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Walk on,
Lee
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Click to enlarge
Some planning thoughts… If you’ve read the Walkathon Guide book, you’ve seen this chart, but I thought I’d update it to be oriented more like a left-to-right timeline. This chart shows roughly which groups need to start first and what each committee needs from the others. Each chapter of the book gives a more detailed list of dependencies for each committee.
Look at this chart, then make your own version. Draw a weekly time line on a whiteboard or banner paper. Make note of who needs to supply what, to whom, by when, then make sure everyone knows of these dependencies.
Read this chart left to right, where the people in the committees on the far left get started first. Some of the committees are actually working for the whole process, so the chart isn’t perfectly accurate but I wanted to also fit in the arrows.
Filed under: advanced preparation, volunteers, walkathon planning in general | Tagged: planning a walkathon, advanced preparation, publicity, volunteers | Leave a Comment »
William J. Bradley, Toronto, from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
In the final days before your walkathon, when you wish you could clone yourself because there’s too much to do, your pinch hitters become that clone and jump in with whatever unexpected, unplanned job that arises.
Be sure to recruit one or two walkathon pinch hitters among your key volunteers.
The ideal pinch hitter either has chaired a walkathon before, or plans to do so next year. Otherwise, get people who are generally competent, energetic, and versatile.
Set expectations that you’ll need several hours of help during the last days before and the day of your walkathon.
My pinch hitter story had to do with orange slices – several crates of them. It was the day before our walkathon. The oranges had fallen between the cracks, belonging neither to concessions or the course setup team, and neither were ready to take on another big job. Meanwhile, I predicted six hours of slicing needed to be done and the crates of oranges sat in my van! There would have been no joy in … But enter Allison and Donna. Donna sliced two crates herself and Allison found buddies and divvied up the remaining crates. Home run.
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There’s gold in the backs of your walkathon t shirts.
Think about the lifespan of a t shirt. People will wear those shirts for years. For some kids they become the main items in their wardrobes.
This translates to a nice revenue opportunity for your walkathon.
T shirts offer high visibility for sponsors. There’s still more advertising value in your website, banners, yard signs, press releases, and registration materials. All these items combined represent a good investment opportunity for companies who need local brand awareness and want to support their community.
For upcoming walkathons, approach sponsors at the very beginning of your planning efforts so that you can include their names in all of your publicity materials.
Start with a list of potential sponsors. Local merchants and services are ideal, as well as the companies where your walkers work. Don’t forget anyone who sponsored last year, to avoid hurt feelings! Then make a list of all the places you intend to publicize your sponsors. Determine cost of sponsorship. Typically you would offer tiered levels to accommodate varying abilities to contribute (such as Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze). Platinum sponsors would then get the biggest logo on your signs, etc. Write a sponsor letter and send it to all of your targets. There is a sample letter you can copy in the Walkathon Guide e-book. Follow up with a phone call. With those who commit, set aside time to collect the checks, or encourage them to pay online via your website.
Sponsorships can add significantly to your fund raising results. Take advantage of this great opportunity.
Need a great source for t shirts? I recommend UberPrints. They have quick turnaround, good prices, and they do a good job.
Filed under: advanced preparation, maximizing funds, publicity, website | Tagged: planning a walkathon, advanced preparation, fundraising, walkathon supplies, t shirts, sponsors | 4 Comments »
Map your walkathon route and site, including water stations, concessions, and even waystations that add to the fun.
Consider the following factors when you choose your walkathon site and route:
Reach agreement between your leaders and any outsider who controls the site on the date and exact location, and if necessary, obtain written permission from those responsible. Be sure you inform other groups who would normally use that site, such as sports leagues, that it would be unavailable or shared that day. If you are a community organization in a small town, consider presenting to your town council to obtain moral support and keep them informed.
Filed under: advanced preparation, counting laps, setup, walkathon planning in general | Tagged: planning a walkathon, advanced preparation, lap cards, tracking distance, walkathon setup | Leave a Comment »
The American Heart Association's two color "Go Red" campaign - high impact.
If you are planning a walkathon for October or sooner, then it’s time to develop your artwork. You’ll use it on signs and then t shirts and also put it on your website and registration materials. If you want to put out yard signs, order them as soon as possible. Forward this post to your publicity chair person if you’ve got one!
I asked Roy of Roy Rezentes Design what a walkathon planner should think about in creating their art work, assuming
He said to choose a very simple and high impact color scheme with just one main color and one accent, then use it everywhere. The limited colors minimizes cost but can also have greater recognition than a more cluttered approach. Think Avon Breast Cancer pink with purple, American Heart Association red with white. With your two colors on flyers, yard signs, a banner or two, a website and Facebook page your words and images will really start to pop.
He also recommends you read “Ten logo design tips from the field”, from Logo Design Love blogger David Airey (click here to see it). We thought parts were a bit heavy for non-artists but still well worth a look.
For yard signs, I love Build a Sign so much I look for excuses to order yard signs (click here to visit their site). They are quick and the signs always look great. I use the online tool, sometimes exclusively and sometimes with artwork that I upload.
For t shirts I’ve had great experiences with UberPrints – click here to get to it. You can even keep it simple and just design the t shirt online using their tools.
Filed under: advanced preparation, publicity | Tagged: advanced preparation, publicity, walkathon supplies, t shirts, websites for walkathons | Leave a Comment »
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