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| Click on a topic below to review specific guidelines or scroll down to start and the beginning. Your account
Your account You can see how much you have raised each time you log on to the Peloton Project page using the username and password you created when you registered. This page shows the name of your donor and the amount donated. It is your responsibility to check your online account to monitor your progress; we will not notify you each time a donation is made to your account. From this page you can click on the name of your donor and their address, and email details will appear. You can also send an email acknowledgement to your donors directly from this page. Keeping track of your account Donations made online should show on your account instantly. If there is a mistake or something missing, please email Sara Cleveland, development services associate, at sara@laf.org with the name of the donor and the amount and date of the donation, and we will track it down for you. Donations that are mailed with a sponsor ticket should show on your account within approximately two weeks of mailing. Please allow for inconsistencies in the US Postal Service. Bear in mind that when a deadline is approaching, we tend to see large volumes of donations coming to our office, which take a bit longer to process; please allow for extra time during these heavy volume times. If you see anything missing or incorrect with mailed in donations, contact Sara Cleveland. She will need the date the donation was mailed, the donor's name, and preferably the check number and amount of the check to track it down and make the correction. Acknowledging your donors We will send your donors a thank you letter and official tax receipt. It is important that we have the correct address information for your donors. There is a place on the sponsor ticket where your donors can ask to notify the person, or family of the person, whom the gift was made in honor or memory of. This is not a place for the donor to put your information. Though technically all your donors are making their contribution in your honor, we do not send you a card, as you can see that the donation was made for you online. We send the honoree or family a card saying that a donation was made in their honor or memory (the card does not note the specific amount.) Online donations Online donations are great because they are easier to process, which keeps our administrative costs down. On your member page you will have a link that you can send to donors. This link will enable them to make a donation directly to your account. Donors can also go to http://www.laf.org/peloton/donation and search for your name to donate to your account. Online donations will show up in your Peloton account immediately. You can send an email solicitation out that includes the link to the donation page and instructions on how to credit it to your account. The official tax receipts for online donations are sent to the person who was logged in at the time the donation was entered, please don't log on to our system using your own account and enter your donor's credit card information for them. Check donations Some donors prefer to send a check. Donors can send a check, with the sponsor ticket enclosed (preferably NOT stapled), directly to the Lock Box address provided on the ticket. It is best that they write your name in the memo portion of the check. You can download the sponsor ticket from the website. Please print your name and member number on the sponsor ticket before printing and sending it out. You can also ask your donors to send or give their donations to you and you can forward them on to the Lock Box in bulk (again, please refrain from stapling checks to sponsor tickets.) Some Peloton members prefer to collect the donations themselves and then send them on so they can keep track of all that they have raised and cross check with our records. The lock box address provided on the sponsor ticket can receive priority mail, but CANNOT receive any mail that needs to be signed for (couriered, certified mail, or registered mail). We don't feel the need to encourage any of these services if you are sending your donations regularly and well before the deadline date. Cash donations Sometimes donors will give you cash (though you should discourage this if possible.) If the donor would like a tax receipt for a cash gift, they must complete a sponsor ticket so that we have their address. If the donor does not want to complete the sponsor ticket and isn't interested in the tax receipt, you should fill out a sponsor ticket for the given amount and list the donor as anonymous. You should then collect all your cash contributions and get a money order for that amalgamated amount, send in the money order with the sponsor tickets that add up to the correct amount (including anonymous tickets.) Please do not send cash or deposit the check in your own bank account and then write us a check, or donate that amount with your credit card online, as this could have negative income tax repercussions for you. Stock Gifts and Wire Transfers The LAF is able to receive both of these types of donations. If your donors are interested in making a donation of stock, or donating via wire transfer, please contact Sara Cleveland at sara@laf.org, or 512 236 8820 x 123, to ensure that you receive credit for this donation and your donor receives their tax receipt. Matching Gifts Many of your donors may work for companies that will match their employee's charitable gifts. Make sure your donors check with their companies to see if the LAF qualifies. Please ask your donors to make their contribution online or send their check contribution with the sponsor ticket to the address provided on the sponsor ticket as usual. Ask them to send the matching gift form directly to our office (do not include the form in the envelope with the donation): Attn: Sara Cleveland Development Services Associate Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150 Austin, TX 78716-1150 We will fill out the appropriate information on the form and return it to the company for matching. We will verify the original donation arrived and credit your Peloton account with the pledged amount of the match. We do not need to have the actual payment of the pledge to put the matching gift towards your total. Event Guidelines Holding a fundraising event can seem like a great way to raise money. However, depending on the type of event, they can be very time consuming and expensive to hold (bike rides/races fall into this category.) Due to our limited resources, the LAF cannot assist you in the organization of your event, help you find sponsors, help you publicize your event, give you any Lance signed items for raffle or auction, or reimburse you for expenses you incur out of the money that you raise. Please make sure that you do not publicize your event in a way that indicates the LAF is the organizer or partner in your event, wording such as "proceeds benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation" in conjunction with the use of the LAF logo is suggested. We prefer that the LAF be the sole beneficiary of your fundraiser. To cover the costs of your event expenses, you should look for in-kind sponsors or sponsors willing to write you a check to cover costs, these "sponsorships" are not tax-deductible as they are being made to you, not to the Foundation. However, in return for these donations of goods, services, or money you can offer your sponsor a "benefits package," highlighting the benefits they will receive in return for their contribution. These benefits could include naming rights to the event, the company logo appearing on signage, flyers, invitations, program books and other appropriate material. By helping you put on your event your sponsor is not making a tax-deductible donation, but they are generating good will by associating themselves with a great cause and a great name. Any money you receive in association with your event, for ticket sales or registration, should be in the form of checks made out to the LAF. This way your donors can be sure that we are receiving the full benefit of their contribution, and they will receive full tax-deductibility for their gift. Any checks made out to another entity, or money deposited in a personal or business account, will have income tax repercussions for that entity, even if all proceeds (money made once you have covered costs) are later given to the LAF. We also strongly suggest that you take out event insurance for your event. Collateral Material We can provide collateral material for distribution at your event or to your donors. We suggest you download and print as much of the information from the website as possible to reduce our printing and shipping costs. The LAF has some other items in stock that you can distribute to help with your fundraising. Please email Peloton@laf.org to request more information. Commercialization of products sold with proceeds benefiting the LAF If you, or a friend, own a business and would like to give the LAF all or part of the proceeds from the sale of your product you can state your intention to your customers by using the words "proceeds from the sale of this item benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation." We ask that you specify either the percentage of the proceeds that you will be sending us or a firm dollar amount, this will make it clear to your customers what you are passing on to us. You are not permitted to use the logo in conjunction with the sale of commercial items. Use of the Logo You are allowed to reproduce the LAF logo, as provided on this website on your solicitation materials, event flyers, banners and websites. If you would like to reproduce the logo on items you plan to give away, such as mugs, t-shirts, etc., we would like you to fill out a form and submit your design for our approval, you can find the form online, along with the logo. You are not permitted to use the logo in conjunction with the sale of commercial items (see the rules regarding "commercialization".) Mission Information We encourage you to read the LAF fact sheet and explore our website so that you are familiar with how and where the LAF directs the funds raised through the Peloton Project. We want you to be able to confidently explain to your donors how their gift makes a difference to cancer survivors and their loved ones. Remember to tell them that 80% of the money raised goes to mission related activities, and only 20% is being used for administrative and fundraising expenses. Donations are currently only tax deductible for residents or citizens of the United States. General Rules Each state has different rules regarding fundraising raffles and other types of solicitation. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are working within those regulations. If your state requires some kind of filing on behalf of the LAF, you can notify and discuss this with the Peloton Project Coordinator. You cannot file anything with your state on our behalf. We expect you to use your good judgment at all times when deciding how to go about your fundraising. If you ever have doubts or questions about whether you are following our guidelines we encourage you to get in touch with us and ask. Tax information The IRS considers all prizes and awards associated with the Peloton Project as income. This income is calculated by taking the fair market value (FMV) of the awards you receive and subtracting any monies you personally donate to the LAF. In keeping with IRS regulations, should the income be greater than $600, the LAF will provide you with a Form 1099. (Please note that only Polka Dot and Yellow jersey award levels have an FMV greater than $600.) Note that expenses you incur during your fundraising are tax deductible, however, they do not relate to the amount considered income. Click here to read more detailed information. Deadlines All donations must be postmarked no later than Friday, August 15, 2003, to qualify for benefits associated with the each fundraising level. The deadline is to ensure that we can make the necessary logistical arrangements. Late registration and fundraising will only be allowed for those wishing to become members for the purpose of Ride for the Roses registration. Registering and raising $100 will be allowed until Friday, October 7, 2003. Contact Information Please forward all account and donation-related questions to Sara Cleveland, development services associate, at sara@laf.org. Please forward all logistical and fundraising questions to Catherine Bartlett, development assistant, at Catherine@laf.org. |
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| Privacy Policy | © Copyright Lance Armstrong Foundation : P O Box 161150 : Austin, TX 78716-1150 : 512.236.8820 | ||||