2015 Relay For Life Team Ambassador Resource Guide

Transcription

1 2015 Relay For Life Team Ambassador Resource Guide Released August 2014

2 Table of Contents What is a Team Ambassador? Position Description.6-7 Team Ambassador Money Handling Guidelines..8 Resources.9 Monthly Ambassador Coaching Timeline 10 Monthly Nationwide Ambassador Calls 11 Frequently Asked Questions

3 What is a Team Ambassador? A team ambassador engages a small group of Relay For Life teams (5-10) in understanding the American Cancer Society s mission and how they can contribute by fundraising through the event. The ambassador demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in supporting the teams with information, tools, and coaching needed to ensure they experience personal satisfaction while contributing to the Society s goal to finish the fight against cancer. How is this different than previous team development roles? The team ambassador role offers more flexibility to fit the volunteer s schedule. For example, ambassadors may not be required to attend event leadership team (formerly committee) meetings. This can be determined by each community. Outreach to teams can be done when it fits the ambassador s and Team Captains schedules. The ambassador role creates a more personalized experience to meet the unique needs of Team Captains with different levels of experience or time constraints. The ambassador role has more specific and defined objectives. The personalized nature of the ambassador role minimizes the need for formalized large group Team Captain meetings (timing, planning, organizing, budgeting, follow up, etc.). Rationale for the Team Ambassador Model Data from Customer Satisfaction Survey results and other constituent feedback was analyzed by volunteers and staff. The findings resulted in several recommendations for how to improve the Relay For Life program, one of which indicated a compelling need to improve the experience for our teams. Specific analysis of customer satisfaction survey results over the past several years has consistently shown that Team Captains express a lower level of satisfaction with their Relay For Life experience than other participants, which negatively impacts overall Relay results. Team Captains share that they are overwhelmed by the demands of the role, they often feel unappreciated, and they lack a connection to how their fundraising impacts the fight against cancer. When we lose a Team Captain, we risk losing the entire team. Team Captains raise more than four times what their team members raise. Changing Culture of Volunteerism There is no longer a one-size-fits-all model that will allow us to effectively connect with our Team Captains. As we work to adjust the Relay For Life event leadership team structure, recognizing the need for flexibility and adaptability in today s culture of volunteerism, we have the opportunity to implement a different approach to how we are supporting our Relay For Life teams. There is also continued trend of poor attendance at Team Captain meetings for many events. 3

4 This traditional meeting format does not seem to be fitting the lifestyle/time constraints of our Team Captains and team members. We need to interact with and support our Team Captains in ways that align with their lifestyles. Instead of focusing on delivering information to large groups of teams at Team Captain meetings, the focus of the team ambassador model is on providing opportunities for smaller groups of teams to gather to receive more personalized support. When to Recruit Team Ambassadors Work the track at your Relay For Life event. Share new role at committee/team wrap up meetings. At all existing Relay For Life gatherings committee meetings, committee workshops, kickoff, etc. Network throughout the community. Team ambassadors should be recruited and trained prior to the local kickoff so that they can be introduced and matched at that event. However, it is never too early to have them in place and active. Who to Recruit to be a Team Ambassador The focus should be to recruit those individuals who are interested in the mentoring and development of others. It is important to assess an individual s capacity to step into this role so that we are not overburdening our volunteers with too many responsibilities. Some individuals who may be a good fit for this position may be: Survivors with Relay For Life experience Former committee members/chairs/team Captains Top fundraisers who want to share their best practices Current Team Captains Individuals with Relay For Life knowledge Current committee members looking for a new/different opportunity Active team members looking for an entry point to join the event leadership team Members of volunteer leadership councils (former Division board members) Participants who don t want a role on the event leadership team but may be willing to commit to a more personalized role Emerging event leaders who can develop their skills and deepen understanding of the event Former American Cancer Society program volunteers (such as Daffodil Days, Man To Man, I Can Cope, Reach To Recovery, Road To Recovery, Look Good Feel Better ) Details of the Ambassador Program Relay For Life communities have flexibility in adopting and running their ambassador programs this upcoming year. A community may decide to adopt the ambassador program completely and host a kickoff and bank night with ambassador small group meetings in between because past Team Captain meetings were not well attended and they wanted to adopt a more personalized approach. Other communities might utilize the ambassador program while still 4

5 having a couple Team Captain meetings in between (removing one or two meetings). The key is that we need to better meet the needs of our Team Captains, and today s volunteers. Each community event will determine: The exact number of Team Captains an ambassador will work with (recommendation is 5-10 Team Captains) How to best pair up the Team Captains with which ambassadors o You may choose to pair up by area of town, schedules of the Team Captains, group new Team Captains together, or types of team. It is up to the community! An event leadership team may choose to work with ambassadors individually and not have them attend event leadership team meetings to keep their role simple and easy. Or an event may choose to have ambassadors attend event leadership team meetings if that works best for them. An event leadership team and the people lead will determine how to communicate with the ambassadors (similar to how an event decides how an event leadership team will communicate and work together). The event leadership team, accounting lead, and Society staff partner should work with the ambassadors to develop a consistent system that safely handles the funds being raised in accordance with your Division and state money handling policies and procedures. 5

6 Position Description Ambassador role: The team ambassador is instrumental in the fight against cancer. They are the coach and mentor to a small group of Team Captains (5-10) from their Relay For Life event. Individuals in this role serve as the main point of contact for his or her Team Captains and are an extended support for the team members themselves, demonstrating a commitment to help teams meet and exceed their fundraising goals, utilize tools and resources, and engage in the mission of the American Cancer Society. The team ambassador must be flexible and adaptable to the teams needs for information and tools, and their role will ensure teams and participants experience personal satisfaction while contributing to our goal to finish the fight against cancer. Specific tasks can include: Build relationships with Team Captains and team members year-round (before, during, and after the Relay event.) Serve as the primary point-of-contact for teams. Identify the monthly venue and method for team gatherings that works for your small group. Ensure regular on-going communication with teams between meetings including quick response time. Have at least one monthly check-in call with teams to go over recruitment and fundraising goals and progress. Educate teams about the mission and accomplishments of the American Cancer Society. Help teams come up with a fundraising goal and ways in which they will meet that goal. Work with the fund the cure lead to help provide fundraisings tools, ideas, and timelines for fundraising activities for teams. Employ year-round, creative, engaging, and personal strategies to retain, motivate, and recognize Team Captains and encourage them to do the same with their team members. Motivate, encourage, and recognize teams through mentoring. Troubleshoot questions to ensure all Team Captains feel informed, equipped, and empowered to be successful in their role. Provide tools to Team Captains to help them grow fundraising, number of team members, survivor engagement, and participation at the Relay event. Regularly provide feedback on Team Captains to the people lead of the local Relay For Life event and the team ambassador mentor. Participate on team ambassador conference calls and meetings, as well as in local event leadership team meetings (if applicable). Ensure all teams are knowledgeable and ready for their local Relay For Life event by providing logistical guidance. Time commitment (estimate): 1-2 year commitment to provide consistency to teams for the Relay For Life year 6

7 Flexible time schedule is desired to accommodate team gatherings and mentoring In-person meetings with Team Captains will be based around the schedules of the team ambassador and their Team Captains. Team ambassadors should anticipate at least one 1-hour in-person meeting per month starting no later than four months prior and one month post-relay event. Additionally, team ambassadors should anticipate at least three hours a month in communications with teams and/or on calls or in meetings with your lead ambassador/committee. Note: Total actual number of hours per month may vary depending on planned events. Additional Qualifications: Reliable and accountable to himself/herself, their Team Captains, and their committee/lead ambassador Knowledge of the Relay For Life program and the mission of the American Cancer Society Track record of fundraising and recruitment success Skills necessary for success: coaching, mentoring, organization, excellent oral and written communication 7

8 Team Ambassador Money Handling Guidelines The event leadership team, accounting lead, and Society staff partner should work with the team ambassadors to develop a consistent system that safely handles the funds being raised in accordance with Division and state money handling policies and procedures. Ideas for how Team Captains can turn in money: o Host a monthly mini-bank night at a central location/sponsoring bank. o Offer monthly drop-off hours at the local office or appropriate location specified by the event leadership team/american Cancer Society. o Encourage participants to donate online. All members of the event leadership team should work with the Society staff partner to follow Division and state cash handling policies. For your protection, you are not authorized to open a bank account in the name of the American Cancer Society or your Relay For Life event. Do not ever deposit donation checks or cash in a personal bank account. Cash and any checks made payable to the American Cancer Society or Relay For Life must be processed through the Society s bank accounts and Shared Services Business Center. A Society hotline, , is there for you to call should you witness any suspicious activity. 8

9 Resources The team ambassador kit will be what the people lead, event lead, or Society staff partner personally hand the ambassador after they confirm they want to be an ambassador. It includes information to help them in their role. The ambassador kits will be available to in mid/late September. A special group for team ambassadors has been created on Relay Nation. This group will be the main resource center for ambassadors nationwide and will provide tools, inspiration, and networking as the program builds. A Facebook page has been created so allow direct communication with ambassadors on a social network that many of them frequent regularly. Posts will focus on driving people to the Relay Nation for resources, along with call reminders and announcements pertinent to team ambassadors across the country. There are two new ambassador recruitment videos available. One is a 30-second video and the other is a longer, more indepth 4-minute video. The videos are available on youtube.com/relayforlifedotorg or on Relay Nation! 9

10 Monthly Ambassador Coaching Timeline A monthly ambassador coaching timeline is available and has important information that is organized based on the number of months out from the event. Information included in the ambassador monthly A theme for the month Probing questions to ask Team Captains Resources to share Local announcements like event day, meeting reminders, etc. NOTE: they will have to get the local event specific information from the event leadership team. This is why it will be very important there is a consistent flow of communication between the event leadership team and the ambassadors. The full timeline is available on Relay Nation and via the link in the monthly communication to ambassadors. An ambassador will receive a monthly once they are entered into EMT by the Society staff partner. EMT will be updated nightly. When an ambassador s name is first entered, a welcome will be generated and sent to the ambassador. After that, monthly s will begin. Enclosed in the will be tips, mission messages, and an action to click on the months out of their event and a reminder for the monthly nationwide ambassador calls. 10

11 Monthly Nationwide Ambassador Calls Below is a list of the monthly nationwide ambassador calls for the 2015 Relay For Life year. October 21, 2014 November 18, 2014 December 16, 2014 January 20, 2015 February 17, 2015 March 17, 2015 April 21, 2015 May 19, 2015 June 16, 2015 July 21, 2015 All calls will take place at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Call details and log in information will be shared on Facebook and in the ambassadors network group on Relay Nation. 11

12 Frequently Asked Questions How many teams does a team ambassador support? On average, a team ambassador will work with a small group of 5-10 Team Captains, however the local community can decide on the exact number that works best for them. How much of a time commitment is the team ambassador position? The team ambassador position offers a lot of flexibility to fit volunteers schedules. The event leadership team may choose to not have ambassadors attend event leadership team meetings to keep their role simple and easy. Outreach to teams and in-person meetings with Team Captains will be based around the schedules of the ambassador and the Team Captains. How flexible is the team ambassador program? This program should be community-owned and flexible in nature! Event leadership teams will determine how to pair up teams, how to communicate with ambassadors, and what the best ways are to collect money within the American Cancer Society guidelines. A community may decide to fully adopt the program by having a kickoff and bank night with ambassador small group meetings in between since Team Captain meetings were not well attended and a personalized approach may be fitting. Other communities may transition to the ambassador program with a hybrid model. The key is to better meet the needs of Team Captains and today s volunteers. Will the Relay For Life specialists and people leads be copied on the that goes to the ambassadors? A copy of the s will be provided to the staff in document form. This will save staff and leads from getting multiple s on a monthly basis. The content of the s do not change often. The s announce the monthly calls and link them back to the team ambassadors network on Relay Nation for files each month. Staff will also be supplied with copies of the full timeline so they can coach their people lead and ambassadors in a timely manner as needed. Do team ambassadors need to attend event leadership team meetings? This is a decision that can be made by the local event leadership team. If it works best for your event leadership team and they feel it important for the ambassadors to hear planning information to share with teams, then they should attend. If you have solid communication and do not feel that team ambassadors need to be present, that is okay too. This is flexible based on the need of the event leadership team. What if no one will sign up to be a team ambassador? The community champion and people lead would need to work together to ensure the Team Captains are communicated with and supported. Traditional Team Captain meetings can still be held. 12

13 Do we have to have a team ambassador? This structure is designed to be a more personalized, flexible mentoring, support program to meet the needs of our Team Captains. It is flexible to meet the needs of the community. The ambassador program is recommended but not mandatory. Who will recruit the team ambassador? Ideally the community champion and/or people lead would recruit and make the ask to the team ambassadors. How will we decide which team to assign each ambassador? Teams can be assigned to an ambassador based on a number of factors, including: geographic area, team size, experience level, or on a first-come, first-served basis. Each community can decide what works best for them. Will ambassadors have a different color T-shirt at the Relay event? They are part of the event leadership team and would receive the same color T-shirt. How will staff and the event leadership team know if the ambassadors are providing all the materials and communicating consistent information to all Team Captains? An expectation of good communication flow up front between the ambassadors, community champion, and/or people lead will be very important. Complete a partnership agreement outlining expectations, have regular check in calls with the ambassadors, conduct random Team Captain touches, and ask questions that would let you know if they are getting the information. What will be the expectation for teams turning in money when they're not at a large group meeting? The event leadership team should consider hosting mini-bank nights at a central location/sponsoring bank and/or offer monthly drop-off hours at the local office or appropriate location specified by the event leadership team/american Cancer Society. Each community has flexibility in determining a system that works well for them as long as the money handling guidelines are met. For more information, please see the ambassador money handling guidelines section. Can we do a hybrid model of traditional team captain meetings and team ambassadors for the teams that can't attend? Yes, this can be flexible and designed to fit the needs of the community. Can a team ambassador also serve on the event leadership team? The ambassador role is a part of the overall event leadership team, but they could serve in another role on the event leadership team if that is a need. 13

14 If a team ambassador wants to mentor two different groups can they? Yes, if they have the bandwidth to support two groups. We recommend the community champion or people lead check in often with the ambassador to ensure they are can continue to mentor two groups. Can a team ambassador also serve as a Team Captain or participate on a team? Yes, tenured and/or successful Team Captains are ideal for this role and could serve as both. If a Team Captain doesn't connect well with the team ambassador, can we move them to different groups at any time? Yes, for this program to be successful, we want the ambassadors and Team Captains to be a good match for one another. If it is not a good match, we recommend moving the Team Captain to another group so they feel comfortable, successful, and have a rewarding experience. Please put them with a group they will be comfortable with and allows them to be the most successful. Will we revisit the continuation of someone being a team ambassador the next year based on feedback? It will be important to ensure you have the best people in place for this role. In most cases, with clear communication, ambassadors will thrive and succeed in their role. Communities have the option to redirect ambassadors to other volunteer opportunities on the event leadership team if needed. Should staff attend the ambassador small group meetings? The event leadership team structure is not designed for staff to attend all small groups. However, it may be a good relationship building opportunity for staff to attend a few meetings throughout the year. What do team ambassadors do if they are asked questions they don t know how to answer, especially around our mission? We want all volunteers to be comfortable speaking about how funds raised through Relay For Life events support the American Cancer Society s mission. Information is included in the ambassador kit on the lifesaving work we do. If an ambassador receives a question they are not comfortable answering, we recommend they contact an event leadership team lead or Society staff partner. 14