TEAM CAPTAIN AND CHURCH INFORMATION

Dear Team Leaders and Potential Team Leaders,

So, you’ve stepped up and are excited to be a part of the first ever Carolina Challenge?  It may seem daunting.  You have no idea how to convince people to join, where to get them from, and how to help them with fundraising.

Trust me.  I’ve been there before.  I know exactly how you feel.

Because of that, I want to be here completely and 100% for you.  Yes, raising $100 per person can seem like a lot of money, time, and effort.  And convincing people to take their Saturday out to do it can seem even more.  But you might just find it easier than you think.

On the website, I have included some Frequently Asked Questions.  Make sure to read over that and see if you have any more.

Here is top information you need at the moment:

• Team members are not required to pay registration fee when they register, but must pay it by the day of the event.  If they want to pay it in $5 increments over the next 5 weeks, they can do it that way (or whatever increments).  The registration fee goes to the expenses of the event, and is what will get them lunch, dinner, and the t-shirt.  Register online: www.bethlehemcenter.org/challengereg.htm.  PLEASE convince your team members to register early.  We will need to order t-shirts and plan for food within the next month.
• There will be rewards for top fundraising teams as well as individuals.  The VIP lounge will be available only to the top 20 fundraisers.
• The schedule is posted online, but even as we speak we are working out details of more performances.  For example, we will have a musician and another dance company coming out.  We just cannot publicize this until details have been finalized.
• I will be conducting tours on Tuesdays at 3:30 and 5:30.  The kids are around during these times, so it helps get a better feel of who you’re helping.  I would love for you all to come out.  I will be out of town July 27th-August 6th, so those Tuesdays we will not be conducting tours.

Here are my top hints to start you out:

• People join in threes, leave in threes, and get excited in threes.  Don’t ask me why this is true, but it is.  Three people can be a powerful force, so find three people that will hop on board together and get excited about the event.
• Utilize the letter writing campaign tool.  I have only had one person ever “follow the rules” and not raise their money through that tool.  That is out of about 300.  And this was back in the day when we required everyone to raise $150.  I raised $600 the first time I used this tool, and recently raised $1500 through it.  Seriously.  It works.  The person doesn’t even have to use their own postage: www.bethlehemcenter.org/letterwriting.asp
• Healthy competition makes it more fun.  Challenge everyone on your team to see if they can make it to the VIP lounge (top 20 fundraisers).

I am also offering up the “percentage nights” at restaurants to teams.  In other words, if your team wants to take all the proceeds from one of these nights and credit it to your team, I will do all of the paperwork.  Your team just agrees on a date that is good for everyone and promises to send out e-mails/announcements/etc… to as many people as possible to encourage them to come out.

Thank you all so much for stepping forward and helping with the recruiting efforts for this year’s Carolina Challenge.  It is amazing how much this event has already grown just in the past month, and it is surely an event that will make history!

Sincerely,

Amy Hutchison
Development Specialist

*If you aren’t the team leader for your team, or have found someone else already to replace you, please forward this on.  I’ve sent this on to my main “point” people for the event, and understand some of you might not be the true team leader.*