How to Setup an Online Red Kettle

This is the page your team invite linked you to. (Our example is IndyMoms, which you can learn more about at http://Indianapolis.MomsLikeMe.com) You can donate to the team kettle total by clicking 'Donate to My Kettle.' Or, to join click 'Join this Kettle Team.' Proceed to step two.

Let's face it. Some teams are members only, and for those, you need to have the password to enter. You should have received the password in the invitation to join. If not, please contact whomever invited you to join. Enter the password, twice on this screen. Remember it's case sensitive. Then, step three.

[Note: If you are only starting an individual kettle, and not part of a team, start by clicking "Start a New Kettle" from the front page. Now, carry on.] It's good to have a goal. Here, you can set your fundraising goal. Don't be too ambitious (unless you know a million generous people -- in which case, we want to know you.) Don't be too shy, either. We suggest $125. You will probably raise more, because we believe it. You might just surprise yourself. Click 'Next Step' to proceed to step four.

We need to know a little bit about you. Don't worry, we don't sell, give away, loan, pawn, or otherwise distribute your information. Your zip code will help determine where the donations go when your generous donors choose their gift to be used in your community. Don't forget to select a username and password as well. Then, click 'Next Step' for step five.

Make sure all the info you entered in is correct. Choose 'Complete Registration.'

You're technically done at this point, but there's still much more you can do. If you want to make a donation to your kettle, DON'T click 'Make a Donation.' We know it might make sense to use this link to donate to your kettle. Although the donation will go to The Salvation Army, it won't be counted towards your overall kettle goal. We'll show you where to donate in just a moment. For now, click 'Personalize my URL.'

To personalize one's URL is a fantastic thing. Why make the link to your kettle something human-unreadable? You are sending it to humans, aren't you? (You better be.) Choose some catchy phrase like 'SoccerMom_1' or 'SoccerMom_2'. If it's taken, you'll get another chance. But choose wisely. (If you don't, you can come back here and change it.)

Click 'My Kettle Settings' to get to the edit page. You can preview your kettle at the bottom. It's a default page with a dashing Red Kettle and a block of text. We know you can do better. To begin, click 'Click here to open this page for editing.'

Here you can change your kettle title (think of it like a headline - be short, sweet and catchy.) You can also upload a photo, give it a caption, change the items in the right sidebar, and add more text blocks. Be sure to click 'Save my changes' when you are done, or 'Go to preview mode' to see what the world will see.

Your address book will allow you to easily send invitations to donate, join your team, or thank the generous donors. You can import a CSV file from Outlook, Yahoo!, or any email client that allows you to export the address book. It's handy AND dandy. Just click 'Import Contacts'.

Though there are other ways to add addresses (one-by-one, if you have the time), the easiest is to import a CSV file. This is pretty self-explanatory, so we'll let the thousand words-worth image above help.

Click 'Email' at the top to open the email tool wizard thing. This page has some suggested (canned) emails you can send. You can (and should) personalize these emails (see below). To request donations, click 'Help me fill kettle'.

Here you can add email addresses from your address book in the yellow box on the right, or type in addresses one by one. You can change the subject of the email, the body of the email, and even the stationery. When you want to preview it, click 'Preview'. When you want to send it, click 'Send'. If you want to save or cancel, you know what to do.

When your friends and family click on the link to give, they see this page... your online red kettle. They click 'Donate to My Kettle' and securely donate their generous gift to those in need anywhere The Salvation Army serves (which is just about everywhere.) You can use this same link to donate to your own kettle. There's absolutely no shame in donating to your own kettle. We checked.