Team Captain FAQ
What is a Team?
A team consists of two or more people—our biggest teams have over 100! Teammates can be friends, family members, co-workers, or anyone who would like to join!
Building an AIDS Walk Atlanta and 5K Run & Music Festival team makes the experience of training and fundraising a little easier, a lot more fun, and more memorable. Teams can work together to create fun and unique fundraising opportunities, such as car washes, yard sales, dinner parties, and more!
What are my responsibilities as a Team Captain?
- Your main priority is to keep your teammates informed and motivated. In addition to sending emails to team members, Team Captains may host team events, plan team fundraising activities, and/or lead training walks. Your level of involvement is up to you, and will directly affect your team’s progress.
- Recruit new team members. We encourage you to recruit new members and inspire your teammates to do the same. Set a recruitment goal for your team and surpass it! Print a team recruitment flyer here.
- Set a team fundraising goal. Because the need is so great, we urge you to set an ambitious team goal. Set up and maintain your team’s webpage. Upload a team photo and write about why your team is doing the walk!
- Most teams design t-shirts or outfits to wear on the day of the walk. In addition to being a fun keepsake, it helps your team stand out at the event. If you need any referrals for t-shirt design and printing, please contact info@aidswalkatlanta.org.
What can I do to ensure my team’s fundraising success?
- Contact us at info@aidswalkatlanta.org and we’ll help you create a fundraising and teambuilding plan.
- Encourage all of your team members to check our Matching Gift page to see if their employer matches donations for AIDS Walk Atlanta, and make sure they ask every donor to check for matching gifts as well.
- Create a team fundraising event: yard sales, car washes, and dinner parties have all been successful in the past!
- Create a fundraising timeline for your team, including events, fundraising letters, and follow-up.
- Track teammate progress and congratulate members on achieving their goals. Don’t be afraid to praise your team!
- If you are a Facebook user, make a GROUP page that is dedicated to your team, and use it as a forum to praise and motivate your members.
- Keep your team motivated! Remind them that every dollar raised will save a life by helping Atlantans living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS get the information and services they need to stay healthy.
- Start fundraising early! It never hurts to be the first email your friends and family receive!
How can other walkers/runners join my team?
- When you recruit new team members make sure they know the name of your team. Upon registering, they should select the “Join a Team” option and search for your team name.
- If new team members have already registered for the AIDS Walk Atlanta and 5K Run & Music Festival as Individual Walkers, they should log in to their Participant Center and select “Change Team Membership” from the menu.
How should I use my Team Participant Center?
- After registering as a Team Captain, visit your online Participant Center.
- Set up your team webpage:
- Select “Team Page" within the Participant Center to set your team fundraising goal and personalize the team page.
- Change the “Team Message” text to talk about why your team is walking together.
- Click on “Change Image” to upload a photo of your team to your webpage.
- Send out invites to build your team:
- Select "Email and Contacts" within your Participant Center, and use one of our suggested messages or write your own to encourage others to join your team. The email message will automatically include a direct link back to your team page to make it as easy as possible for email recipients to join your team.
- You can also cut and paste the direct link mentioned above into your personal and/or Facebook emails, as well as your Facebook status, to encourage people to join your team.
- Review your team progress. Click the Teammates link within your Participant Center to see a list of your team members along with their fundraising progress. Use this information to praise, motivate, and even stir up a little competition within your team!
How do I send an email from the Participant Center?
- Select "Email and Contacts" within the Participant Center to access a default message for recruiting team members. You can use the pre-written team-building letters as a starting point, and then edit and send your message.
- If you want to create your own message, select "Create Your Own Message" to start from a blank email. If you are creating your own message, enter the recipient’s email address or select your recipients from your Address Book after importing your contacts. Enter the subject and body of your email. Once you have composed an email, you can save it as a template for future emails. The saved message will then appear on the list of suggested messages.
How do I email my Team Members?
You can use the same process above to send an email to everyone on your team. During the “Set Recipients” step, select Group>Teammates.
How can I keep track of important dates and deadlines?
Please opt-in to the AIDS Walk Atlanta and 5K Run & Music Festival emails when you register. This is the fastest way to receive information as event news develops. We also recommend you follow us on Facebook and Instagram for up-to-date announcements.
As it gets closer to the event, important announcements, deadlines, and dates will be posted in your Participant Center. Please visit it regularly so you don’t miss out.
Where do I get Team T-shirts?
You may make your own team T-shirts. If you want to use the AIDS Walk Atlanta logo in your design, you can request it by sending your name and contact information to info@aidswalkatlanta.org.
What are this year’s incentive awards for fundraising?
Visit the Fundraising Rewards page for more info.