Wrapping up the Year
Most of your work is complete once the event is over, but there are a few things to finish up before you are completely done. Be sure to complete the following to dos to leave the event in great shape for next year!
The Importance of Thank You Notes
Thank every person and company who helped with your area of Relay – including day of event volunteers, companies or organizations who donated supplies or allowed you to borrow items. Even consider sending a thank you note to vendors or companies you rented from in order to build good will for the future. You as chair are not wholly responsible for these thank yous! Your sub-committee members can help with these thank yous. Divide and conquer these notes or letters – just ensure that everyone who helped is thanked for their support.
For your Relay For Life sponsors, you can also prepare a stewardship report. A stewardship report is not only a thank you letter, but customized event report to share numbers and highlights from the event as well as “proof” of the benefits they were promised as part of their sponsorship. Your staff partner can help you put together this report for your top sponsors. Just make sure some took pictures at Relay of your sponsors signs, banners, etc.!
Don’t forget to thank your invaluable sub-committee members for all their time and energy throughout the season as well. A sincere, handwritten thank you from you helps them feel appreciated and seen for what they contributed this year. Thank you notes can be kept brief and to the point, but make them personalized for each member of your ELT. Point out something specific they did that made a difference or you were particularly grateful for them doing. Just be sure to express your gratitude!
Recognition Certificates
ACS has an array of certificate templates that can be used to thank sponsors, teams, volunteers, etc. We even have Fundraising Club certificates so you can recognize teams at wrap up or events. To customize the certificates for your event, you need access to the ACS Canva for Volunteers. If you do no have an account, you can request one here.
These certificates are updated each year with new artwork / designs. These current buttons go to the 2024 templates, but they will be updated with 2025 templates soon. You can also create your own certificates. Check out the Relay branding guidelines pages to download logos and the ACS color palette.
Host an ELT Wrap Up Meeting
It’s always fun to host an end of year celebration with everyone who had a part in Relay – make it a big celebration, thank and recognize everyone who was involved, and have a fun time with each other as you celebrate another successful Relay season.
Also plan to have a dedicated time for your ELT to get together. Set a time to sit down and have a real talk about how the season went – not just the event itself, but the whole planning season. What worked well and what needs to be reworked? What things to we want to do again next year and what’s something new we could do?
The goal for the ELT wrap up meeting is to give your committee members a chance to freely share their thoughts and ideas – respectfully, of course. It should be a discussion where every one can have input and be heard. Below are planning resources to help shape your conversation to get the most out of the last meeting of the year.
3-4 Weeks Post Relay Check List
- Follow up with your contacts from Working The Track at Relay
- Connect with TOP team captains, fundraisers, sponsors, survivors
- Meet individually with potential new ELT members to discuss their involvement the following season
- Make the asks and gain new commitments
Succession Planning
No one wants to chair their Relay For Life forever. Event Leads typically serve for two seasons and then move to another position on the committee. Ideally, this helps keep the Relay fresh and exciting with a mixture of new ideas and energy building on the established foundation. It also helps with burn out for a single person.
Leaving a Legacy For The Future
Most successful Relay For Life events have a succession plan for the transition of their leadership positions, especially the Event Lead role. Succession plans help us keep the momentum of the previous seasons while moving into future events.
Take the following steps at the end of each season for yourself…
Decisions
Conversations
Changes
Your Legacy
If you decide to step down as chair, or move to another position, think about who you know who might be a good fit to take your place. If you can’t think of anyone specifically, work with other ELT members and your staff partner to brainstorm people who would be a good fit. Then help your staff partner make the ask.
Finding the Right Person - or People
Keep a constant watch for volunteers who shine! This is something to have on your radar throughout the year and while you are working the track.
Start with the list of individuals you talked to at Relay who were interested in getting more involved. Look for people who take initiative, who strive to improve the event, and who are eager to get involved. Work with your Team Lead to identify top performing Team Captains and Team Members. You can also utilize relationships built through Sponsors and Survivors. These are the people you want to consider when planning leadership roles for the next years.
Ultimately, you want to look for someone who is devoted to the cause, who understands the duties of the position, and who will complete the responsibilities in an efficient manner. Don’t assume that because someone is busy, that they don’t want to help. Give people the opportunity to join your ELT and let them tell you what they have time to do.
Transitioning to the Next Person
Tell the person you’re recruiting to fill your role they won’t be starting from scratch – you have all your detailed notes, lists, and files to share with them. If possible, make plans for a transition period with your replacement. If that cannot happen over time, then make sure to have at least one meeting where a true transition of the role can take place. Talk through all the major tasks you oversaw, share any issues that came up along the way, share insights you have on the ELT positions / members. Involve your staff partner if needed, they are happy to help. These steps will help set up the new Event Chair and the Relay for success!
When making the move from one position to another, or stepping down entirely, be sure materials are left with the position – not carried forward with the person. Keep “Legacy Binders” or “Pass Along Folders”, or some other method to capture all contacts, helpful documents, descriptions of responsibilities, successes, challenges, suggestions, etc. Actual paper files or electronic documents, regardless of the form these notes are in, the outgoing and incoming Event Chairs need to take time together to review the documents, discuss the information, and ask questions.