General
Q: How will the money raised by the Fall Festival be used?
The Fall Festival 2016 primary fundraising goal is to fund for buses for all Lincoln Elementary classes at all grade levels to participate in a field trip of the classroom’s choice (eg. an end of year field trip, an additional educational field trip, etc). Furthermore, the money will be used to subsidize, support and enrich our children’s education through new and continuing programs such Book Fair, Science Fair, Project Cornerstone, Reflections, Yearbook, Math Olympiad, Ice Cream Social, recreational equipment, school assemblies, etc.
Q: Who can walk in the walk-a-thon?
We invite all Lincoln students and Lincoln Family and Friends to participate in the Fall Festival and walk-a-thon. Please note, for safety reasons, all walkers must register and have a waiver on file. Additionally, all walkers must be able to walk on their own. Carrying children or transporting them in strollers is not allowed.
Q: Can I walk with my younger children?
Absolutely. Lincoln students will walk the first lap with their classes. After that, we invite parents who are registered walkers to come on to the track. Please note, for safety reasons, all walkers must register and have a waiver on file.
Q: Who can participate in the games?
Your registration fee includes access to unlimited games. We invite all Lincoln students and Lincoln Family and Friends to participate in the Fall Festival games. Please note, for safety reasons, all participants must register and have a waiver on file.
Q: Whom can I contact if I have other questions on the Fall Festival?
Please contact LincolnPTAConnect@gmail.com.
Registration
Q: Why is the registration being managed online?
Managing the registration online frees staff, teachers and parent volunteers from the tedious and time-consuming processes of managing manual forms, cash and checks. Not to mention the fact that we’re saving trees
Q: Can I register offline?
Unfortunately, no, all registration for the Lincoln Fall Festival must be completed online at http://tinyurl.com/FallFestivalRegistration
Q: How can my child participate if I don’t use online services?
We will do everything we can to facilitate your child’s participation. Please contact LincolnPTAConnect@gmail.com.
Q: Why do I need to register each of my Lincoln students separately?
At this time, it is the only way we can accurately track students and their sponsorship pledges. Payment can still be completed in the same transaction, but each participant must be separately added to the cart.
Q: What is the deadline for registration?
Register by Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 6 pm to reserve your Lincoln tote and pay only $20. You can still register after that date but we cannot guarantee that the Lincoln Spirit tote will be available and the price of registration increases to $25.
Q: Can I sponsor offline?
Yes, sponsorships are accepted by cash/check or credit card. Through 99Pledges, a sponsorship page will be created for all student registrants to track their sponsorships.
- Check/Cash sponsorships: please download and complete the form from this link: http://tinyurl.com/2016SponsorshipForm, put your check/cash payment along with the form into an envelope labeled as “Lincoln PTA Fall Festival, and turn it into the front office or your classroom teacher.
- Credit card sponsorships: please use 99Pledges for all credit card sponsorships, including those made by friends and family. Approximately 48 hours after completing registration, please visit this page: http://tinyurl.com/WalkathonPledges2016 and search for your child first name, last initial, and room number. Their total pledges will be tracked on their 99Pledge page.
Q: How do I pick-up the Lincoln tote?
For Lincoln students, the totes will be distributed to their classrooms on event day. All non-student participants may pick up their totes at registration check-in.
Sponsorship
Q: How do I collect sponsorships online?
Sponsorships are managed through 99Pledges. A sponsorship page will be created for all registered student to help track his or her sponsorships. You and your student will now be able to reach out to friends and family electronically by email, Facebook, and Twitter, instead of going door-to-door, tracking commitments, and handling checks. Sponsors can make a credit card contribution to support your student with a simple and secure online transaction.
Q: How do I track how much I’ve raised in sponsorship?
A sponsorship page is created for each student who registers. Parents simply share their student’s page with friends and family with nothing to edit or change. A notification is emailed whenever anyone makes a donation to the page. Sponsorships are tracked for each student and also aggregated to the classroom or the grade levels. Approximately 48 hours after completing registration, please visit this page: http://tinyurl.com/WalkathonPledges2016 and search for your child first name, last initial, and room number. Their total pledges will be tracked on their 99Pledge page
Q: What should I do if a sponsor gives me their pledge money in cash?
If a sponsor gives your child a pledge in cash, you can either
- Ask that person to make the payment online via 99Pledges, or
- Simply take the cash and make the donation online via 99Pledges with a credit card on his/her behalf, or
- Download and complete the sponsorship form from this link, put your check/cash payment along with the form into an envelope labeled as “Lincoln PTA Fall Festival, and turn it into the front office or classroom teacher.
Q: How can I get tax receipts for donations?
Cash/Check sponsorships: a receipt will be separately emailed.
Credit card: The donor will receive an email after their donation is completed.
Q: Is this web site secure?
Yes. 99Pledges uses Braintree as the payment processor who is used by such sites as Airbnb, OpenTable, and many more. Braintree is a Level 1 PCI DSS compliant service provider which means they meet the most stringent guidelines. They are also on Visa’s Global Compliant Provider List and MasterCard’s SDP List.
Additionally, 99Pledges do not market to the parents in ANY way. They simply send an email with a link to their student’s page and a notification whenever anyone makes a donation to the page. They never share email addresses (or any system data) with any third party. Sponsorship pages are not indexed by search engines and are only seen if a parent shares their page. They only use first name and last initials of the students.
Games and Prizes at the Fall Festival
Q: Will there be games at the Fall Festival?
Yes! Games will be available at our Fall Festival. Come and join in on the fun in between breaks from your walking.
Q: Is there an additional fee for the games?
No, your registration fee will entitle you to unlimited access to all the games as long as the game booths are opened. No additional tickets/fees are required.
Q: What about tracking my walk-a-thon laps?
Lap cards will also be handed out at check-in. These lap cards are used to track your personal accomplishments with some small prizes handed out along the way as lap goals are achieved. All lap cards and prizes are inclusive in your registration fee. Lap cards are for your souvenir of the event and will not be collected.
Food
Q: What are Food tickets?
Food tickets are available for pre-purchase at the same time that you complete your registration. They are pre-sold as $1 per ticket in multiple of $5. Our food booths will not be handling any cash transactions; only the food tickets will be used. On event day, $1 food tickets will also be available for purchase. Pre-purchasing the tickets will facilitate your enjoyment of event day, as you will be able to avoid lengthy lines and the tickets will be distributed with your Lincoln tote to your student’s classroom on event day.
Q: Are there price discounts available for the Food Tickets?
Unfortunately no, we do not offer discounts on the food tickets, which are used only for the food booths. However, if you consider pre-purchasing the tickets, you can avoid lengthy lines to enjoy more of the festivities on event day.
Q: Will the Food tickets be available for sale at the event?
Yes, $1 food tickets will be available for purchase on event day.
Raffle & Auction
Q: How do I pick-up my Raffle tickets?
Discounted raffle tickets will be available for pre-purchase via an order form and onsite the week of 10/24/16. Discounted pricing is currently TBD. Please look for additional details in October. Pre-purchased tickets will be distributed with your Lincoln tote to your student’s classroom on event day. You can also purchase additional tickets on event day for $1/ticket. Prizes will be categorized in two separate categories: $1 raffle and $5 raffle. Please help to determine your desired ticket types at time of purchase.
Q: How do I enter my tickets into the Raffle?
At the event there will be a complete list of prizes and corresponding prize drawing boxes. You can put all your tickets into a single drawing or split them up between multiple drawings. To facilitate the process, please write your name on each ticket prior to dropping it in the desired raffle. Remember to put only one side of your ticket into the drawing, keep the matching ticket number with you so you can match the number called during the raffle.
Q: How will the auction be conducted?
The auction will be a silent auction. Bid sheets will be made available for all items up for auction. A minimum starting bid will be set for each item. Bidders must be 21 years or older to bid.Bidders are responsible for payment of all auction items won on the day of the event. Cash, check or credit card payments are accepted. Once closing is called, all bids placed after closing are invalid. The highest bid at the close of the auction will represent the winning bid. Winners are called after closing and should go to the cashier table to pay and collect item. In the event of a dispute, the Silent Auction Chair shall have final authority to determine the winning bidders.
Q: How do I pick-up my prizes?
Raffle prize will be drawn and winner immediately announced. You must be present at time of drawing to win. If the announced winner is not present, another ticket will be drawn until such a time that the announced winner is present to collect the prize. Collection of the prize will be immediate upon confirmation of raffle ticket number.
Auction winners will be announced at the closing of the auction. Any bidder not present or making full payment will forfeit the right to purchase the item(s), and the next highest bidder will be called upon as the winning bid.
Q: Why do I need to be present to collect my Raffle or Auction prize?
This is a volunteer run event and we simply don’t have the manpower to track down winners after the event. If you would like to buy tickets or bid on an item and can’t be present, please consider asking a friend to monitor your tickets and collect your auction prizes.