How To Structure Your ELT

A Campus Relay For Life Faculty Advisor is a dedicated educator who serves as the primary mentor and guide for a student-led club. They provide leadership, support, and continuity for the group, helping students plan and execute fundraising events that benefit the American Cancer Society. Faculty Advisors act as a liaison between the school administration and the club, ensure compliance with campus policies, and foster an environment where students can develop leadership skills, promote cancer awareness, and make a meaningful impact in their community.

Some ELTs, especially at the college level, could benefit from a larger ELT because there are more people to run fundraisers and reach out to different groups (athletic teams, clubs, Greek life, etc).

However, some could benefit from being smaller, especially in high school, to weed out the students who are only participating to boost their college applications.

Use the Event Lead Guidebook and other resources on acsresources.org/relayforlife for further guidance on structuring your ELT. Some helpful advice featured in the Event Lead Guidebook includes:

Helpful Advice from the Event Lead Guidebook Includes:

1

Overseeing recruitment, timelines, goals, budgets, and training

Go To Event Lead Guidebook

2

Leading planning meetings and relaying feedback to ACS staff partner(s)

3

Ensuring team collaboration and community through long-term planning

Tip: Co-chairing is a great option. Consider having one chair manage pre-event (“Growth”) planning and the other focus on day-of (“Production”) logistics.

Growth vs Production Subcommittees

Splitting responsibilities makes Relay planning more efficient and enjoyable:

Growth Sub-Committees

Teams (recruitment, retention, coaching)
Marketing & communication
Survivors & caregivers
Sponsorship
Fundraising
Online & social media
Pre-event activities (fundraisers, kick offs, etc.)
Youth engagement

Production Sub-Committees

Logistics
Activities & entertainment
Ceremonies
Luminaria
Volunteer recruitment
Accounting & registration
In-kind donations (food, beverage, etc.)
Recognition
Mission & advocacy efforts

Remember, roles can be combined for a smaller ELT.
Adapt the structure to fit the needs of your club and event!

Selecting the Right Volunteers

Use Strategic Recruitment:

List required positions and ideal qualities for each role
Ask candidates why they’re a strong fit (Why do you Relay?)
Try to get students from diverse backgrounds which includes different grade levels, clubs, friend groups to improve outreach and get new ideads.

Leaders/Recruiters

Organized, goal-oriented, outgoing (Team Coaches, Recruitment)

Business-Minded

Well-connected and has fundraising skills (Sponsorship, Fundraising)

Social Connectors

Energetic, relationship builders (Marketing, Team Coach)

Care-Oriented

Compassionate, Inspiring (Survivors & Caregivers, Mission Lead)

Detail-Focused

Accurate with numbers and communications (Accounting, Social Media)

Training & Preparing Your ELT

In order to reinforce the strong foundation you built with the structure of your ELT, be sure to train students, especially those with little experience, on how to succeed in their role!

Relay For Life on ACSResources.org

Access downloadable guidebooks, templates, presentation materials, fundraising ideas, recruitment tools, and more.

Training Library

A collection of video trainings (20–60 minutes) relating to sponsorship asks, fundraising ideas, and luminaria planning.

Campus Training Library

A mini-library with 3-5 minute videos, slide decks, and one-pager handouts.

ACS Staff Partner

Every ELT has an ACS Staff Partner who provides tailored, one-on-one training and support. From accounting policies to brainstorming sessions and role-specific coaching, your staff partner is your most helpful resource.

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