Event Related Policies
Each Relay For Life event is unique to the community or campus hosting the event, but we still have a few policies that must be followed by all volunteers and staff.
Alcohol at ACS Events, Activities, & Meetings
Alcohol is not typically allowed at Relay For Life events, but can possibly gain special approval through the legal department. If you have an event that requires alcohol, you will need to work with your staff partner who can help navigate the legal department and requirements from your local and state governments.
Marijuana Businesses
ACS and ACS CAN do not accept contributions from marijuana (including any product that contains THC even in small amounts, such as ingestibles and cannabis oils) retailers, manufacturers and producers. In addition, ACS and ACS CAN do not accept grants, nor establish cause marketing, sponsorship, or licensing arrangements with marijuana retailers, manufacturers or producers.
Please talk with your staff partner if you have specific questions.
Tobacco & E-Cigarette Businesses
ACS and ACS CAN do not accept contributions from tobacco, manufacturers or producers, including e-cigarette manufacturers and producers. In addition, ACS and ACS CAN do not accept grants, nor establish cause marketing, sponsorship, or licensing arrangements with tobacco, including e-cigarette, manufacturers or producers.
Government Official & Candidates at Events
As a public charity, the Society is strictly prohibited from directly or indirectly supporting or opposing candidates for public office. A public charity is organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and may accept tax-deductible gifts on the condition it does not engage partisan or candidate electioneering. Violations can result in the loss of tax-exempt status and/or financial penalties. In addition to the limits on the Society, ACS CAN’s bylaws requires that it remains nonpartisan in all of their activities.
Please contact your staff partner for specific guidance on how you can involve public officials or candidates into your event.
At ACS events, no one is allowed to do the following:
- Distribute a candidate’s political campaign materials
- Fundraise for political candidates or parties
- Recruit volunteers for political candidates or parties
- Campaign for political candidates or parties
If anyone—a candidate or their representative—attempts to campaign at an ACS event, approach them immediately and tell them to cease all campaign activity. You may use a flyer provided by your staff partner to explain why the Society doesn’t allow campaigning at events.
Raffles, Auctions, & Gambling
Each state, county, and sometimes city has different laws pertaining to these activities, so please contact your staff partner to work with the ACS legal team to determine the best way to handle.
License to Show a Movie
Policy/Protocol
ACS cannot show movies or films at ACS events unless it has a license to do so.
Fast Facts
The showing of a movie or film at an ACS event is considered a public performance, and all public performances of movies and films require a license from the movie/film owner.
Solution
Contact your staff partner to talk through options of how you can show a movie at your event!
Contracts
Work with your staff partner to secure venue, entertainment, or other contracts. Contracts must be reviewed and signed by the ACS legal department and staff. It also requires a pretty substantial lead time to make it through the process, so work with your staff as early as possible to get the contract process started.
Event Insurance
Some venues require insurance and there are several event insurance options that are very reasonable or may be covered by ACS insurance. If you need help determining what options are available, contact your ACS staff partner for help.
Risk Management
Please review this information carefully and contact your staff partner with any questions or concerns.
We know that your Relay For Life is in great hands– we feel very confident with your leadership! This is a reminder that there will not always be an ACS staff person on site, so this is very important for ELT members to know. But, if you need your staff for anything JUST CALL THEM!
With several thousand Relays each year, we have experienced every issue you can think of: medical emergencies to inappropriate behavior issues, weather problems, people trying to raise money for other groups, electioneering by candidates, etc. This is RARE – but should it happen to at your event, you need to be prepared. Here are a few instructions and tips to keep in mind.
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Look around your event site before the event starts and complete the Site Inspection Check List.
Are there safety issues that need to be addressed? Are there places people need to stay out of? Is there a hole that someone might step in when it gets dark? Are there wires or cords that need to be taped down with duct tape of covered with mats? Can you see the tent tie downs that stick out away from the poles? Use safety tape, cones, anything you have on hand to block off and call attention to unsafe areas to prevent accidents before they happen. -
Know who your emergency staff contact is, whether or not you have an ACS staff on site.
Put their number in your phone before the event (if it's not already there)! Make sure they have your number saved in their phones. Let them know about any issues that come up as soon as you can, preferably while they are happening (if possible). -
If you have an incident, refer to the Risk Management Kit and call your ACS staff partner.
For any major media statements or questions after a major issue / emergency, please refer them to your staff partner. Our communication department can make / take care of official statements.
Always CALL 911 for any medical or safety emergencies first!
Paperwork & Forms
Your staff partner will either bring or send you a Risk Management Kit, full of paperwork you’ll hopefully never need for your event. It could include…
- Emergency Contact Information sheet – please fill in the appropriate information before Relay and share copies as needed. Post in the registration area where it's easy to find.
- Claims Reporting Forms for Auto Liability, General Liability, Property Loss - you will likely not use any of these forms. However, if something happens at Relay that causes damage to a person or property directly because of plans or actions of the Relay ELT, you will need this form. CALL YOUR STAFF PARTNER IF THIS HAPPENS!
A Note on Accidents –
Even if the person says they are not going to file a claim for a possible injury, get as much information about the person and incident as you can. Fill out a Claims Reporting Form and mark General Liability at the top. Take pictures, get full names and contact information (phone number, email and mailing addresses) for the injured party AND any witnesses.
To clarify, a skinned knee is not a reportable accident, but a possible broken bone is. When in doubt, you should fill out a form, then call or text your staff partner.
- Gator / Golf Cart Waiver – only persons over the age of 18 with a valid drivers license are allowed to drive gold carts at Relay For Life events. EACH PERSON needs to sign a waiver before getting the keys to a cart. Waivers are available from your staff partner. REMIND THEM TO NEVER LEAVE KEYS IN AN UNATTENDED CART! Return all signed waivers to your staff partner after Relay with any other paperwork.
- Release and Waiver of Liability High Risk Activities – if you have inflatables, dunk tanks, climbing walls, (the extra, “fun” stuff we might have planned), each participant must fill out a high risk waiver before participating. This does not include normal games planned during the event. Return all signed waivers to your staff partner after Relay with any other paperwork. NOTE - if the participant is a minor, their parent or guardian will have to sign the form for them.
- Have extra copies of the Certificate of Insurance, Permits, and any other paperwork on hand just in case.
All claims forms and waivers should be returned to your staff partner on Monday / Tuesday after the Relay event. For help with mailing / shipping a lot of forms, work with your staff partner.
Other Potential Issues
Fundraising for other Organizations
If someone sets up at your event, have a member of the ELT nicely explain to them that while their club, organization, etc. is very worthwhile, this event was advertised to support Relay and the American Cancer Society. Participants expect all activities and fundraisers on site to support Relay, so we must ask them to take it down. Also, everyone should be a registered Relay team to set up at Relay due to insurance. If they are not a registered team but are doing something for Relay at the event, please get them to sign a participant form so we have a waiver on file.
Tobacco Use
We are a tobacco-free event. If someone is smoking (cigarettes or e-cigarettes) or using any form of tobacco, please ask them to go back to their car. Have a few announcements from the stage reminding everyone this is a tobacco free event and if we see smoke coming from them, we will assume that they are on fire and put them out!
Inclement Weather
Hopefully we will have a decent idea of what mother nature has in store for Relay day, but if inclement weather pops up and it is impossible to have Relay or continue with the event, please call your staff partner and let them know as soon as possible. Notify all teams and media to communicate to their contacts. If the rain threat is due to quickly moving storms in the area, the event could be delayed for a short time and then still proceed as planned. In these instances, no cancellation is necessary. Be sure to reference this Weather Planning Guide.
If we can move to a secondary location and make the decision to move, please let your staff partner know so they will be aware of where you are in case of inquiries about the event. Additionally, take extra caution not to damage any property during a weather-forced move (such as tearing up the field, track, indoor facility, or court).
If lightning is spotted, have people return to cars or go inside if possible. If there are high winds, tornado warnings, hail or intense thunderstorm warnings, then discuss with your venue contact as Relay may need to be cancelled and rescheduled. Use this Inclement Weather Worksheet for additional help.
Pets & Animals
We ask pets are not brought to Relay (unless it is a service animal). Some of our survivors may be in active treatment and should not be exposed to animals. Some people are allergic or afraid of animals and we want everyone to feel comfortable. It can also be a safety issue for their pet – for every person at Relay, they have two feet that could accidentally step on and injure their pet. If needed and applicable, tell them our venue does not allow for pets on site (as it the case for a lot of school tracks and indoor locations). Explain this nicely to anyone a pet on site and ask them to remove them from the immediate track area.
Inappropriate Behavior
If it is an issue that you do not feel comfortable handling, please have event security handle the situation, or if needed, bring police attention to it. If you are comfortable handling the situation, then options are:
If the person is with a team, talk with the team captain and ask for their help to address the person you are having an issue with. Either have the team captain to ask them to leave or give them a reminder of what they shouldn’t be doing (smoking in the middle of the survivors, loud and disruptive/inappropriate behavior, etc.)
If the issue involves children who are left unattended or getting into things that could be dangerous or inappropriate, immediately ask the child(ren) to stop. Then talk with the team captain if they are with a team. If not, then identify the adults who are with the children – talk with them.
Electioneering
Political candidates are NOT ALLOWED to do any kind of campaigning at Relay. This includes: distributing political campaign materials, campaign fundraising, recruiting campaign volunteers, promoting candidates running for election. Explain to them we are a 501c3 nonprofit event and we cannot have the appearance of promoting candidates or electioneering on site. They are jeopardizing our tax status and need to stop immediately.
Good luck with your Relay For Life! Have a safe and fun event!
Call your staff partner if you have any issues at all. Thank you for all you do in the fight against cancer!