First Steps for Team Captains
Congratulations! You are ready to start your team! Participating as a team offers you and your team
members an opportunity to build upon your relationships and ties, and experience something
extraordinary together – knowing that you are helping create a future without breast cancer with your
family and friends!
Did you know that teams account for approximately 74% of the total funds raised in the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure? Forming a team is a great way to increase your fundraising
potential and meet or exceed the goals you set for both yourself, and your team.
Your role as a team captain is an important one – you have the ability to motivate and encourage your
team members, share information from the Foundation on the Run for the Cure and know that you
making a positive difference in your community.
Outlined below is the process to register your team for the 2011 Run for the Cure. If at any time you have
questions, or require some assistance in the process, feel free to contact your Teams Coordinator for your
Run for the Cure location.
Getting started as a Team Captain
Register your team
 You can register your team online (visit the Run for the Cure website at www.runforthecure.com
and click on the “Register” button) or offline (pick up a participant form from any CIBC branch or
Running Room location). For more details, please refer to our Team Information and Key Dates
document. You must first register yourself as a participant, and then create your team following
the prompts on the website.
 Choose a team name and a category (corporate, friends & family, school or women‟s). Get
creative! Team names can be a maximum of 25 characters.
 Choose a team fundraising goal that is ambitious yet realistic. If you are a new Team Captain,
choose a goal that represents at least $150 for each team member; or if you are a returning Team
Captain, choose a goal that is higher than last year. You can always update and change your goal
at any time through your Participant Centre, so start fundraising early! Set your sights on winning
an award for the top team in your category!
**FACT: The average team with 10 members or more raised $3,269 in 2010**

Set up your team donation page. This is your team‟s main page where others can click to join,
donate and track your success. Here, team member‟s names and their online fundraising will be
displayed, and your team‟s total fundraising is displayed on a thermometer to your goal. You can
edit the text and upload personal photos and videos. Make this page personal by letting people
know who you and your team are running for and why; a meaningful connection is more likely to
encourage people to register or donate.
Get team mates!
 Make a list of potential team members and log into your Participant Centre. Use the templates
found under the „email‟ tab to send them an invitation to join your team. The link to the team
donation page you customized will be automatically included at the bottom of your message.
Once new members register, use the email template to thank them for joining your team.
 If you have a corporate team, use the corporate recruitment letter to recruit team members and
ask a senior manager to sign the letter to motivate employees to join. Look for opportunities to
challenge departments or satellite offices to participate in the Run for the Cure. Have each
department or office strive toward the same fundraising goal and offer a prize to the team that
meets or exceeds the goal.
 If you have school age children, talk to a teacher about helping you recruit other parents and
students to the team. You may even win the school team challenge!
Start fundraising!
 Access the team captain‟s kit through your Participant Centre for tools and resources to help your
team fundraise. Get a list of creative fundraising suggestions, print posters to advertise your
involvement in the Run for the Cure, find out how to approach your place of business for a
corporate matching gift and more!
 Use the templates in the „email‟ tab of your Participant Centre to send messages to potential
donors. Invite a wide range of people from your various networks to make an online donation.
Remember, every donation makes a difference! Encourage your donors to make their gift online;
it is simple and secure, and they will receive a tax receipt for their donation via email right away.
** FACT: Those who start fundraising earlier raise more money; those who
started in April raised about three times as much as those who started in September**


Utilize the Facebook Application to reach out to more potential donors. Download the
application from your Participant Centre. Those who visit your Facebook page will see your
fundraising progress and can donate online.
Collect fundraising rewards for your personal fundraising over $300 and set a great example for
the team.
Where does the money go?

The Foundation has invested $230 million since its inception to fund, support and advocate for
relevant and innovative breast cancer research, meaningful education and awareness programs,
early diagnosis and effective treatment, and a positive quality of life for those living with breast
cancer. Visit www.cbcf.org to learn of the work being done, and how the contributions you are
making to help create a future without breast cancer. Click on your region for programs making
change in your area. Use the template email in your Participant Centre to let your supporters
know how their donations are used.
Next steps: Keep the momentum going

Hold a team kick-off to get inspired. Work with your team to plan some fundraising events. See
our Team Captain Sharing Forum for event ideas.
** FACT: Teams that host fundraising events raise significantly more donations **

Stay in Touch. Keep your team connected to each other and to you. Use the „email‟ tab in your
Participant Centre to quickly send your team updates via email; congratulate them on their
fundraising to date and motivate them to keep going, share the Team Captain e-newsletters, and
let them know how the team‟s fundraising is going. Be sure to thank your donors and share with
them as well!

Get your team registered and fundraising by the team early registration deadline (September 16 ,
2011) to be eligible to receive team t-shirts (participant t-shirts with your team name printed on
the back). Teams need a minimum of 10 members who have raised the minimum of $150 or paid
the participation fee by the deadline to qualify. Note that only those members who have met the
criteria get printed t-shirts and those that complete registration after the deadline will get a
regular t-shirt.
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We have a number of tools and resources available in the Participant Centre to help you reach your team
goals. Please don‟t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at all!
Thank you for helping create a future without breast cancer!