their caregivers display every day. This Team Captain Kit is designed to help you plan your Longest Day, build your team and raise funds. Take a few moments to read through this guide and contact us at , option 2, or tld@alz.org if you have any questions. Your next steps: 1. Log in at alz.org/longestday to go to your Longest Day Participant Center. 2. Update your team page with your story and a photo. The more personal you make your page, the more you will inspire people to join your team and inspire donors to give. 3. Send out s to everyone in your address book. Ask for your first donation today. Thank you again for joining The Longest Day and for supporting the Alzheimer s Association. We re excited to have you on board for the inaugural year of this unique event! Sincerely, The Longest Day Coaching & Support Team 3

4 Build Your Team Your team can be as large or as small as you want to make it as long as you have at least one team member in motion for the duration of the event. We suggest a team of 8-10 participants, so that small groups or pairs can participate in relay activities throughout the day. Who are your team members? Family, friends, neighbors, work colleagues, classmates, community members anyone you know! Three easy ways to recruit team members: 1. Send s from your Participant Center to ask people to join your team. These s will automatically include a link to your team page. 2. Put up a The Longest Day poster in your workplace, school, house of worship or community center. Don t forget to add your contact info to the poster! 3. Asking people in person is the most effective way to get someone to commit on the spot. Pass out your The Longest Day business cards. (You can print these from your Participant Center.) Register team members Ask all of your new team members to register at alz.org/longestday. Make sure they know your team name (and team password, if you created one), so they can select it after choosing Join a Team on the online registration form. Inspire your team to fundraise Send regular updates to your team members to keep their fundraising on track. Share your own fundraising ideas and personal fundraising progress to help motivate and inspire them. You can send s from your Participant Center to easily communicate with all of your team at once. See page for instructions. Encourage your team members to share their reasons for participating with each other, to strengthen your commitment to each other and to the cause. 4

5 Plan Your Team Activity The Longest Day is a sunrise-to-sunset relay event. What type of event it becomes is up to you and your team! The activity you select is up to you and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination - the only rule is that your team must stay in motion for 16 hours, from sunrise to sunset. Select an Activity Push your limits and make it meaningful. Go the distance. Our goal is to honor the passion, dedication and strength displayed by people with Alzheimer s and their caregivers every day. So keep those words in mind when planning your activity passion, dedication and strength. Ideas: Bicycle relay Running Hiking/climbing Dance marathon Tennis tournament Swimming Basketball game Soccer game Softball tournament Golf Skateboarding/Skating/Rollerblading Walking Spinning Build-your-own Triathlon The Longest Workout combine weights, zumba, treadmill, etc. at the gym During The Longest Day Year Zero experiment last year, Alzheimer s Association staff tested different activities in a sunrise-to-sunset relay style. Many participants selected activities that were meaningful or representative of the person they were honoring. While walking, I thought of the monumental struggle many caregivers face. Specifically, I thought of my mother, as she cared for my grandmother as she faded slowly and agonizingly into confusion, pain and death. Every time I thought of her struggle, I could do nothing but thrust my arms as high as they would stretch, and hold the weights above my head for as long as I could. Rudy I am now my mom s caregiver, and caregiving is an awful lot like running. You have to be present in the mile you re in but also anticipate what the next mile might be like. You have to pace yourself because the race is pretty darned long. And, you can t allow yourself to get down if you have a bad mile, because the race is 90% mental. Irene Register your activity As you and your team decide what your activity will be, join the conversation on The Longest Day Facebook page at Share your ideas with The Longest Day community! 5

6 Build a relay At least one member of your team should be pushing their physical limits in some sort of activity during all 16 daylight hours. You can have your entire team active together for all 16 hours, or have small groups of team members or individuals active in multi-hour stretches, creating a virtual relay. Not everyone has to do the same activity. One team member may want to run, while another wants to bike or swim. Perhaps a group of your team members wants to play a sport together. Get your team together when you pick your activity and assign each team member to a leg of the relay. For example: 5:40 a.m. 9:40 a.m. Michelle, Molly and Ben run 9:40 a.m. 1:40 p.m. Team soccer game in the park 1:40 p.m. 5:40 p.m. Jeff and Susan bike 5:40 p.m. 8:10 p.m. Therese and Mike lead a stair climb at the office 8:10 p.m. Team gathers for Sunset Celebration You can find the sunrise/sunset schedule for your local area at I m excited to stretch my legs as I explore the nation s capital and reinvigorate my passion for fighting Alzheimer s disease, the sixth- leading cause of death in the U.S. I work at the Alzheimer s Association because this disease took my grandmother when I was in high school, and I ll be thinking of her today. Erin I m riding my bike as part of the Longest Day to the former home of George Washington Mt. Vernon. Our first president once said, Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. I think all too often in this country we make excuses for why we can t solve the Alzheimer s crisis. For me, that ends today. Brendan 6

7 Ask for Donations The purpose of The Longest Day is to raise funds to fuel the mission of the Alzheimer s Association, the world s largest voluntary health organization in Alzheimer s care, support and research. It s your team s fundraising efforts that will make this event a success. How your fundraising dollars make a difference: 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer s disease. One in eight older Americans has Alzheimer s disease. Alzheimer s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top ten in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. It kills more Americans than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. More than 15 million Americans provide unpaid care valued at $210 billion for persons with Alzheimer s and other dementias. Payments for care are estimated to be $200 billion in the United States in The Alzheimer s Association advances the understanding of Alzheimer s through their peerreviewed research grant program, which has awarded more than $279 million to 1,900 scientists since The Alzheimer s Association 24/7 Helpline ( ) offers information and advice to more than 250,000 callers each year. The Alzheimer s Association runs more than 4,500 support groups throughout the country and delivers 20,000 education programs annually. Set your team goal We recommend that each team member raise at least $100 per hour, with a suggested fundraising minimum of $400. Just as we encourage you to push your physical limits on The Longest Day, we also encourage you to go the distance in your fundraising efforts. Set your team goal in your Participant Center for $1,600 or more, and urge your team members to raise at least $400 each. 7

8 Fundraising honors Individuals $1,600 All-Day Hero. One person raising at least $100 dollars for every hour of daylight during The Longest Day to honor those living with Alzheimer s and their caregivers. An All-Day Hero is someone who goes the distance as an individual or rallies a community, company or organization to raise critical funds in the fight against Alzheimer s. The individual does not have to participate for the full 16 hours to qualify; status is purely based on total funds raised by one person. All-Day Heroes will be listed on the official The Longest Day website. $5,000 Unrelenting Hero. Whether in honor of one person or the more than 5 million individuals in the U.S. living with Alzheimer s today, make a commitment to be in it until Alzheimer s is finished. Unrelenting Heroes are committed to achieving outstanding fundraising in order to support the Alzheimer s Association in their effort to advance critical research and provide care and support to those facing Alzheimer s disease. Unrelenting Heroes will be listed on the official website, receive an inaugural Longest Day token of appreciation and access to one Alzheimer s Association webinar to learn about the latest Alzheimer s news and programs. Teams $10,000 Team of Heroes. In honor of a friend, family member or the 10 million baby boomers who will develop Alzheimer s, a Team of Heroes will not yield to Alzheimer s. Together, raise $10,000 to show that you re in it until Alzheimer s is finished and to help the Alzheimer s Association move toward a vision of a world without Alzheimer s. A Team of Heroes will be listed on the official event website and will receive four free registrations for The Longest Day in 2013! Team fundraising vs. individual fundraising You can collect donations in your individual fundraising account as well as your team account. Once donations are processed, they can t be moved from one account to another, so make sure you clearly direct your donors to either your team fundraising page or your individual fundraising page, depending on where you wish the donation to go. Individual fundraising honors will be awarded based on the total fundraising amount in your individual account only. Team fundraising honors will be awarded based on the total amount of the individual accounts of all team members, plus the funds in the team account. 8

9 How to ask The number one reason why people give is simply because they were asked. Thus, the Golden Rule of Fundraising is just as simple: You raise money when you ask for it. So ask everyone you know. ASK personally o Share your own story, not just statistics. Connect with your donors through your personal relationship with them. ASK everyone o And we mean everyone! Your neighbors, doctor, barista, grocery store clerk, colleagues, clients, hair dresser everyone you see or contact. ASK big o If you ask someone for $10, you won t get more than $10. But if you ask someone for $100, you might get $100. You might get less than what you ask for, but you are unlikely to get more. ASK confidently o You are not asking for money for yourself; you re asking for funds to battle a deadly disease and to support millions of caregivers. How to ask in 5 easy steps 1. Identify the need you are trying to address. Example: 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer s disease. 2. Explain why it is important to you. Example: My grandmother is one of those 5.4 million people. Every day, I watch my mother put all of her time and devotion into caring for her. It s a tough job. 3. Share what you are doing about it. Example: I am participating in The Longest Day on June 20 to help raise funds to fuel the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer s Association. 4. Ask your donor to take a specific action. Example: Will you make a $50 donation to the Alzheimer s Association, in support of the five hours I ll be spending on my bike as part of The Longest Day? 5. Stop talking and let your donor answer. 9

10 Five easy steps to get your first donation fast! Now that you know how to ask for a donation, you can get started today. The sooner you begin, the more money you ll be able to raise. 1. Personalize your fundraising page with a photo and your personal story about why you joined this event. 2. Make a list of everyone in your address book, club/church directories, team/class rosters, neighbors, fraternal/alumni groups, local businesses, etc. Don t hold back or leave anyone off the list. 3. Send s to all of your contacts. Include your fundraising goal and a personal story about why you joined this event. Any s sent from your Participant Center will automatically include a link to your fundraising page. 4. Utilize social media channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, message boards) to advertise your participation in the event and encourage others to support you with a donation. Refer to our Social Media Guide in your Participant Center for fun and exciting messages you can post on your Facebook page and tweet! 5. Use the resources provided in your Participant Center posters, business cards, even a collection jar wrapper template to collect donations in your workplace. Don t forget! Follow up Thank your donors Ask your donors if their employer has a matching gift program 10

11 We re in it until Alzheimer s is finished. Your Participant Center Log in to your Participant Center from the home page of alz.org/longestday. Your Participant Center home page gives you a snapshot of your fundraising progress and some next steps. On the page of your Participant Center, you can compose a message to potential donors or teammates. If you don t know where to start, click the Use a Template link and select one of our suggested message templates as a starting point. Select the Contacts link from the page to import your address book or add contacts one at a time. 11

12 We re in it until Alzheimer s is finished. On the Progress page of your Participant Center, you can view your fundraising progress on a graph and see a list of all of your donations. In the Personal Page area in your Participant Center, you can customize your personal fundraising page, which is the page all potential donors will see before they make an online donation. You can replace our standard text with a new headline and customize the text with your own reasons for participating in this event. From the Photos/Videos link on the Personal Page area, you can add a photo or a YouTube video to your personal fundraising page. 12

13 From the URL Settings link in the Personal Page area, you can create a personalized URL for your page. From the View Personal Page link, you can see what your personal page looks like to your donors. 13

14 How to Change your fundraising goal Click the Change link next to My Goal in the progress bar at the top of your Participant Center home page. A pop-up window will then prompt you to edit your goal. Add contacts to your Address Book From the Send page, select Contacts from the sub menu (or from the Participant Center home page, select Add Contacts from the sub menu). Then select Add Single Contact from the menu on the right hand side. This will open a box to insert the name and address of the contact you wish to add to your address book. Alternately, if you enter addresses during the process of sending an (see Send an , below) they will automatically be added to your address book. Import contacts from another address book From the Send page, select Contacts from the sub menu (or from the Participant Center home page, select Add Contacts from the sub menu). Then select Import Contacts from the menu on the right hand side. Select the source you are importing from Gmail, Yahoo or a.csv file from another provider such as Hotmail, Outlook, AOL, Apple, etc. Click next and you will be walked through the steps to retrieve your contacts. Select which contacts you would like to add (you may choose all of them, or check which ones to import) and then click Next to add them to your Longest Day address book. Add contacts to groups From the Send page, select Contacts from the sub menu (or from the Participant Center home page, select Add Contacts from the sub menu). Check the box next to the contact you would like to add to a group (or choose the Select All link at the bottom of the page). Then click the Add to Group link at the top. You can add the contacts to a group you ve already created, or select Create a New Group. This will allow you to group your contacts together so you can communicate with them accordingly. Some groupings are automatically created for you (such as donors or teammates). Others you can create yourself (such as family, neighbors, work colleagues, etc.) Filter contacts by status From the Send page, select Contacts from the sub menu (or from the Participant Center home page, select Add Contacts from the sub menu). Then select the Groups tab to view the list of all groups. Click on the name of a group to see all of the members of that group. If you would like to send an to this group, check the box next to the name of the group, then select the Compose link on the right to begin composing your . 14

15 How to See who has donated From the Send page, select Contacts from the sub menu (or from the Participant Center home page, select Add Contacts from the sub menu). Then select the Groups tab to view the list of all groups. Click on the name of the Donors group to see all of your current donors. If you would like to send an to this group, check the box next to the name of the group, then select the Compose link on the right to begin composing your . See who needs a follow-up From the Send page, select Contacts from the sub menu (or from the Participant Center home page, select Add Contacts from the sub menu). Then select the Groups tab to view the list of all groups. Click on the name of the Need Follow-Up group to see all of your current donors. If you would like to send an to this group, check the box next to the name of the group, then select the Compose link on the right to begin composing your . See who needs a thank-you From the Send page, select Contacts from the sub menu (or from the Participant Center home page, select Add Contacts from the sub menu). Then select the Groups tab to view the list of all groups. Click on the name of the Unthanked Donors group to see all of your current donors. If you would like to send an to this group, check the box next to the name of the group, then select the Compose link on the right to begin composing your . Draft an from scratch From the Send page, select Compose from the sub menu. Simply type your subject line and text into the Body area. Note that the system will log you out after 20 minutes, so click the Save as Draft link often. When you are finished writing your , you can choose to Save as Draft, Save as Template or Send. After composing an you can either manually enter the address(es) in the To: field, or click the Choose From Your Contacts link under the To: field. This will bring up the Contacts window. You can either select the Individuals tab and check the box next to the names you want to include in the receiver list for your , or select the Groups tab, and check the box next to the groups you want to include. After selecting the recipients for your , click the Compose Message link at the top to get back to your content. 15

16 How to Draft an using a suggested template From the Send page, select Compose from the sub menu. Click on the Use a Template link under the subject line, and select one of our suggested messages from the link. If you draft your own and choose the Save as Template link, your templates will also appear in the list of Your Saved Messages Templates. After the subject line and body text from the template populate, please edit it to personalize it with your own information. When you are finished writing your , you can choose to Save as Draft, Save as Template, or Send. After composing an you can either manually enter the address(es) in the To: field, or click the Choose From Your Contacts link under the To: field. This will bring up the Contacts window. You can either select the Individuals tab, and check the box next to the names you want to include in the receiver list for your , or select the Groups tab, and check the box next to the groups you want to include. After selecting the recipients for your , click the Compose Message link at the top to get back to your content. Save an as a draft From the Send page, select Compose from the sub menu. Simply type your subject line and text into the Body area. Note that the system will log you out after 20 minutes, so click the Save as Draft link at the top of the page often. To return to this draft, select the Drafts link in the Send sub menu on the right hand side. Save an to use as a template in the future From the Send page, select Compose from the sub menu. Simply type your subject line and text into the Body area. Click the Save as Template link at the top of the page. To return to this template the next time you compose an , click the Use a Template link under the subject line and look for your in the list of Saved Message Templates. Click the trash can icon next to any of your saved messages templates to delete it. Send an After composing an (see instructions above) you can either manually enter the address(es) in the To: field, or click the Choose From Your Contacts link under the To: field. This will bring up the Contacts window. You can either select the Individuals tab and check the box next to the names you want to include in the receiver list for your , or select the Groups taband check the box next to the groups you want to include. After selecting the recipients for your , click the Compose Message link at the top to get back to your content. 16

17 How to View sent s From the Send page, select the Send link in the sub menu on the right hand side. It will list your sent s, including information about Recipients, Subject and Date sent. Click on the Subject line or Date sent to view the content of the . If you feel like your list of Sent s is too long to be manageable, you can click the trash can icon next to any sent to delete it. View fundraising progress From the Participant Center home page, you can see the total amount of money you have raised, and the percent of your goal you have raised. Visit the Progress page to see a chart of when and how your fundraising has progressed. The Progress page also lists all of your donations in a table with the donor, amount, any personal note for the donor and the date of the donation. If there is an envelope icon in the Actions column, you can select that to send a thank you to that donor. If you wish to save a spreadsheet of all donations, select the Download Personal Donation List link at the top of the Donation History table. Print a donor receipt On the Progress page, scroll down to your Donations History table. In the amount column, click the Receipt link next to any online donation to open a receipt in PDF format that you may save or print. A receipt link will not appear if the donation was made by mail. Read private message from donors On the Progress page, scroll down to your Donations History table. In the Notes column, if a donor wrote a private message to you while making a donation, you will see it here. Stop (or start) getting notifications of donations On the Progress page, scroll down to the Donations History area and look for the Gift Notifications On / Off link. This is where you can select to start or stop receiving an notification every time you receive a donation. Change your team s fundraising goal On the Progress page, select the Team link from the sub menu on the right hand side. In the pink progress bar, where you see your team s fundraising progress, click the Change link next to Team Goal. Track your team s fundraising progress On the Progress page, select the Team link from the sub menu on the right hand side. 17

18 How to Change the content on your Personal Page In the Personal Page area, select Content from the sub menu on the right hand side. You can edit the page title and body content. Note that the system will log you out after 20 minutes, so click the Save As link often. You can use the icons in the text body editing area to change your font, font size, bold or underline your text or include bullet points or a numbered list. There is also a spell check option. When you are finished writing, don t forget to Save. Change the photo on your Personal Page In the Personal Page area, select Photos/Video from the sub menu on the right hand side. Select Photos (you cannot have both Photos and Video). You may wish to save the photo that is currently there on your computer, because once you remove it or replace it, you will no longer be able to access it. Then click the Browse button to find the photo file on your computer. Then click Save/Upload. If you wish, you may add a Caption under the photo, then click Save/Upload to save your caption. Add a video to your Personal Page In the Personal Page area, select Photos/Video from the sub menu on the right hand side. Select Video (you cannot have both Video and Photos). Then enter the YouTube URL of your video. Hosting a video on YouTube is the only way to add a video to your personal page. Select Save. Add a blog to your Personal Page In the Personal Page area, select Components from the sub menu on the right hand side. Check the Enable Personal Blog box. Save. Then from the Personal Page link, look for your personal page URL at the top. Select this link and copy and paste it into a new browser window to view it as the public sees it. From that view, you can select the Post a New Topic link and add an entry to your blog. View your Team Page as it looks to the public In the Team Page area, click the View My Team Page link at the top. 18

19 How to Change the content on your Team Page In the Team Page area, simply type or paste your text to the Body box. Remember that the system will log you out after 20 minutes, so click the Save As link often. You can use the icons in the text body editing area to change your font, font size, bold or underline your text or include bullet points or a numbered list. There is also a spell check option. When you are finished writing, don t forget to Save. Change the photo on your Team Page In the Team Page area, scroll down to the Photo section. Then click the Browse button to find the photo file on your computer. Then click Save/Upload. If you wish, you may add a Caption under the photo, then click Save/Upload to save your caption. Change your team s name In the Team Page area, look for the Team Name / Password section and click the Edit link. Make your changes and save. Change your team password In the Team Page area, look for the Team Name/Password section and click the Edit link. Make your changes and save. View your team roster From the Participant Center Home Page, select the View Team Roster link in the sub-menu on the right hand side. You can use the links on the right hand side to download your team roster and team statistics, if you wish. Send a message to your team From the Participant Center Home Page, select the Team link in the sub-menu on the right hand side. This will populate an template with your team members in the recipient list. Other fundraising resources In your Participant Center, you can find other resources you can use to boost your fundraising: Posters Business cards Collection jar wrapper Social Media Guide 19

20 Connect with The Longest Day Online Worldwide, more than 35 million people are living with Alzheimer s. In the United States alone, more than 5 million Americans have the disease and over 15 million are acting as their caregivers. When you participate in The Longest Day, you re not only taking a stand against Alzheimer s you re joining a global network of individuals determined to stop it. Facebook Like The Longest Day on Facebook and share your thoughts on the event. Meet other participants and exchange fundraising ideas and training tips. We ll update our wall regularly with the latest on The Longest Day. See our Social Media Guide (in your Participant Center) for suggested messages you can post on your own Facebook Page. Twitter on Twitter as we tweet the news of The Longest Day! Get updates as we hit fundraising and participant milestones. On June 20 event day tweet what you are doing to fight Alzheimer s using hashtags #longestday and #endalz. Check our Social Media Guide (in your Participant Center) for suggested messages you can tweet. YouTube Seen The Longest Day video yet? If not, watch it now and share it with your friends! It s a great tool to explain the event, recruit teammates or ask donors for their support. We will also ask participants to share short videos of their experience during The Longest Day. alz.org blog Our blog is a great place to follow the latest in Alzheimer s disease news. We feature guest bloggers from across all areas of the Alzheimer s community. On The Longest Day, we ll post blogs from The Longest Day participants across the country. Interested in sharing your personal story on our blog? Contact tld@alz.org. Mobile application We ve created a virtual social experience for participants to help promote awareness and raise funds during The Longest Day. This app will allow each participant the ability to display their journey through an interactive map for their friends, family and supporters to watch and support them along the way. The mobile app: Provides a fun, easy and innovative way to engage in a virtual experience Increases fundraising opportunities Provides a real-time progress update making it easy for supporters to follow Displays The Longest Day journey from sunrise to sunset through the virtual interactive map Provides a virtual community and connection between participant, team and supporters We will provide detailed instructions via to be sure you and your team know how to use the mobile app. 20

21 The Longest Day Event Day All of your fundraising and planning will culminate in one fantastic day Wednesday, June 20. Here s how to make that day exciting and successful for everyone on your team. Starting your day Watch your inbox for an from the Alzheimer s Association marking the official beginning of the day. Your Longest Day may begin a little later, depending on what time zone you re in. Connect with all of your team members in some way tweet, text or call if you re not together in person to let them know that your team s event has begun. Spend a moment connecting them back to the cause and share your stories about facing Alzheimer s. Organizing the relay If your team isn t going to be together during all 16 hours of the event, coordinate a hand-off of the relay, either in person or virtually through our smartphone application. Pick a hand-off location where you might ask other friends, family, coworkers or teammates to cheer the active participants on as they pass the baton! Holding a sunset celebration At the end of The Longest Day, bring all of your team members together to celebrate your accomplishments and commemorate the experience. If not all team members can attend, bring them in via Skype, IM or text to help everyone feel like they are part of the culmination. Take turns sharing stories about your personal connection to Alzheimer s as well as how your endurance activity helped you reflect on the passion, dedication and strength of the millions of people facing Alzheimer s. Each Team Captain will receive a sunset celebration packet in the participant kits sent in early June to help you with this activity. 21

22 FAQ What is The Longest Day? The Longest Day is a sunrise-to-sunset relay event to raise funds to fuel the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer s Association. Held on June 20, 2012, the longest day of the year, this event challenges participants to push their physical limits and complete approximately 16 hours of consecutive endurance activities such as biking, running or walking. It s one day to honor the passion, dedication and strength displayed by people with Alzheimer s and their caregivers every day When is The Longest Day? Wednesday, June 20, How long is The Longest Day? The event The Longest Day takes place during the summer solstice, or the longest day of the calendar year meaning the time between sunrise and sunset is at its maximum. The exact number of hours depends on your location, but typically lasts between 15 and 16 hours. How can people participate who work full-time during the week? This event does fall on a weekday. Here are a few recommendations for those who work full-time: Many employers provide additional paid time off for volunteer hours associated with supporting a non-profit organization. Form your team utilizing flexibility to accommodate team members schedules. Some team members can participate before or after work. Ask your employer to support a company team. Alzheimer s disease drastically impacts workplace productivity, so encourage your employer to support raising awareness and funds for this cause on The Longest Day! Is there a minimum age requirement to participate? There is not a minimum age to participate, but all participants under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian sign a participant waiver, and must be supervised by an adult during all activities throughout the actual event. Can those who live outside the U.S. participate? The longest day of the year occurs in the northern hemisphere. Because it is a virtual event with ultimate flexibility, we invite anyone in or outside of the U.S. in the northern hemisphere to join us. 22

23 What do you consider to be an endurance activity? Biking, walking and running all fall into the endurance category, but you can do anything that truly challenges you and pushes your physical limits. This shouldn t be easy. We want each activity to represent the ongoing challenges faced by those living with Alzheimer s and their caregivers. See page 5 for a list of activity ideas. How long do I need to do an activity? Your team must be in constant motion all day approximately 16 hours. You can break that down any way you d like based on the number of people on your team. Because this event is about endurance, we encourage team members to plan to participate in some activity for a minimum of 3-4 hours of the day. How many team members do I need? This event allows you and your team to participate with ultimate flexibility. When determining the size of your team, keep in mind that you ll need to have someone in motion every minute of the day, recruit enough people to cover approximately 16 hours. Also consider whether or not you and your team members want to participate alone or with someone else. For example, you could have one person who wants to bike for four hours alone and two people who want to pair up and walk together for four hours. That will help you decide on your team size. You can organize the day in a way that best meets the needs of the event and your teammates. Where can I do the event? You can choose your location and route(s). At the very least, you ll want to determine a handoff location where your team can gather to cheer each other on and pass the baton to the next relay member(s). Safety is our first priority, so please make it top of mind when choosing locations/routes for all activities. Note: the Alzheimer s Association will not provide insurance for event location permits. Is there a registration fee? Each participant is asked to pay a commitment fee of $54 to represent the 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer s. Participants will receive a kit with a T-shirt, tools and information for planning, and awareness materials to promote their involvement. Additionally, every participant will have access to robust social media tools, including a new app that allows you to follow your teammates and create virtual hand-offs. The app also allows friends and family to track your progress during The Longest Day. 23

24 Do I have to raise money to participate in the event? We ask each team member to raise a minimum of $100/hour for each hour of participation (suggested minimum $400). We encourage you to challenge yourself and set a goal that represents the physical commitment that you are making. Each team is asked to raise a minimum of $1,600. What if I can t raise money? What kind of support will you provide? We know that the idea of asking people for money can be scary, especially if you haven t done it before. Most people are pleasantly surprised at the response they receive when asking friends and family for donations. We will provide each team with proven tools to make fundraising easy, including this Team Captain Kit, an online Participant Center, Social Media Guide, business cards, posters and collection jar wrapper templates. You can get personalized advice from our friendly, experienced fundraising coaches at , option 2, or tld@alz.org. In this inaugural year of The Longest Day, we will not require participants to raise the fundraising minimum in order to participate in the event, but we strongly encourage it and will support you and help you meet and exceed your fundraising goals. Where does the money go? Funds raised go to further the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer s Association. To learn more about the Association and its work on a local and national level, visit alz.org. How do I get my team members registered? Go to alz.org/longestday and complete the form to register. You will be guided through the registration process. Once your transaction is complete, you will receive a confirmation receipt. Once you re signed up, you can start fundraising right away using the s and personal fundraising page found in your online Participant Center. Let your friends and family know what you re doing and ask for their support. Next, you ll select an activity and work with your team to map out a course. The Alzheimer s Association coaches can help you plan, provide fundraising support and connect you to a virtual community of other participants. You can get personalized advice from our friendly, experienced fundraising coaches at , option 2, or tld@alz.org. 24

25 What do you mean by a virtual community? You and your team will have many opportunities to connect with others through our social networking platforms. See page 19 for more details about how to connect with The Longest Day online. What do we do at the end of the 16 hours? We encourage every team to gather together at sunset to celebrate your accomplishments and spend a moment honoring those with Alzheimer s and their caregivers. The Alzheimer s Association will provide a special package with each team kit to help you organize this celebration. How can I get my company involved? There are three easy ways to get involved in The Longest Day! 1. Company Promotional Toolkit 2. The Longest Day Community/Company Teams 3. Corporate Sponsorship For more information, please tld@alz.org. What can I do to make sure my team is safe while participating? Choose routes that are visible to the public, like bike routes, running paths and parks maintained by local government. Make sure that if you are participating close to sunrise or sunset you are wearing reflective athletic gear and/or a light. In addition, consider participating with a teammate for safety and fun! During the heat of the day, make sure to apply sunscreen. Collaborate with your teammates beforehand to set up water and refreshment stops along your route. Or, create a route that will take you by public water fountains or convenience stores for a break. If I can t participate in the event, what happens to the donations that I have raised? All donations submitted to the Alzheimer s Association are non-transferable and non-refundable. That means that once a donation is posted to a participant s account it cannot be moved to another participant s account for any reason, regardless of whether or not you re able to participate in the event. Additionally, donations cannot be refunded. Your donations will go directly to the cause as if you had participated, and we hope your donors will appreciate supporting the Alzheimer s Association regardless of your participation in the actual event. Funds raised go to further the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer s Association. To learn more about the Association and its work on a local and national level, visit alz.org. 25

26 Can donors make a donation via mail? In your online Participant Center, you will find a link to print a personalized donation form. Donors can send this form in with a check to the address listed on the form. Where should I mail donation checks? All donation checks must be attached to a donation form and should be mailed to: Direct Mail Processors, Inc. Attn: Alzheimer s Association, The Longest Day 1150 Conrad Court Hagerstown, MD All donation checks must be accompanied by a donation form. Who should I make my check out to? Please make all checks payable to: Alzheimer s Association. Are donations tax-deductible? Yes. All monetary donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Are registration fees tax-deductible? No. Registration fees are not tax-deductible. What is a matching gift and how do I apply for one? Many companies offer employee matching gift programs. This means that when an employee makes a donation to a cause or nonprofit organization, the corporation will match that donation with an equal (or greater) amount to the same group. If a company has an online matching gift process, the donor must complete the matching gift process through the company s database. The donor should designate Alzheimer s Association as the recipient of the matching gift. The donor must note the name of the participant he or she is supporting on the form (e.g., Jane Doe, Longest Day). There is typically a line titled gift designation, purpose section or notes on the online matching gift form where this information may be provided. Providing this information is required for the appropriate participant to receive credit for the matching gift. 26

27 If a company has a paper matching gift process, the donor should obtain a matching gift form from their employer and complete the employee/donor section. Once the donor has completed his/her section of the matching gift form, he/she should write the participant s name in the upper right hand corner of the form, make a copy of the form for his/her personal records and mail the form along with a copy of their donation receipt to the following address: Direct Mail Processors, Inc. Attn: Alzheimer s Association, The Longest Day 1150 Conrad Court Hagerstown, MD It can take 5-6 weeks to process a matching gift request. Once the matching gift request has been processed, it will be posted on the My Progress page of the walker s Participant Center, under Donation History. The donation type will be listed as offline unconfirmed. At this point, the amount of the matching gift will count toward your fundraising total. To view the donor name associated with each matching gift, please visit the participant s personal fundraising webpage where matching gifts can be viewed on the scrolling honor roll. Additional Help Get personalized advice from our friendly, experienced fundraising coaches: , option 2 tld@alz.org 27