It's never been easier to raise money online. Once you register for the Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life, you'll have access to fundraising tools to help you get the word out about your efforts. Your confirmation e-mail will include a link to your participant centre and instructions on how to customize your personal fundraising page.

Include a personal photo

Be sure to include your photograph and personal message on your page. You can then send custom e-mails to your friends and family and invite them to support you in the event and donate to the cause. When they visit the site, they can use our secure online system to pledge you with their credit card. They will then receive an official electronic tax receipt by e-mail.

If you need help preparing your digital photo for use on your personal page, use our free online photo editing tool.

Tell your story

The most compelling fundraising pages offer personal stories. You may want to include some information on why you have chosen to get involved with the Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life, or you might provide a history of how much money you have raised to date. The choice is yours! The best advice is to personalize your page with a photo and give your friends and family compelling reasons to support your efforts. You'll be glad you did. In fact, on average, online Relay For Life participants who use their personal fundraising page and e-mail tools raise twice as much as offline participants, and take less time to do it.

Collect offline pledges too

If you would like to gather pledges in person, your event coordinator can provide you with the tools to do so. Receipts will be mailed to donors who make a donation in person.

Donations collected offline cannot be processed online. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) states that a donation receipt can only be issued to the true donor of the gift. Funds raised through team fundraising activities such as bake sales, yard sales, dances, etc. cannot be entered online, it is against CRA guidelines. All team fundraising dollars must be turned in to your team captain or your local Canadian Cancer Society office.

More suggestions on how to increase your donations

We encourage you to raise a minimum of $100. However, the average amount raised by single participants at some Relay events across the country is over $300, so we challenge all of our participants to meet or beat that average! Did you know the reason that most people don’t make a donation is because they aren't asked? Try one of the following approaches and see what happens!

Contribute $20 yourself, then ask 4 friends, co-workers or relatives to contribute $20 (or ask 15 people for $10 each). You will be amazed at how quickly it adds up.
Set a fundraising goal for yourself and see what a positive impact you can make.
Place a donation jar on your desk at work.
Ask your employer to match any money you raise.
Raise your money in honour of a friend or co-worker who survived cancer.
Promote the event and be ready to take donations everywhere you go: work, school, church, shopping, sports and social clubs, and so on.
Who can you ask for donations? Everybody! Ask your accountant, banker, pharmacist, dentist, doctor, lawyer, personal trainer, hairstylist, florist, the owner of your favourite restaurant, and so on.
Make a list of potential donors, and how much money you think they can give.
It's best to be specific about how much you would like as a donation.
Be enthusiastic when asking for money.
Let potential donors know where the money goes.
Be creative! Catch their attention!
If you have asked a number of people, keep track and follow up. People tend to be busy and forget unless they’re reminded.
Thank your donors!

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