Select a State

Fundraising Ideas

Each dollar raised at Relay For Life helps support the Cancer Council’s research, education and support programs, every cent you raise will make a difference. Whatever your fundraising efforts, remember tell your supporters that their contribution is making a real impact on the Cancer Council’s work.

It’s important to remember that Relay For Life is not a “pledge-style” event, as participants do not seek promises of money for each lap completed. Because of this, most of your fundraising will occur well before the date of the Relay event. The advantage of this is that it allows you to shape your fundraising activities according to your interests and what you think will work in your community.

Fundraising can be as simple as a donation from friends, a raffle at your workplace or hosting a trivia night. The variety of fundraising activities is only limited by your imagination!

What makes a successful fundraising team?

You don’t need expert sales training or a background in running events to be a successful fundraising team. Time and time again, the teams who have the most success are those with:
  • A passion for Relay
  • A competitive spirit
  • The desire to “make it fun”
  • Team members who are in frequent contact with one another.

Tips for successful fundraising:

  • Set ambitious, yet attainable goals
  • Take a planned approached – brainstorm your ideas together, then work out the steps you’ll need to take to make them a reality
  • Use a combined approach of individual and team fundraising
  • Successful teams do year-round fundraising
  • Utilise your own networks
  • Explore ways you can use your own interests to raise funds

Put the FUN in fundraising!

On-Site Fundraising

The most successful teams fundraise year round, as this allows time for creativity and plenty of opportunities to work towards set goals. However, fundraising at the Relay For Life event is a great opportunity to add to your fundraising tally. You might like to think of track-side activities where for a gold coin donation, you can add extra fun to people’s Relay experience.  Please speak to your local volunteer organising committee if you’d like to do an on-site fundraiser.

How to raise $150 in 10 days

Day  1:
Put your own $10 in
Day  2: Ask your partner or a family member for $10
Day  3: Place a container at your local store or café and aim to raise $10 in coins
Day  4: Ask two of your co-workers for $5 each
Day  5: Email three friends and ask them to donate $10 online
Day  6: Mow a neighbour’s lawn for $10
Day  7: Cook a friend dinner in exchange for a $10 donation
Day  8: Ask two people from your local church or community group for $10
Day  9: Ask your boss for $10
Day 10: Sell six Candle Bags for $5 each

Important Fundraising Guidelines

Authority to fundraise

As part of your Team Registration Kit, your team captain will receive a letter of authority to fundraise on behalf of the Cancer Council. This authority to fundraise letter should be produced upon request when asking for donations or sponsorship. This will help you to demonstrate that you’re a genuine Cancer Council fundraiser. If you require this letter, please request it from your team captain.

Logo and Branding

The Cancer Council’s name and logo can be provided for your use, on the condition that all promotional materials are provided to the Relay For Life office for approval prior to use. This step will help ensure our logo is always represented in a way that is consistent, as well as ensuring that we have full awareness of the many ways in which our Relay For Life participants are fundraising for the Cancer Council.
Current standards for logo use are as follows:

  • Logos are not to be adjusted in anyway (size, colour or black and white)
  • Logos should appear at the top of your artwork
  • Include Cancer Council and Relay For Life logo on all material
  • If you use other logos on material for publication i.e. a sponsor, it must appear smaller than Cancer Council and Relay For Life logos.

All written correspondence should also include the full names Cancer Council and Relay For Life and these should not be abbreviated (e.g. RFL).

Quit and SunSmart

You will have read our Healthy and Active Fundraising tips listed above. However, it’s important to note that all fundraising activities and events must adhere to the Cancer Council’s policy of being smokefree and SunSmart.  Upon request, signage may be provided for your event.  Cancer Council will not knowingly accept support from tobacco related companies.  Please do not approach these companies for fundraising support.

Legal implications and insurance

Your events must meet the requirements of relevant laws and regulations (we can help you with this).    You will need to consider:

  • Licenses and permissions (for example local council, raffle permits)
  • Insurance issues
  • The provisions of the Charitable Fundraising Act and Regulations
  • Implications of GST

The Relay For Life office can help clarify any issues you may have in relation to the above points.

Public Liability Insurance

Many venue owners / managers (e.g. local government or private businesses) will seek evidence of public liability insurance before accepting a booking or allowing use of their facilities.  

Upon request, low risk fundraising activities performed by registered teams can be covered by the Cancer Council’s public liability insurance policy.   

A simple application form for these insurance requests can be obtained via your local organising committee.  Event details such as date, time, location and nature of activity will be recorded as part of this process.

Budget

As part of your Relay For Life fundraiser, you need to make a fairly accurate estimate of the expenses you incur when fundraising.    Cancer Council cannot pay expenses incurred by you, but you can choose to deduct your necessary expenses from the proceeds of your event.  You will also need to estimate the income you expect the event to raise. A general rule when organising a fundraising effort is to keep your expenses at or below 30% of your expected profit. In a practical sense, this means that for every $1 you spend you should raise $3 in return.

Cancer Council Receipts

Cancer Council will provide official tax deductible receipts for donations of $2 or more. Your team captain will have received these receipts in the Team Registration Kit. It is important to remember that if any benefit is received in return for money given, then it is no longer classified as a donation and is not tax deductible (for example, a ticket to a ball is not tax deductible, as food and entertainment is being received). Receipts for tax purposes can only be issued to people giving donations of money.
It’s important to remember that all receipt books issued must be returned to your team captain, as they are considered auditable items by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). They need to be returned to Cancer Council whether they are used or unused.


Please Note: It is a condition of participation in Relay For Life that all fundraisers act in a legal and ethical manner when representing the Cancer Council.    Donors requesting information about your fundraising activities must be provided with full details, and if they require further information, they should be referred to Cancer Council staff.

For some great fundraising ideas & fundraising guidelines click here to download Relay For Life Fundraising Booklet