Take Steps is the Foundation's largest nationwide fundraising campaign, which includes of local community walks and a national TAKE STEPS + VIRTUAL event dedicated to raising funds to find cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Each local Take Steps walk is unique to the community, but every event brings together the IBD community in an empowering, fun atmosphere. - Visit your local walk page for specifics about what’s planned in your community!
We are planning that the majority of our walks will be held safely in person this spring and fall but continue to follow the guidelines of the CDC and local governments. Your safety is paramount and regardless how walks will take place, we will all come together in some way to celebrate our community in 2022. We will also be offering a TAKE STEPS + VIRTUAL event on June 11, 2022.We will continue to share details as they are confirmed.
Visit our homepage and enter your zip code to find the walk nearest you, and click on that event. Select the orange “Get Started Today” button to work through the registration process. You have the option to register start a new team as a Team Captain, join an existing team, or walk as an individual. We encourage you to invite your friends, family members, co-workers and everyone you know to join your team and fundraise. Not only does a team fundraising effort show patients that they have a supportive community behind them, but it will help find cures.
Teams include companies, organizations, families, schools, and clubs and can range from as few as two walkers to hundreds!
Take Steps is held nationwide mostly in the spring with a handful of events in the fall. Search for a local walk in your community to get all event details for a specific event.
While there is no cost to participate and everyone is welcomed at Take Steps, we encourage everyone to register and set a goal of at least $100. Raising $100 is as easy as asking 10 of your friends and family members to donate $10 each. Each person who individually raises $100 through their participant page will become a Pacesetter and will receive a Take Steps t-shirt and access to special refreshments at in person events. Patients and children under 13 receive access to special refreshments regardless of their fundraising. Teams who reach a certain fundraising amount will be a Top Fundraising Team Club and receive special team incentives on walk day at in person events. Visit your local walk’s Top Fundraising Club section of the website for local information.
Whether through social media, email, phone, text or in person, the formula is always the same. Tell your network why you’re fundraising whether you’re a patient battling IBD or have a loved one doing the same. Tell your friends that millions of Americans suffer from IBD, yet there is no cure. Then tell them we need a cure, and invite them to be part of that miraculous achievement by making a donation to your fundraising.
The Fundraising Tools page of the Take Steps website has helpful resources and guides to help you along. Your Fundraising Center, which appears once you log into your account at cctakesteps.org, is where you can manage your asks and donations. Your Fundraising Center has sample emails you can send and you can start a Facebook Fundraiser there, which will post on your Facebook page and reflect all fundraising on your Take Steps fundraising page. This can also be done through our App, which includes even more tools, such as text & social media messages. You can also connect with your local Take Steps staff who would be delighted to advise and support you.
We encourage everyone to set a personal goal of at least $100 so that you can become a Pacesetter and receive a Take Steps t-shirt and access to special refreshments on walk day at in person events. In 2021 the average Take Steps fundraiser raised $822 We have special incentives fundraisers can claim starting at $350 up to $10,000 that you can find under the Fundraising Tools section of our website. The higher you reach, the more likely we can find a cure faster.
Visit CCTakeSteps.org and search for your local walk. Click on the event and press the orange “Get Started” button. Select “Form a Team” and our registration process will walk you through the rest! Once your team is formed, use the Fundraising Center (located at the top right-hand corner of the website under “Hi NAME” when you are logged in) to customize your page. Add a photo, update your team goal and share why you walk. Then you’re ready to post the link on social media and send in emails asking your friends to join you by registering and fundraising as a member of your team.
You can find resources specifically for Team Captains under the Fundraising Tools section of our website.
Encourage participants to donate online so those donations can be credited toward your goal right away and online donations ensure an immediate tax receipt for your donor. You do have a few options for donations collected offline:
Many companies offer matching gift programs to maximize their financial contributions to non-profit organizations. This means you may be able to increase your impact with a matching gift and move us closer to a world free of IBD. Visit https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/donate/matching-gifts for information about requesting a matching gift for your donation.
Take Steps is a non-competitive walk event with routes that average two to three miles in length, but varies by walk event. Contact the walk staff of your local event to find out the exact length.
Our patients can’t stop during bad weather, so neither do we! Take Steps will take place rain or shine; however, if there is dangerous weather, the local chapter will notify participants of alternate plans.
Strollers are welcome at all walk sites. Bicycles and in-line skates are not allowed. Pets are welcome on leashes at most walk sites, but please check with your local chapter.
Take Steps makes every effort to ensure clean, accessible and comfortable bathroom accommodations are available at the walk. Please contact your local walk staff for information about exactly what will be available at your event.
If you are a Team Captain, you will have both a personal fundraising and team fundraising page once you are registered for Take Steps. Both pages are customizable. The function of the Team Page is to provide you with a url to recruit team members, allow team members to register, and to show progress towards your team goal. While donors can make contributions to your team page, we recommend they donate to specific team members instead. Your personal fundraising page should be used to fundraise so that your donations are allocated to your personal fundraising. Only contributions to your personal fundraising will count towards your Pacesetter status and incentives.
Reach out to your local Take Steps walk staff or your local chapter. Find your local staff on the homepage of your event or check your email inbox for your welcome email if you are a registered participant. You can also email takesteps@crohnscolitisfoundation.org with your questions and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible