What
is the Swim-A-Thon?
The
Swim-A-Thon is a USA Swimming sponsored fundraiser in which participants earn
money for their team by swimming lengths of the pool. Swimmers have a two hour
period to swim a maximum of 200 lengths. With over 500 USA Swimming clubs
conducting Swim-A-Thons each year, this program has proven itself over and over
again as a successful method of raising funds for teams, as well as boosting
team spirit and increasing community awareness of the team. The Swim-A-Thon is
our club�s primary fundraiser of the year. King Aquatic Club (KING) has a long
tradition of participating in the Swim-A-Thon and we are consistently one of
the top fundraising clubs in the country!�
95% of the Swim-A-Thon money stays with KING Boosters and is used to
provide for things such as need based financial assistance, team travel, relay
fees, and mini meets for the team�s youngest swimmers. The other 5% goes to USA
Swimming to help support national initiatives.
The
main components of the Swim-A-Thon are the donation campaign and the swim
event. For 2011, our donation campaign will
run from 1/3 through 3/14. Our swim
event will occur on Friday, March 4 from 4:30-8:30 pm at
DONATION
CAMPAIGN
Swimmers
ask for donations from friends, family, businesses, providers, neighbors,
teachers, etc. There are three ways
in which KING swimmers can collect donations.
� Send out the KING
donation request letter (download here) or a customized
letter with enclosed return envelope.
� Send out email
donation requests via the KING FirstGiving
fundraising web site.
� Make the rounds in
person and ask for donations or pledges (see pledge form sample). Some choose
to get pledges and money prior to swimming while others get pledges per length
and collect the money following the Swim-A-Thon.
The
first option � letter writing - has proven to be the most successful in the
past, maybe because people like receiving personalized mail. With the letter
writing, a return envelope is included and checks are mailed back to the club.
Donations are tracked by swimmer for all donation methods, and
viewable to members signed in to the King website.
The
second option � email with online donation center through Firstgiving.com � has
been grown in popularity for 4 years running now, with both our families and
their donors. It is easy to set up a customized web page just for your
donations and you can also show your fundraising progress and a link to your
fundraising page from your personal Facebook account, if desired.
Combining
options one and two by sending a letter and following up with an email from FirstGiving is another method that has proven successful.
It provides an option for your donors to donate in the manner most convenient
to them. There is info on setting up your FirstGiving
online account as well as tips and tricks available online. Several key
features of the online account are support for other languages � if you have
friends or relatives who speak a language other than English, you may create a
greeting in any language to add to your FirstGiving
Swim-A-Thon personal fundraising webpage. For sponsors that live overseas, the FirstGiving online account is by far the easiest method to
donate, as the donation is made via credit card.
The
third option � pledges � are used if you wish to either have people pledge a
donation amount per lap or if you will be collecting donations in person (such
as neighbors or co-workers). These types of donations are logged on the pledge
form. Please ask for a USA Swimming Swim-A-Thon Packet from your Pool
Representative.
Key dates for the 2011 Donation
Campaign
� Week of January 3 � Letter writing
materials available from Pool Reps (donation letter, mailing envelope, return
envelope).
The standard letter is also available to download on the King website.
� Letter Writing Mania � a month
full of contests!!!
�
January 14
� ICE CREAM SANDWICHES for the pool with the
highest percent participation that set up Firstgiving
online donation pages by the end of practice on 1/14.
� January 21 � CUPCAKES for the swim group (Novice, Developmental,
Age Group, Regional, Power, Senior, or National) with the most letters and
emails (average per person) submitted by the end of practice on 1/21.
� January 28 � DONUTS for the pool with the most letters and emails
(average per person) submitted by the end of practice on 1/28.
�
February 12-13 � Early qualifiers can pick up the
KING WATER BOTTLE at the KING February Invite meet. Make sure your pool
rep has record of your letters. You can also turn in letters or proof of emails
at the meet to get your water bottle!
� March 4 � KING WATER BOTTLE � each swimmer who has completed and
mailed out 10 letters, emails (must show evidence of such), or received 10
pledge donations by the time they check-in for the Swim-A-Thon will receive the
NEW KING WATER
BOTTLE at the Event on 3/4!
� February 5 - March 14 � Continue to send out any letters and
emails, get donations/pledges, and/or follow-up on requests; qualify for
individual swimmer prizes plus team and pool top donation prizes.
� March 14 � DONATION PRIZE
deadline � this is the target date to receive all donations and wrap up our
Swim-A-Thon. Prizes for individual swimmer donation levels will be calculated
as of 3/14 and distributed after we tally everything up and order the prizes.
Donation
Success Tips
START
COLLECTING ADDRESSES NOW!� The key driver
to success is getting as many letters and emails sent out as possible. In
support of this, we have fun contests, giveaways, and prizes lined up to
motivate letter writing action!� Supplies
for letter writing are available from Pool Reps, and also available at the KING hosted January
Invitational meet, so bring your address book to the meet and kill
some time, plus qualify for your OFFICAL
KING WATER BOTTLE when you turn in 10
letters/emails and/or received 10 pledges/donations. Letters need to be turned
in to swim reps to receive postage paid by KING.�
Parents
can help swimmers find names, addresses and emails of people and businesses for
their letter writing!� Start with
addresses and emails for family members, friends, and neighbors. Another good
source for donations is people you do business with such as your family doctor,
dentist, insurance agent, tax accountant, real estate agent, or lawyer. The
donations raised from Swim-A-Thon are tax-deductible contributions. Don�t
forget that many companies match donations and the matching funds really add
up.
SWIM EVENT
When:���� Friday, March 4, 2011 from 4:30-8:30 p.m.
Swim times and teams
will be announced soon!
New this year � we
will be using all three pools at the
Plan to come and
enjoy the entire event of food, fun, prizes, and
swimming!
Where:���
What:����� SWIM & FUN!
Swim-A-Thon Teams
� We will again
have the popular team component to the Swim-A-Thon (SAT). This is in addition
to the usual tracking and prizes by practice pool and by individual. Swimmers are
assigned to one of eight teams.
� Each team will be
comprised of swimmers from each group � developmental, novice, age group,
regional, power, senior, and national. The teams are randomly selected.
�
The team will conduct and compete in the team spirit competition and parade!� Last year the Orange Team made an impressive
showing and won the competition, but it was very close, and we are expecting a
grand showing of spirit this year!
FAQs
How long do we have to raise money?
You
can start now to obtain pledges from friends, family members and businesses.
Ask your dentist, ask your neighbors and ask your family members to sponsor you
for Swim-A-Thon. Some parents take the pledge form to work and ask their
co-workers or place the pledge form on a bulletin board. You can ask for a flat
dollar amount or a per length pledge, it�s up to you.
How much money should we raise?
We
encourage each family or individual on King Aquatic Club to strive to raise at
least $200.00. Our team goal is to raise $60,000. We have raised just over
$56,000 each of the past two years for our club, in a poor economy.� People realize the importance of community,
team, and sports for kids and are willing to support this cause.� It is important that every team member
participate! A team effort is needed by everyone to accomplish our goal. Please
remember these pledges will significantly help our club.
When and where do we turn in the money?
Money
should be turned in to your pool rep, or the SAT coordinators, Tara Vagen and
Crista Haugen. Please return any unused USA Swimming Pledge packets or letter
writing materials, to help us keep costs down.
Do we have to participate?
Since
this is our biggest annual fundraiser for the team, our goal is to have 100%
participation. �Group prizes are awarded
based on participation. It is not difficult to raise pledges, your parents can
help and all you need to do is ask! Remember, you are giving your potential
sponsor a tax write-off opportunity. Many people look for non-profit
organizations to reduce their tax burden even in economic hard times.
Where are the Swim-A-Thon Pledge Forms?
Pledge
forms are available from the Pool Reps.�
Note that the pledge form requires a bit more work on the part of the
swimmer than other donation methods.� The
swimmer gets the pledge and then returns to the donor after the Swim Event to
collect the pledge amount.
How Do I get Pledges?
Pledges
may be collected from family, friends, teachers, neighbors, business
associates, etc. and logged on the pledge sheet that is included in the Pledge
packet. We suggest, if possible, that you collect your money at the time of the
pledge.
How Else Can I Help?
There
are plenty of opportunities to help with the Swim-A-Thon, and earn credit
toward your volunteer hours.� Please
contact the Swim-A-Thon coordinators for more information.
What if we have other questions?
Please
direct questions to the Swim-A-Thon coordinators:
Crista
Haugen � [email protected]
or 206-384-1511
Tara
Vagen � [email protected] or 206-790-2757