FAQs

MAKING A DONATION

• Can I make a general donation in support of Step Forward and PFWPA, if I'm not donating to a particular team or individual?
• Absolutely!  By clicking the "Donate Now" button, the line asking to attribute the donation to a particular team or individual is optional.  If you are just looking to make a general donation in support of this event and our organization, just leave that section blank.

• How do I make a donation to an individual or a team?
• By clicking the "Donate Now" button, you will be asked the question "Is this in support of a particular participant in Step Forward" - this is where you will be able to select if you want your donation to be credited to a particular individual or team.

• How do I make a donation in honor or memory of someone?
• By clicking the "Donate Now" button, you will be asked the question "Is this in honor or in memory of someone" - this is where you will be able to select if your donation is a memorial or honorarium gift.  If it is, you will be prompted to provide the name of the person being honored, decide if you want us to notify a particular person that you made this thoughtful gift, and whether you would prefer we notify them over email or snail mail.  You provide us the information, we take care of the rest!

RECEIVING A DONATION

• Someone donated to my fundraiser with cash.  What should I do?
• If someone gives you a donation in the form of cash, don't worry!  You can send any cash to the PFWPA offices (575 Lincoln Avenue #101, Bellevue, PA 15202).  Just be sure to include their name (how you would like it to appear on your event page) and address of the person who donated (if you only have the name, that is fine, but we will not be able to send them an acknowledgement letter if we don't have the address), as well as the name of the individual or team that we should attribute the donation to.  If you are uncomfortable sending cash through the mail, you can write a check to PFWPA.  Just be sure to include the aforementioned information about the donor name, address, and individual or team to which the donation should be credited.

• Someone donated to my fundraiser with a check.  What should I do?
• If someone gives you a donation in the form of check, don't worry!  You can send any check to the PFWPA offices (575 Lincoln Avenue #101, Bellevue, PA 15202), as long as the check is made out to our organization (can be listed as PFWPA, Parkinson's Foundation, Parkinson's Foundation Western PA, or any other iteration of our name).   Just be sure to include a note with the name of the individual or team that the donation should be credited to.  The donor's name will appear on the website as it does on their check, so if you would like it to appear differently, please include that on the note.  If someone gave you a donation in the form of a check, but made the check out to YOU, please cut us a new check that is made out to "Parkinson Foundation Western PA."  If that is the case, please be sure to include the donor's name (how you would like it to appear on your event page) and address of the person who donated (if you only have the name, that is fine, but we will not be able to send them an acknowledgement letter if we don't have the address), as well as the name of the individual or team to which we should attribute the donation.

REGISTRATION

• What are the different types of registrations?
• There are three options for registration.  Adults (anyone aged 14 or older), Couples (be it spouses, or any pairing that intends to fundraise together and would prefer to have a joint individual fundraising page), and Children (anyone aged 13 or younger).

• What is the cost of registering for Step Forward?
• Each registration level has a registration donation cost associated with it.  Your registration donation is 100% tax-deductible, and every dollar goes towards your fundraiser, and will appear as a donation on your individual fundraising page.  Adult registration is a $20 registration donation, Couple registration is a $30 registration donation, and Child registration is a $10 registration donation.

• What do I get included with my registration?
• Your registration donation goes to directly support the programs and services provided by PFWPA.  Your registration gives you a personal donation page, and allows you to participate in our two months of events, activities, and giveaways.

• ​Can I register my friends and family members when I am registering myself?
• Absolutely!  When you are done registering yourself, the system will prompt you, and ask if you would like to register any additional participants.  Please note, while you are not required to provide their email (you just have to have their name, as we wanted to make this process as simple as possible, especially for those registering children), if you do not provide their email, they will be unable to login to their personal page, or participate in any challenge activities associated with the event.  This is because your email serves as your login for the event page.

TEAMS

• ​Am I required to join a team?
• No, you do not have to join a team.  You are welcome to participate and fundraise as an individual.

• ​I am registering, and I don't see my team listed.  What do I do?
• If you are registering, and your team captain has not yet created your team, don't worry!  Just register as an individual.  You have the option at any time to go into your page, and join a team later, once your team captain has created the team.

T-SHIRTS

• Is a complimentary t-shirt included in the cost of registration?
• For adults, and couples, no, it is not.  Everyone aged 14 and older will need to purchase a t-shirt (which is totally optional) - you will be prompted at registration to select your t-shirt size, if you do wish to purchase.  For children, aged 13 and younger, their registration DOES include a free t-shirt.

• How will I receive my t-shirt?
• All t-shirts will be mailed to you at your home address provided during registration.  Please note, if you are registering multiple people, the t-shirts of every person you are registering will be shipped to your home for you to distribute to them, unless you provide their address during the registration (addresses and phone numbers are not required for additional registrants).

• How many t-shirts can I purchase?
• As many as you'd like!  When you register, you have the option to purchase as many t-shirts as you care to.

• Why is the cost of t-shirts not included in my registration fee?
• The cost of the t-shirts is the amount that it takes to print, produce, and ship the t-shirt to you.  We want to make sure every dollar counts, and that every dollar donated goes directly back to helping provide program, services, and support to people in Western PA impacted by PD.  By having the shirts as an optional, additional purchase, it allows people who are not interested in receiving the t-shirts to opt out, it makes your registration donation 100% tax deducible (as you are not receiving the t-shirt as a good/service of the initial registration donation), and it makes your dollars go even further to help the local PD community.

50/50 RAFFLE

• Am I required to participate in the 50/50 raffle?
• No.  The 50/50 raffle is a totally optional activity to participate in.

• When I purchase 50/50 raffle tickets, will I receive physical tickets in the mail?
• Nope!  No need to worry about keeping track of tickets.  When you purchase 50/50 raffle tickets, we produce a ticket here at PFWPA with the name and phone number you have registered with, and add it to the pot.  We will pull from that pot on event day to select our winner.  So no, you will not receive physical tickets in the mail.

• Will the money I spend buying 50/50 raffle tickets be included in my fundraising total?
• No.  As the 50/50 raffle is a game of chance, and not a donation, any money you use to purchase tickets will not appear on your fundraising page, and will not show up in your monetary fundraising total.

• When will the winner be pulled for the 50/50 raffle?
• The winner will be pulled live during our Step Forward: Keep on Stridin' live virtual event on Saturday, October 24, 2020.

• Do I have to be logged on to the live event, or do anything particular to claim my prize?
• No.  While the winner will be pulled and announced during the live event, you do not have to be logged on or present to win.  We will contact you at the phone number provided to confirm the address that you would like your winnings check sent to.

INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM FUNDRAISING PAGES

• How do fundraising pages work?
• Once you have registered, and created an account, and are logged in, you will be directed to your user dashboard where you can set up and manage your team and/or individual page, complete challenges, invite friends to join, and earn points.  The first time you log in, a quick, automatic tutorial to learn about the functionality of your page will begin.  You can skip this tutorial if you prefer, but we HIGHLY recommend you watch it, to avoid confusion in the future.

• How do I link my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram account to my page?
• When you are logged in, hoover your mouse over your profile image on the top right corner of the page.  Select "Edit Profile" - when you get to that page, there are buttons to link all of your social accounts on the bottom right of the page.

• How do I update my profile picture?
• When you are logged in, hoover your mouse over your profile image on the top right corner of the page.  Select "View My Page" - then, click the "Edit Profile" button found directly underneath your profile image, on the top left side of the page.  That is where you can upload a new profile image.

• How do I change the content on my individual page?
• When you are logged in, hoover your mouse over your profile image on the top right corner of the page.  Select "manage my page" - then from the options on your left, you can edit any piece of your page you want!

• How do I change the content on my team page?
• When you are logged in, hoover your mouse over your profile image on the top right corner of the page.  Select "manage my page" - then, in the top right corner, click "My Team Page."  Then, click the "Edit Your Team Page" button in the top bar that contains your team profile image and name.  Please note, your team captain MUST be the one to edit or adjust your team page - team members who are not the captain do not have that capability.

POINTS AND CHALLENGES

• How do I earn points?
• There are a ton of ways to earn points!  You can learn more about points under "Get Involved" and by clicking "Earn Points" - this page also has VERY important information on how to do things properly to ensure you are able to get point credits!  But for a quick summary, you earn 1 point for every dollar donated to your page, 25 points for every participant recruited, and 50 points for every Tweet or Instagram post you make about Step Forward.

• What are challenge activities?
• Starting on October 1st, and occurring daily through October 23rd, there will be a daily challenge posted to your participant dashboard left hand navigation, as well as the event homepage, and under the "Today's Activity" link that will appear underneath the "Get Involved" tab on the top toolbar, once our daily challenge activities go live.  You will have 24 hours to complete the daily challenge activity in order to earn points (points will vary depending on the degree of difficulty of the challenge - challenges will vary from posting a video or picture, to completing a short activity).  You can learn more under "Get Involved" and by clicking "Participate in Activities."

• Am I required to compete in challenge activities?
• Absolutely not.  We think the challenge activities are a fun way to connect and engage with each other, but if you aren't tech savvy, or prefer just to fundraise, there is absolutely ZERO obligation to complete activities.  If you do participate, you by no means must complete them all. We all have days when we aren't feeling up to things.  We just hope you will join us in the challenges that you are able!

PRIZES AND AWARDS

• I've seen you mention prizes and awards.  What are they?
• All of us at PFWPA appreciate your support and hard work.  Whether you're personally donating, encouraging others to donate, or participating in challenges and spreading the word on social media, we want to reward our highest performing people!
• We will be handing out awards and prizes for our Leader Board categories, including:
• Top challenge participant
• Top individual and team fundraisers
• Top individual and overall team (includes money raised, social media shared, and challenges participated)