Recruitment Tools:
Tabling On Campus
One of the best ways to approach recruitment of your college’s general student body is tabling on campus. Tabling can increase your event’s visibility and provide an opportunity to recruit in-person. Below are some tips for holding a successful tabling event:
Choose tabling time and location strategically
- A successful tabling event reaches a wide range of people! Try scheduling a tabling event during a class passing time or near a dining hall during lunch. This ensures there is high traffic by your table and maximizes visibility!
- Keep an eye out for events that attract more people to campus. A common example is your college’s Family and Friends Weekend or Homecoming. This is a great opportunity to recruit students while also getting donations from families.
Make your table attractive & visible
One of the biggest challenges associated with tabling is attracting people to visit your table instead of walking past. Try having items on display that students can get for registering or playing some music to attract a crowd!
- Snacks or candy
- T-shirts (You may have leftovers from the previous year!)
- Posters
- Bracelets, Pens, Beads
- Spin wheel
- Cancer-themed quiz
Remember, prizes don’t always have to be physical items. Consider offering a pass to skip to the front of the food line at your Relay event, free admission into a game or competition, or a chance to play their favorite songs during a small segment of the event.
Visibly advertise your event and the American Cancer Society
- Be vocal
- Get people’s attention, otherwise they will walk right past! Say hi to people, ask questions, get them to notice you!
- Never table alone! Always have several ELT members around to talk to passing students. Having a fun and welcoming environment of members makes people more interested in stopping by and engaging in conversation. Consider wearing your matching ACS t-shirts to represent your club!
Have tabling materials that share information about Relay For Life
- A poster that grabs attention
- Flyers to hand out
- QR codes directing them to registration/donation pages
Club Visits & Class Presentations
Chapter and club visits are a vital tool for pitching your event in person and reaching a wide range of students! A visit is a short presentation given during another organization’s meeting to inform their members about Relay For Life and how they can get involved with and contribute to your event. Below are some tips for a successful visit and presentation:
Scheduling Club Visits
There are a variety of ways to approach clubs about visits! You can send DMs/emails asking when their meetings are. You can use your ELT’s connections within the club to set up a meeting.
- A useful tool for scheduling is a form that organizations can fill out to request a visit. Interested organizations can fill out the form and provide potential visit dates and contact information, making it easier for you to coordinate the visit. This form can be sent in DMs and emails while conducting your recruitment efforts!
Class Presentations
- Have ELT members present at the beginning or end of their classes each semester!
- Create an email template that ELT members can send to ask their professors for a few minutes of class time to present.
- Share a slide deck and script for members to use. Record a sample presentation for them to watch before doing one themself!
- If professors can’t provide class time to present, see if they will allow you to post the presentation on the class page or put a single slide up on the screen at the beginning or end of class. Work with professors to see what they are willing to provide!
Creating a presentation
- One of the key components of a successful chapter visit is an informative and appealing set of slides that engage your audience. These should include information such as the location, date, and time of your Relay event. Additionally, include pictures of your event to show your audience what happens at Relay.
- Tailor your slides to your specific audience. If you are speaking with an organization that registered for Relay in a previous year, consider including their statistics from that year as a target for them to grow upon.
- Utilize QR codes! Recruitment is easy when people can just pull out their phone and be taken directly to your event’s website.
- Encourage listeners to register on the spot while you are there. Pause your presentation, give them a few minutes to work through the registration process, and walk around to offer help or answer questions as needed. Don’t assume they will remember to register later!
Presenting about Relay For Life
- When presenting about Relay, there are a few key components to include. You should share information about the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life such as what initiatives the fundraised money goes towards and what actually happens at your Relay For Life event.
- Connect with your audience. Consider sharing why you Relay to create a deeper meaning behind your involvement. Try asking your audience to raise their hands if they have been affected by cancer. These tools can help your audience better understand the widespread impacts of cancer within their own community.
Recruitment Challenges & Incentives
A great recruitment resource is holding challenges! College students can be very competitive, so providing an incentive to register can be a great way to boost your registration numbers. See below for tips on designing recruitment challenges.
Examples of Recruitment Challenges
Example 1:
Anyone who registers within these dates are entered into a raffle for a prize
Example 2
The 100th person to register wins a prize
Example 3
The team that recruits the most participants this week wins a prize
With each challenge, think about appropriate prizes based on the audience.
Getting prizes donated from local businesses is a great option, and this can range from gift cards, free food, goodie bags and even donations to the winning team’s fundraising page.
Discount Code Days
Use national and event-specific discount codes to your advantage!
- Offer a perk or prize to anyone who uses a discount code or enter them into a raffle to win something.
- Pay attention to the timing of these days and coordinate several club and organization visits to encourage the use of these codes!
- Talk to your staff partner about utilizing discount codes to recruit new participants.