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2025-2026 Champions for Youth CharitiesKey DatesRulesProceduresResourcesBest PracticesClassy How To – FAQ

CAMPAIGN PREP

September 10  | Tee-Off Celebration

October 27 – November 7  | Kick-off Calls

November 7  | DUE – Signed Program Agreements

 

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

November 1 | Soft Launch

December 2 | Giving Tuesday: Hard Launch

December 2  | CFY Press Release

 

January 20 | Deadline for Offline Donations – all checks must be handed to Jennifer by EOD

January 29- February 1 | 2026 Farmers Insurance Open Tournament Week

February 1 | Online Donation Deadline

 

 

CAMPAIGN WRAP-UP

February 6 | DUE – Campaign Results Summary to Jennifer

February 11 | Campaign Results announced (target date)

February 11 | Sign-ups for Recap Meetings posted

February 17 | Checks mailed (includes funds raised)

February 27 | CFY collective call

March 2-13 | Recap Meetings; Due – Impact Statements

March 31 | Round 2 of checks sent (any late donations)

April 28 | Checks sent (includes all bonus pool)

BONUS POOL STRUCTURE

The 2023-2024 Farmers Cares Bonus Pool of $235,000 will be allocated as follows:

• $145,000 will be distributed based on how many donors each organization has compared to the other 4 fundraising organizations (higher finish = more funding)
• $75,000 will be distributed based on how much each organization raises compared to the other 4 fundraising organizations (higher finish = more funding)
• $15,000 will be divided by those organizations with at least 95% of the overall transactions online

Click here to download the Bonus Pool allocation.

 

DONATION DEADLINES

• Online – only donations less than $10,000 and made from November 1 (soft launch, highly targeted outreach) until 11:59 p.m. January 28, 2024 will be counted toward calculating bonus pool allocations.
• Offline – only donations less than $10,000 that are dated and received by the Century Club between November 1 – January 16, 2024, will be counted toward calculating bonus pool allocations.
• Any donation, whether online or via check, that cannot be processed because of the donor’s insufficient funds must be fully reconciled with funds received by the Century Club prior to the January 28, 2024 donation deadline. The Century Club may deduct any processing fees incurred by these transactions from the ((Organization Name))’s fundraising total.

 

DONATION MINIMUMS AND MAXIMUMS

• The minimum qualifying donation to count as a unique donor is $10.
• There is no minimum donation amount to be counted toward each charity’s bonus pool total.
• The maximum per-donor contribution that will be counted toward a charity’s bonus pool-eligible fundraising total is $10,000.

 

DONOR MINIMUM

• Charities must have at least 200 unique donors that give a minimum donation of $10 to receive any bonus pool dollars attributed to donors.

 

ACCEPTED DONATION PAYMENT METHODS

• Online – through Classy fundraising pages for Champions for Youth charities or the Century Club.
  • Credit card – all cards accepted except Discover
  • Venmo
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • PayPal
  • Bank transfer
• Offline – Checks must be made payable to the Century Club and received by Jennifer by January 16, 2024. Please see below for more information on processing checks.
• Note: cash donations are not accepted

Donations that are clearly specified as payment for a sponsorship, i.e. table sponsorship at ___ event will not qualify for bonus funds.

 

DONATIONS MADE BY CHECK

• Checks must be made payable to the Century Club of San Diego. This allows us to cash the checks and therefore count these donations toward the charities’ Champions for Youth program. Checks made out directly to the designated charity will not count toward Champions for Youth bonus pool-eligible totals.
• Memo line should include your organization’s name
• Checks should be entered into your organization’s Classy campaign
• Once entered, mail checks to: Century Club of San Diego, Attn: Jennifer Cota, 9404 Genesee Ave., Suite 310, La Jolla, CA 92037

 

SOFT LAUNCH vs. HARD LAUNCH

The intention of the soft launch period is to create momentum by building a base amount of donations and fundraisers prior to the official launch. This will contribute to campaign success through the goal proximity effect (see this Classy article for more info).

The soft launch period for the 2023-2024 Champions for Youth program will be from November 1 – November 27. Donations will be accepted during this time (checks must be dated no earlier than Nov. 1). During this time, organizations are allowed and encouraged to have targeted conversations with those core individuals they will solicit to set-up fundraising pages and to make initial donations.

Organizations should not, during the soft launch, broadly solicit to their fundraising page (i.e. social media, e-blasts, website) or have fundraisers broadly promote their pages on their social media. Think of it as behind-the-scenes communication with public-facing communication beginning on November 28. During the soft launch direct one-to-one methods of communication are accepted while mass messaging is reserved for the hard launch period.

Examples of communication during the soft launch (November 1 – November 27) allowed by organizations, fundraisers, and donors:

• Mass messaging (eNewsletters, website, social): announce participation in the CFY program, give fundraising dates, tease opportunity to participate
• Direct messaging (individual emails/conversations/meetings with board, volunteers, donors): recruit fundraisers, request donations

 

Examples of communication during the hard launch (November 28 – January 28) allowed by organizations, fundraisers, and donors:

• Mass messaging: Donate or fundraise and grow your gift
• Direct messaging: Donate or fundraise and grow your gift

 

LIVE LEADERBOARD RESULTS

The “live leaderboard” page will update in real-time and may include unverified payments entered by charities. Results are not final until confirmed and posted by the Century Club of San Diego following the conclusion of the Champions for Youth program.

 

DONOR MATCHING CAMPAIGNS

During Champions for Youth, charities may engage a donor or group of donors to add an additional giving incentive by providing an additional match.

For example, if a board member pledged to match all donations $100 or less on Giving Tuesday, up to $10,000.

Should a charity choose to pursue this strategy, the following rules will apply:

• The match parameters must be communicated to the Century Club at least one week in advance of the planned match date
• The maximum individual donor match must fall within program rules of $10,000 or less. Multiple donors may group together to provide a larger match, but each individual donor may only give a maximum of $10,000.
• The promised date of payment must also fall within program rules and therefore must be received by the Century Club within 10 days of the completion of the matching campaign
• All donations eligible for the match must be made online through the charity’s Champions for Youth page. Mailed donations will not be counted toward match totals.
• The matching donation amount must be made through the Champions for Youth program, and may not be made directly to the charity.
• If the matching donation does not follow the rules as stated above, all donations made by donors during the match window will be disqualified from bonus pool eligibility and the charity will not be allowed to conduct any future matching campaigns within Champions for Youth.

 

DONOR COMMENTS ON CHARITY PAGES

• Donors comments appear on the public comment feed of each individual charity page.
• The Century Club reserves the right to remove any comments that it deems inappropriate or compromising of confidential or sensitive information.

 

USE OF IMAGES/TRADEMARKS

• Use of the Champions for Youth logo will be granted to participating organizations so long as the intended use follows branding guidelines.
• Use of the trademarks of the Century Club of San Diego and Farmers Insurance Open will be granted to participating organizations upon request. Samples of materials bearing trademarks must be submitted to the Century Club for approval prior to distribution. Please email Jennifer at jcota@centuryclubsd.org with any materials for approval. Unauthorized use of these trademarks is strictly prohibited.

 

FUNDING RESTRICTIONS

Champions for Youth funding is unrestricted. The Century Club believes that Champions for Youth charities are carefully vetted and reviewed, and based on those findings, are entrusted to use funding responsibly to fuel the mission of the organization in the way that the organization deems most fit. Charities will, however, be asked to provide an impact statement after the program to provide the Century Club, Farmers Insurance and supporters with a broad understanding of the impact of the funding, resources and awareness provided through the program.

These rules are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of the Century Club of San Diego.

ENTERING CHECKS INTO CLASSY

• Champions for Youth checks initially received by Champions for Youth charities must first be entered by the charity into their Classy campaign, then delivered to the Century Club
• To enter checks:
  • Hover over the “Actions” tab in your campaign page
  • Click “Add Offline Donation”
  • Enter all applicable information, including the name of the fundraiser if appropriate. Remember:  All information on each check must be entered into Classy as designated below:
    • Name as it appears on the check (name entered into Classy must exactly match the name on the check)
    • Address (if available)
    • Phone Number (if available)
    • Check Number
    • Date – Must be the CHECK DATE, not the default date of check entry
  • Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page
• Checks received directly by the Century Club will be entered contemporaneously into the designated charities’ Classy campaign
• Upon receipt of the check(s) entered by the charities, Century Club will verify that the check abides by program rules (Check made out to Century Club, within fundraising window & timelines). Any check that does not abide by program rules will not be counted toward a charity’s total and will be moved to the ineligible campaign.

 

CHECK DELIVERY

• Checks may be delivered by mail or delivery service within the time window permitted by the rules during the campaign. If checks are first delivered to the designated Champions for Youth Organization, they must be entered into Classy using the procedure outlined above.
• Checks may be delivered in-person on Tuesday, January 16, the deadline for all offline donations. Any check received after this day, will not count toward an organization’s campaign total. No exceptions.
• Please mail checks to:
  • Century Club of San Diego, Attn: Jennifer Cota, 9404 Genesee Ave., Ste 310, La Jolla, CA 92037

TAX LETTERS

• As a 501(c)(3) public charity, 100 percent of every donation made through Champions for Youth will be tax deductible. The Century Club’s Tax ID number is 95-2145967.
• Every online donation that provides an email will receive an automated tax letter from Classy via email with the Century Club’s tax ID and tax deductibility information.
• Every donation made by check that provides a physical address to which USPS can be delivered will receive a tax letter by mail from Century Club. Tax letters will be mailed in February.
• All tax letters will acknowledge the donor’s designated charity.
• Charities should send a thank you note, but not an official tax letter to all Champions for Youth donors.

 

EMPLOYEE MATCHING DONATIONS

• Individuals whose companies offer matching gifts for employee contributions may do so through Champions for Youth.
• If a charity is aware that a donor’s contribution will be matched by his or her company, the charity should take the following steps:
  • Notify the Century Club of the donor’s name and planned date of contribution
  • Provide the Century Club with the company name and delivery method and projected timing of the matching donation
• In turn, The Century Club will:
  • Add a note to the donor’s profile in Champions for Youth
  • Flag the contribution for special handling upon receipt
  • If the matching donation is received within the Champions for Youth window, it will count toward the designated charity’s bonus pool-eligible total.
  • If the donation is not received within the Champions for Youth donation window, the donation will be made in full to the selected charity, but will not be counted toward the charity’s bonus-pool eligible total.

 

CHECKS RECEIVED WITHOUT A DESIGNATED CHARITY

• If a check is received without a specific charity identified, Century Club will attempt to contact the donor to clarify the donor’s intended charity.
• If Century Club is not able to contact the donor prior to the donation deadline, the donation will be split evenly among all participating Champions for Youth charities.

 

CLASSY ADMIN/ACCESS

• Each charity must designate at least one campaign admin on their Champions for Youth registration form. The charity’s primary contact may change the campaign admin at any time.
• Each charity will have 24/7 access to their own campaign and will not be able to access any other charity’s campaign.

 

DONATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE

Any donation received after the deadline will be donated in full by the Century Club to the donor’s designated charity, but will not count toward bonus pool totals.

 

Toolkit

• Social Media Graphics – Jennifer emailed to each organization on November 13, please email her if you need them sent again
• CFY boilerplate – Suggested Copy
• Video Tutorial – How to Set Up a Fundraiser Page (for a supporter)

 

For Fundraisers

• Video Tutorial – How to Set Up a Fundraiser Page
• Email Template – Ask Your Networks

 

Campaign Planning

• Webinar #1 (22 Minutes) – Classy: Champions for Youth Phases of a Peer-to-Peer Campaign
• Webinar #2 – Classy: Strategies to Finish Your Campaign Strong (Webinar) (Slides)
• Ultimate Campaign Planning Kit – Classy
• Guide/Checklist to Build Communications Plan
• #GivingTuesday Classy Resource Center

 

Marketing/Communication

• Social Media basic content/strategy guide
• 30 Power words that convert on Social Media
• How to thank Donors – From Donors
• Better Open Rates: How to Write Killer Email Subject Lines
• Webinar: How to craft the perfect donor thank you
• Higher conversion rates on your donation page

 

Peer-to-Peer

• 5 Ways to Turn Volunteers Into Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers
  
• Classy Guide : P2P Phases

 

Stewardship

• Infographic – Craft the perfect donor thank you

Create a page for a donor – with their permission!

VIDEO TUTORIAL

If you are setting up multiple pages at once, say for board members, follow these steps

•  Send an email (could be a mass email with all members in the “to” or “bcc” line) and email with the link below to ask them to reset their password
• Designate what you want the password to be, i.e. CFY2021! so you’ll have access to all the pages you set-up and it only require a quick, easy action on their part

Password reset link

Enter checks aka “Offline Donations”

1.  Hover over the “Actions” tab in your campaign page
2. Click “Add Offline Donation”
3. Enter all applicable information, including the name of the fundraiser if appropriate. Remember:  All information on each check must be entered into Classy as designated below:
   • Name as it appears on the check (name entered into Classy must exactly match the name on the check)
   • Address (if available)
   • Phone Number (if available)
   • Check Number
   • Date – Must be the CHECK DATE, not the default date of check entry
4. Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page

Gather more data – create custom questions in your donation form

1. Go to your campaign dashboard
2. Click “Details”
3. Click “Questions”
4. Click “Donors”
5. Toggle on/off questions you want to include or create your own in the “add custom question” section. (Screenshot)

Edit a donation

1. Reports
2. Transactions Report
3. Click on the “edit” box on the far left-hand side (box with pencil in it)
4. Make desired edits
5. Click “save changes” at the bottom

Re-sending an electronic tax receipt

1. Reports
2. Transactions Report
3. Click on the “edit” box on the far left-hand side (box with pencil in it)
4. Click “resend receipt” at the top of the page

*Donations made via check will receive an “offline” tax receipt through the mail. If a donor needs this receipt re-issued, please contact Jennifer.*

Anonymous Donors
All donations will appear in activity feeds on Champions for Youth pages. If a donor wishes for their name to remain private, they may do so, In this case, instead of it saying “Jennifer Cota just donated $5” It will say “$5 has been donated”

• A donor who wishes to remain anonymous can do so by clicking the checkbox “Make Donation Anonymous”
• Admins can also do this when entering an offline donation
• All checks received directly from donors by The Century Club will be entered as anonymous, because there will be no indication as to whether or not they would like their name published. Charities who are aware of the donors’ preference can change the donation to not appear anonymous by following the donation editing steps above

Edit a Comment
Comments made with donations appear publicly. They can be edited by the admin by following the donation editing steps above.

Respond to a Comment

1. Log in using your admin credentials
2. Go to your public-facing campaign landing page
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “campaign activity”
4. View comments and click “show more” to see more activity/comments
5. Click “reply” (Screenshot)
6. Write comment then click “post comment”

Add video to team pages
Add to the “body” block of the page in the “design” section (Screenshot)

OR

Team captains AND individual fundraisers can add videos to their own pages (Screenshot)