Event Management
Your ELT has worked all year to get people involved in your event, to fundraising for the mission, and bring your community or campus together in the fight against cancer. Your event day needs to be an experience they enjoy and want to come back to year after year.
Venue Guidance
Just because you’ve always had Relay at a certain venue, doesn’t mean you have to keep having the walk there every year. Take time after the previous year’s Relay to talk through your venue choice and make sure it truly fits your Relay.
DO NOT ever sign any paperwork or contracts on behalf of the American Cancer Society, as this will make you the responsible party in the event something happens or is damaged.
We, as ACS staff want to protect our events, our volunteers, and our organization. Our insurance company looks for our signatures as well as the event name / organization to be listed as “American Cancer Society” and NOT a volunteer name or event specific name without ACS listed.
EXAMPLE: Relay For Life of Hope Town needs to be listed as American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Hope Town or just American Cancer Society since ACS is the organization insured.
Deposits / Payments for Venues
If your venue has any costs associated with it, your staff partner will process the payment. Ideally, payments would be made via credit card either over the phone, online, or in person. If your venue cannot process a credit card and needs another form of payment (check, EFT, etc.) let your staff partner know IMMEDIATELY. The process for getting a check sent for payment can take several weeks, so if there is a payment due date, we’ll need to start that process to ensure on time delivery.
Mini Events, Revenue Enhancers, & Other Venues
- It’s common for Relays to have fundraising events like car shows, dinners, golf tournaments, parades, road/boot blocks, etc. that are “feeder” events or support the larger event as a whole. If these events are ELT led (not a specific team fundraiser), please follow the same steps as above for paperwork, insurance requests, and payments if a permit or venue is needed.
- If an individual or team is hosting a fundraiser and they need insurance, ACS does not provide insurance for those team led events. However, there are options such as eventhelper.com or through their insurance company. Please have them reach out to your staff partner with any questions or for clarification.
- If your event (or ELT organized fundraiser) has alcohol present for consumption, you must notify your staff partner so we can ensure everything is in compliance prior to the event. You must also follow all local regulations/rules. This is for all alcohol, regardless if it is through a vendor, donated, or BYOB.
- Please be sure to follow all local rules and regulations in regards to event permits, road closure permits, and health department guidelines.
Other Rentals
Many times we have to work with local vendors to secure rentals such as tents, tables, chairs, portable toilets and handwashing stations, etc. It is best practice to see if any of these items can be donated and if not, secure a vendor with the best pricing for a non-profit event. It is best to start the reservation process for these items as soon as you secure your event facility date and establish your needs. You can always adjust needs the closer you get to an event, but having the date reserved with the vendor can be crucial, especially in areas with fewer vendor options to choose from.
Once you have received a quote, please provide that to your staff partner so it can be discussed and approved. Your staff partner will then finalize any reservation needs (such as contracts, signatures, deposits, and payments). If you need assistance locating vendors for use, ACS staff can also help. ACS has several national partnerships with companies such as United Rentals and Sunbelt and can get discounted rates as well.
When requesting your reservation / quote, it’s best to also ensure the vendor would be available in case of an alternate weather need or plan. For example, if your event was to move inside, what is the cancellation policy for tents or fewer needs? If the event needs to move to an alternate date, what is the time frame deadline to alert them of the change?
Onsite Vendors
Are you planning to use any vendors on-site at your event such as Audio/Visual, DJ, Photographer, Food Trucks, etc.? Please follow the same process as your rentals above. Your staff partner can assist with ensuring contracts, etc. are signed or provided to ensure all vendors and the event / volunteers / sponsored are covered.
If your ELT is planning to use outside caterers or food trucks, be sure to check with your local health department guidelines to ensure you are properly permitted and your event is in compliance with all local rules and regulations.
Do you have vendors setting up to sale items or give a portion donated to your event? We have vendor agreement forms and contracts to help protect you and your event. Ask your staff partner for assistance with these so everyone is on the same page and those donations make it to ACS for your event.
Invoices and Payments
We know you have to spend money to make money, so we expect to have some expenses for events. Please discuss those potential expenses with your staff partner BEFORE any money is spent or promised. ALWAYS try to get things donated or discounted, but when we do need to pay for a service or item, your staff partner will need to see the quote / statement / invoice as soon as it is received. Whenever possible, your staff partner should be paying for expenses. While we are able to reimburse volunteers for some expenses they pay out of pocket, this is not a best practice.
If you are booking any vendors for your event (DJ, tents and tables, etc.), notify your staff partner ASAP so we can begin the contract and payment process to ensure they are paid in a timely manner. ACS’s preferred payment method is via credit card (including through PayPal), but we can also work with a vendor to pay via check or EFT directly to their account. For those who absolutely cannot be paid with a credit card, ACS does have a process we have to follow to set up that vendor in our system so we can pay them. The initial set up process can take a week or two, depending on how quickly the vendor completes their information in the system.
Day of Event Management
At Relay For Life events, no one faces cancer alone. We come together every year at more than 2,500 Relay events around the country to support and celebrate survivors and caregivers, remember loved ones lost, and offer your community or campus a place to fight back against cancer.
Each Relay has special events and activities to make a unique event experience, but one thing that does not change for a Relay event is being prepared for the day of the event. While every Relay’s needs vary from place to place, there are some things all Relays should consider for event day.
This list of important documents should be easily accessible at the event. Placing them in a binder with sheet protectors is a great way to keep everything together and safe. Keep the binder in one place at the event – like at Registration or the ELT command central. Make sure all ELT members know where the binder is located.
- Venue Contract & Certificate of Insurance - A copy of each should be printed and on hand in case issues arise
- Permits - Most permitting offices require the event permit, sound permit, etc. to be printed and displayed onsite during the event. It's a good idea to also have an extra copy on hand
- ELT Contact List - Have a list of all your sub committee leads (or your whole ELT) with their cell phone numbers readily available in case anyone needs to get a hold of someone during the event. You can include your venue contact, any vendor contacts, or other people who you might need during the event on this list
- Registered Team List - Your Online Lead can pull a team report from the EMC (back end of the website) so you have a list of all the registered teams, who the captain(s) is, and contact information
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Master Event Schedule - Have several copies of the event schedule - give them to everyone on the ELT, team captains, emcee / DJ, venue contact. This will help ensure the leadership knows what's happening, where it's going on, what's coming up next, and where they might need to be to help.
Tip: Create different formats for your schedule - make a master schedule with everything for the ELT and a condensed schedule for the team captains / participants. Examples of schedules can be found on ACSR (links below) - Ceremony Scripts - Have multiple copies of the ceremony scripts on hand and share them to whoever needs them. Keep an extra set or two set aside in case someone loses their copies before they need to be on stage. Sample scripts can be found on ACSR (links below)
- DJ / Emcee Announcements - Provide your DJ or Emcee with a list of announcements to be made throughout the event. Keep an extra copy for ELT members to reference, if needed. This could include reminders of upcoming ceremonies or activities, sponsor recognition and other thank yous, as well as ACS mission PSAs
- Participant Registration Waivers - While the best practice is for participants to register online or through the 800#, have some paper registration forms with the waiver information available for those who walk up that day and won't use an online method. These forms need to be returned to your staff partner
- High Risk Activity Waivers - If you have activities such as inflatables or dunk tanks at your event, participants MUST complete a High Risk Activity Waiver before participating. Forms must be signed by a parent or guardian for those under 18. Talk with your staff partner about what activities you have planned and they will help you determine if that waiver is needed and get you copies. Signed forms need to be returned to your staff partner
- Site Map - A site map should be emailed to participants and sponsors before the event, as well as posted to your Event Details page of your website. Have an enlarged copy posted at the event or have copies handed out at registration or given to team captains to have at their campsites. A sample site map is below
Be sure to include…
- Registration / Check In
- Survivor Area
- Team Campsites
- Restrooms
- Where to find activities like the silent auction, bounce houses, and the Luminaria table
- Anything else people need to know where to find it!
Accounting Consideration – indicate where funds will be turned in, but DO NOT include your “bank” area on the site map. For safety reasons, that does not need to be public information.
Day Of Relay Resources
Event Packing List
Packing lists are a great way to make sure all the supplies and items you need for the event get packed and to the event site. It is also a great resources to have when planning what will be needed. Make sure to work with your staff partner to find out turnaround times for items that need to be ordered from ACS (signs, luminaria bags, etc.). Items from vendors can take up to 14 days to ship. Print materials need 7-10 days lead time.
Check out the sample packing lists, but talk to your staff partner to see if they have a specific format or list they use and what local supplies are available.
Working The Track during the event
Your Relay For Life is the one day of the year when everyone is together and feeling the Relay spirit. Don’t miss out on the chance to build relationships with volunteers – both old and new. Give people a sincere thank you for being part of Relay and see if they want to get more involved with the event. Be sure to talk to your team captains, top fundraisers, survivors and caregivers, sponsors who came out, and enthusiastic participants. Get your ELT to help!