Four Steps of Becomming A Team Captain

Step 1: Organize and Plan

With every mile your team rides and every sponsor you enlist, we can pick up the pace to beat this devastating disease.

Register your team with ADA.
Choose a team name and register with ADA in one of three convenient ways:
Online: diabetes.org/tour 
Mail: Call the number below to request a registration form and send it to the address provided.
Call: 1-888-DIABETES (1-888-342-2383)

Share the load.
Recruit teammates to help in the following roles:
Recruiter: Encourages teammates to register and monitors
team roster.
Fund-Raising Expert: funds and reminds team of deadlines.
Party Planner: activities and post-event celebrations.
Trainer: teammates on safety.

Set your goals.
How many people would you like on your team?________
How much do you want each member to raise?________
If you were on a team last year, how much more does your
team want to raise this year?________

Step 2: Recruiting Team Members

A team consists of five or more people with a common bond, connection or interest. Forming a team involves no special requirements.

Your daily life can offer a variety of sources to recruit potential team members:
— Your office
— Your neighborhood
— Your place of worship
— Family members
— Local civic groups (Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary Club, etc.)
— Community or professional organizations

Spread the word.
— Encourage prospective participants to join your team and register with ADA.
— E-mail friends, neighbors and office contacts with a link to your team Web page.
— Distribute Tour brochures (free copies are available from your local ADA office).
— Post Tour team sign-up posters in your company lunch or break room, community center, or activity room in your place of worship.
— Get on the meeting agenda and/or circulate your team roster at any civic, community or professional groups where you are a member.
— Enlist your company’s support by asking for your boss’s approval to invite co-workers to participate.
— Write an article for your company newsletter that includes your name, contact information and Tour Web page address.
— Personalize your approach by recruiting or collecting donations on behalf of someone you know who has diabetes.
— Talk it up! Use word of mouth to create interest and excitement among your friends and associates. Encourage them to join your team.

Step 3: Register Teammates

Get your team members registered with ADA.

Tell everyone your team name. Your teammates will need the team name and the team captain’s name to ensure they register for the right team. It’s easier when the entire team registers by one method—online, mail or phone—to ensure that everyone is tracked together. If a team member registers using a different method than the others, please notify your local ADA coordinator.

Take advantage of all the benefits of online registration at diabetes.org/tour: Your team can set up its own Webpage and immediately begin fund raising. As captain, you’ll have up-to-the-minute information on who has registered and each teammate’s fund-raising totals.

The Web site tools allow you to easily send e-mails to your teammates. Don’t delay! Shortly after registering, your teammates will receive their Welcome Packets.

Earn Diabetes Dollars. The Diabetes Dollars program is great news for Team Captains! With every NEW rider you recruit to your team, ADA will credit you with 25 Diabetes Dollars towards exciting thank you gifts. To get the credit,
both you and the new rider must raise and turn in at least the fund-raising minimum by three weeks prior to the event.

IMPORTANT: Each member must register individually with the ADA. Your teammates should include the team name and team captain’s name when they register.

Fund Raising Activities

Sign up for online fund raising with the ADA. E-mail your personal Tour Web link to your friends and ask them to sponsor you online with a credit card donation. In one simple step, donors can learn about Tour de Cure and make their donation.

Create a team Web page, then have the each member set up his or her own Web page. It’s easy to do—the system creates a standard page, which you can use as is or customize through a few easy steps. Instructions are online in “My Tour Center.”

Use offline fund-raising methods. Review the Fund-Raising Guide you received when you registered for tips and tools.

Send personal letters, make phone calls or ask people face-to-face. Use any combination of these methods that work best for you and your potential donors. Don’t forget to follow up and to always say thank you. Seek support at work or from any group with which you’re involved.

Sell Tour de Cure yellow paper jerseys at your office or at a local business you frequent. Get the jerseys from your ADA coordinator, sell them for $1 or $5 each and post them with each contributor’s name on it. Conduct your own fund-raising events (“jeans day at
work,’’ bake sales, car washes, bowling matches, spin-a-thon at your local gym, volleyball games, etc.).

Ask customers, clients, employees or group members to contribute their change or place a large jar in their lunch or break rooms to collect donations.
Hold a silent auction. Ask colleagues to donate items or ask businesses you frequent to donate a product or service. Let the auction run for several days. Afterwards post a list of the buyers and thank participants for their support of diabetes research, education and advocacy.

Enclose a flyer in paycheck envelopes that provides facts about diabetes and makes a donation request.