Hydrocephalus Association WALKs Frequently Asked Questions about registering to participate, WALK participant web pages, WALK teams and more! I. Basic Information about HA WALKS A. Is there a fundraising minimum or registration fee? No, but we encourage every WALK participant to support HA and its mission by making their own donation and asking friends and family to sponsor their participation in the WALK. B. Do I raise money based on how far I walk? No, each WALK participant raises money by asking for flat donations to HA. Money raised in person or via the mail may be turned in at the WALK on the day of the event. C. Can I still fundraise if I can t attend a WALK? Absolutely! You can choose to sign up as a Virtual Walker when you register. This means that even though you won t be walking in person, you ll still conduct a fundraising campaign and virtually walk to support HA and its mission. Participants may sign up as a virtual walker for their local WALK site (in which case the money they raise will be counted toward that site s total) or may register for HA s national Virtual WALK. Virtual walkers raising $250 or more will qualify for WALK incentive prizes. D. How can I qualify for the WALK T-shirt? All HA WALK participants raising $75 or more attending the event will receive the HA WALK T-shirt. The minimum to qualify may be raised online, offline or a combination of both. T-shirts are not distributed to donors of $75 or more. E. Can I continue fundraising after WALK day? Yes, any funds submitted within four weeks after WALK day are included in qualifying totals for individual fundraising incentive prizes. Any funds after that are still accepted and although they won't qualify you for rewards, they still go toward HA s mission. II. Online Registration A. How do I register? Registration is quick and easy and can be done online on www.hydroassoc.org in minutes. Simply click on Get Involved, choose WALKS and Special Events, the Schedule of WALK Events and choose your site (or Virtual WALK if there isn t a HA WALK in your area.) At the WALK site s landing page, click on Register here and you will be guided through the registration process.
FAQ: Hydrocephalus Association WALKS page 2 B. What is a Personal Webpage? When you register, your own Personal WALK webpage is automatically produced. With your personal WALK web page you can easily ask friends and family to support you as you walk to cure hydrocephalus and improve the lives of those living with the condition. You ll be able to edit your WALK webpage -- personalizing the images and adding information about your own story. From your personal web page you ll also be able to access HA s sample emails which you can use to send an email asking for support to anyone in the world. Send an email to everyone you know and everyone you have ever known. Explain how hydrocephalus affects your life (tell your story) and ask them to support your participation in the HA WALK. C. What is the difference between Team Goals and Personal Goals? Everyone will be asked to set a Personal Fundraising Goal when they register. This amount will be reflected in the "thermometer" on your personal webpage. A Team Captain can also enter a team goal, which will set the goal on the Team Webpage's "thermometer." Team pages and Personal pages will track the progress you make toward your goal. (Hint: the average HA walker across the U.S. raises $100 and we know that all HA WALK participants are well above average!) III. WALK Teams A. What is a WALK Team? A HA WALK team is a group of people who band together to participate in a WALK. A Family team is usually a group of walkers comprised of family and friends of someone living with the challenges of hydrocephalus. A team may be 1 person or 1,000 or any number in between. Please note that Teams do not qualify for WALK T-shirts or incentive prizes. The WALK T-shirt and all WALK prizes are based on the fundraising total of the individual walker or the individual team member. (Walkers raising $75 or more will receive the WALK T-shirt, walker raising $250 or more earn other incentive prizes based on the amount raised. See this year s Incentive prizes by clicking on the Check out these great prizes hyperlink on the WALK s home webpage or by clicking the hyperlink on the left side of any WALK webpage. B. What is a Team Webpage? In addition to their Personal Webpages, when a Team registers that Team s WALK webpage is automatically produced. Team Captains can modify their Team Webpage. This page lists all members of the team and their fundraising totals, along with links to their Personal Webpages. This page also displays the team fundraising goal and total raised, and can include a photo and text about the team. C. Donations Please encourage your supporters to make their donations online, it is quick and easy and their donations immediately add to your $$ total on your webpage. Bring any checks or cash you receive before the WALK to the event. (If you receive checks months before the WALK please consider mailing
FAQ: Hydrocephalus Association WALKS page 3 them to the local WALK Chair before the event so the check doesn t get too old. If mailing donations to your local volunteer WALK Chair please include your name, the name of the participant to which the donations should be credited, the team name (if any) and your phone number in case the local Chair has any questions.) Any checks received after the WALK may be mailed to your WALK site s Volunteer Chairperson or you may mail them to HA s National Office at the address below. Hydrocephalus Association Att: Name of WALK Site 4340 East West Highway, Suite 905 Bethesda, MD 20814 Be sure to indicate the name of the WALK participant to which the donations should be credited, the WALK site, the team name (if applicable) and your telephone number in case there are any questions. Including this information is important to ensure the donations are credited to the appropriate WALK participant! D. May an Event Day Volunteer be a Walker or Team Captain? Not only may an event day volunteer be a Walker and/or a Team Captain event day volunteers are encouraged to register as a walker or Team Captain so they can get involved in the fundraising process as well as help out on the day of the WALK. When it comes to fundraising and being a Walker or Team Captain, event day volunteers are exactly like all other Walkers, except instead of walking the WALK route they are fulfilling their walking requirement by working at the event! IV. Participant Center A. What is My Headquarters? My Headquarters contains all the tools to make the most of your online fundraising experience. You can modify Personal and Team Webpages, send emails asking for donations, and track your personal and team fundraising progress. B. How do I get to My Headquarters? You can log in from your local HA WALK website. At the bottom, right side of the webpage you ll see a link to My Headquarters you ll be taken directly there. V. Fundraising A. Any fundraising tips? Yes! HA has a list of fundraising ideas called Fundraising from A to Z just contact the WALK department and they d be happy to send it to you. Also, the best way for family teams (teams formed around a family member living with hydrocephalus) to raise money is using a letter writing campaign. HA has complete instructions on how to conduct a letter
FAQ: Hydrocephalus Association WALKS page 4 writing campaign (including sample letters) which it would be happy to share with you. Again, just contact the HA WALK department at walk@hydroassoc.org VI. Donations A. How do I know when someone has donated to me? Unless you select otherwise in your Headquarters, you will automatically receive an e-mail notifying you when a donation has been made. You can also check the Honor Roll or the "My Progress" section of your Headquarters. B. Can people make anonymous gifts? Donors may choose to keep their names anonymous, and may select whether or not their donation amount is displayed online on your personal WALK web page. C. How does the money I raise get credited to my team? All the money a WALK participant raises counts towards that walker. If the Walker is on a Team, his or her total will be included in the Team Total, too. If people are sponsoring you online and they go to your WALK web page to make the donation it is electronically credited to you. If your donors give you (or mail you) checks or cash bring it to the WALK to turn in you will be given a donation envelope to fill out to ensure the donations are credited to you. VII. Security A. Is my information secure? We have made every effort to protect your personal information. We use encryption techniques to make sure that your credit card information, passwords, and personal information travel securely over the Internet. B. How is my credit card number handled? Credit card numbers are not stored in our database. During the donation process we send your credit card number to an online processing terminal using a secure connection. The information passed back is an approval or denial for the credit card donation. C. What do I do if I forget my Username and Password? You will receive an email with your username and password when you first register. You will be asked to use that login and password to access your WALK webpage or Team webpage. If you ve forgotten your Login name or password there is a hyperlink you may click at the Login Screen (Forgot Login or Password?) Click on that hyperlink and a link to reset your password will be emailed to you. If you can t remember
FAQ: Hydrocephalus Association WALKS page 5 your Login name you may also contact HA at walk@hydroassoc.org and request assistance with logging into Friends Asking Friends. Also remember your username and password are case sensitive. D. Can I change my personal information? You can modify your profile in your Headquarters. You will be able to change your contact information, email address, username and password. Questions? If so, please contact the Hydrocephalus Association at 888-598-3789 or walk@hydroassoc.org