Fundraising and team building challenges are a fun way to bring out the competitive side of our Relay participants. This year, instead of hosting a nationwide fundraising challenge, the American Cancer Society is asking each Relay For Life event across the country to implement a fundraising challenge at the local level. As you work with your volunteer committees to plan challenges, please use the information in this guidebook to steer your strategy, communications, and reporting efforts. This information has been collected to ensure that your challenge reaches its full potential and best engages participants.
Timeline: Keep challenges short. Challenges are a great way to get Relay For Life participants excited, but if a challenge is too long they will lose interest. Take advantage of their enthusiasm and ask individuals to complete tasks in a short time period. Challenges can be as short as 24 hours and should not last longer than one week. Also, review when any other challenges were implemented for this Relay For Life event; too many challenges will cause them to lose their appeal. It is strongly suggested that local events implement a fundraising challenge 1-4 weeks out from their event date.
Simple is best: While we want Relay For Life participants to complete a variety of activities to fully engage their fundraising potential, too many rules or actions can be over whelming. Focus challenges on one or two criteria only. You should ensure that the data collection is simple. The winner should be determined by a quick report from the Event Management Center (or if multiple events, through a report request form).
Guidelines: Set clear parameters to the challenge. Be sure to define what it takes to win the challenge and if there are any additional factors to the tasks (must raise a minimum amount to qualify, etc.). Include the rules of your challenge in all communications about this competition. Be sure to also talk to your ACS legal department representative to ensure that the challenge does not violate any state laws. Connect with a member of the Finance Field Services team to discuss any implications the prize or award may have on sales tax or income reporting for ACS or the recipient of the prize.
Prizes: Find a prize that participants will be excited for. Ask committee members or team leaders what they would be most interested in receiving; prizes can vary throughout the Relay For Life season to include primary campsite selection or special signage (pre-event), special gift bag, to an electronic giveaway. Sometimes the best prize is bragging rights or something your event can offer for free – like reserved parking, campsite set up/tear down, or special tent placement. If you are purchasing a prize, ensure that the cost of the prize receives a return on the investment; work with your Senior Manager for assistance and budget recommendations. Additionally, connect with a member of the Finance Field Services team to discuss any implications the prize or award may have on sales tax or income reporting for ACS prior to announcing, advertising or posting the prize, to the potential recipients.
Communication: Email, SMS messaging, social media, website updates, and meeting announcements are great ways to communicate about the Relay For Life challenge. Plan out communications to implement throughout the challenge including: teaser message, introduction/kickoff message, engagement messages, and a post-challenge winner message. Be sure that your communication matches your audience as well. If you’re unsure about the SMS Texting status of one or more of your events, and you want to use SMS Texting in one of your local Online Challenges, please reach out to William.ball@caner.org and he’ll be happy to assist you.
Remember the mission: While we are encouraging fundraising activities, remember that the purpose for this challenge is to fight cancer. Include a mission message that humanizes why we continue to fundraise or recruit people to Relay For Life ($x will ensure that x happens). Ask a local survivor or caregiver to provide a quote about why they participate and how our fundraising has helped him/her.
Double the money: Consider finding a sponsor who is willing to match all money raised (or up to a certain amount) for this challenge. Benefits to the sponsor could include their name and logo being used in all emails, social media posts, etc.
Challenge Ideas
$48 in 48: Over a 48-hour period, all registered participants are encouraged to raise $48 or more. Those who complete this challenge will receive a small token
Most Online Funds Raised: Over a specific time period, all registered participants are encouraged to raise as much money through credit card donations as possible. The individual or team that raises the most only in the designated time period wins a prize. (Keep in mind, credit card donations scanned through the app don’t count as online, donations must be processed through the event website.)
“Just Imagine” Challenge: A one-week, mission focused campaign which brings together our fundraising participants to the dream of a cancer free world. We will highlight four different American Cancer Society programs and services: Transportation, Lodging, Research, and NCIC. The challenge will be for individuals to raise an additional $100 during this one-week period, asking them to “just imagine” the impact that every dollar will make towards a cancer free world. If you choose this challenge, we recommend you implement one week before your t-shirt deadline so people can qualify for the Hope Club shirt.
Home Stretch Challenge: A fundraising challenge in the last 72 hours prior to event. Event participants work together as a community to raise a set amount of money- if the event hits that goal, they can have a big ticketed item at their event (possibly a purple chair, arch, inflatable screen, etc.)
*Taken from the Brand Toolkit, get the Local Fundraising Challenge Toolkits.
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