Frequently Asked
Questions

There isn't an event in my area. How can I organize one?

What a great question! To speak with a St. Baldrick's representative about starting an event, please call 888-899-BALD (2253) or simply submit an event inquiry form. The basic ingredients for a successful event are:

1. A commitment to raising funds for childhood cancer research,
2. A great network of people to help out,
3. The ability to find a great location, date, barbers and all the rest of the practical requirements of an event,
4. At least a few people with hair who are willing to lose it for a good cause! Oh, and a sense of humor really helps!

As a volunteer event organizer (VEO), what are my responsibilities?

Your main responsibilities are to secure a venue, confirm a time and date, recruit your core committee: treasurers, shavee recruiter, barber coordinator, and recognition coordinator. Recognition coordinator is a special role, personally assigned by you! This person will appear as a general event support volunteer online, but you should remind your team about this role. Your core committee will help to recruit shavees, volunteers, and barbers, and then everyone can spread the word. We will provide you with event and media coaching, promotional supplies, use of the website and supplies to use for the day of the event at no cost. 

Why aren't my nominated volunteers showing up?

VEOs are responsible for nominating their core committee. The nominated shavee recruiter, barber coordinator, and treasurers will show up once they register for the event. The VEO and/or the barber coordinator are responsible for activating barber volunteer roles once they have registered. You can approve a volunteer's role by signing in to the Members Area and viewing your event dashboard. Click the blue "Manage Participants" button on the right side. Here, you can edit your volunteers' role statuses and allow them access to different website privileges. If you are looking for your treasurer, once their background check is cleared the St. Baldrick’s Risk Management team will activate them.

What do I do if the venue won't sign the host agreement?

If you're having trouble getting the host agreement signed, contact the St. Baldrick’s Event Compliance & Risk Management team at EventCompliance@StBaldricks.org to help resolve the issue or help you find an alternate venue.

Can I use money donated at an event to help pay for a venue or other event related expenses?

Any donations collected by shavees must be returned to St. Baldrick's to support childhood cancer research. However, if you would like to cover expenses for a venue, you are welcome to raise funds by planning a pre-event fundraiser like selling food or hosting a bingo night. If you choose to do this, there must be signs that clearly indicate that the proceeds from these fundraisers are going toward covering the cost of the venue, or any other type of event expense, and not the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Do I have to be 18 to organize an event?

You don't need to be over 18 to organize an event. However, if you are under the age of 18, there must be a co-organizer working with you who is above the age of 18.

The individual who is 18 or older, whether the lead VEO or a co-organizer helping oversee the minor, must complete a background check. No exceptions. The background check will remain valid for 5 years.

How do I get corporate sponsors for my event? Do they need to be approved by you first?

We encourage VEOs to seek out corporate sponsors; and while no approval is needed, we recommend talking with your event coach to ensure prospective sponsors are family-friendly. Your event coach can help you with strategies to get corporate support for your event. Utilizing the amazing sponsorship tools available in your Resource Lounge, under the VEO and Core Committee Category. We have made it easier to reach out to local businesses and organizations for event support. Talk with your event coach! Whether it is a monetary donation from a sponsor helping you reach your event’s fundraising goal, or a charitable gift, providing you raffle items or special services, you can work with nearly any business to ask for their support in helping you raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer research.

How do I change my event date?

If you'd like to change your event date, please be sure to contact your event coach. Your event date will help determine the timeliness of the materials that will be sent to you.

How many barbers should I recruit?

We recommend that you recruit one barber for every 10 shavees.

May I request promotional and event supplies?

Absolutely! Your event coach can help you determine the quantities and materials that you'll need in order to have a successful event. St. Baldrick's will provide these supplies to you free of charge. We recommend placing your promotional supply order at least 12 weeks prior to your event date. Your event coach will send you the day of event supply order form 3 weeks prior to your event date. You can view the current Collateral Catalog in our Resource Lounge.

Can we make our own St. Baldrick's swag to raise donations at the event?

Yes, you are welcome to create your own marketing materials. We encourage creativity, but remember to contact your event coach so that they may review them and ensure that you are following the St. Baldrick's Branding Guidelines included in the VEO materials.

Will someone from St. Baldrick's be at my event?

While we would love to attend every St. Baldrick's event to see what our amazing volunteers are up to, cloning isn't an option, and our tiny staff can't be everywhere all at once. We need each VEO to be the face of St. Baldrick's across the world and report back! You are also encouraged to work with your event coach on inviting an honored family and/or researcher to attend your event.

I have leftover event supplies. What should I do with them?

If you have any leftover supplies, please work with your event coach to see if there are any other local events that can benefit from the supplies, or feel free to give them to your event's host venue for their employees, donate them to your local hospital, or to your local fire house or police station. Please give any leftover capes to your volunteer barbers to use at their salons.

How can I invite an honored family to attend and participate at my event?

Please contact your event coach to begin the process of honoring a child on your event page and inviting them to your event.

I want my audience to better understand why we are fundraising. How do I explain childhood cancer research to them?

Educating your participants and overall community is really important and will motivate your community to more actively support your efforts. We have several options that may help you make your event educational, while still having fun:

1. Visit the Why We Exist section of the website to gather important facts about childhood cancer and read about the research we have funded near you. You and your team can put together a presentation that is sure to inspire your participants!
2. Invite Honored Kids and families to attend your event and have them share their personal experiences! Recognizing these community members publicly not only makes your event extra special, it also sheds light on how important fundraising is when you know someone affected by childhood cancer.
3. Bring a researcher out to your event! Your event coach, along with our Grants team, will work together to try and have one of our researchers make a special guest appearance! You may even request that the researcher address childhood cancer in general, or speak about their personal research. This is a very unique opportunity that your Recognition Coordinator would be great at orchestrating.
4. Share news of St. Baldrick's Impact with your community! Contact your event coach for these.

Where can I find VEO resources?

You can find several helpful tools and documents in the Resource Lounge under the “VEO and Core Committee” tab. There is a section specifically for VEOs. You can also connect with your event coach.

We also encourage you to share the Resource Lounge with your committee and event participants for valuable resources to help promote their participation, ask for donations and useful images for social media.

How can I contact participants at my event?

You can contact past and present participants of your event in your Members Area in the Communicate section at the top right of your dashboard. Select “Compose New Message” and you will have the option to “add all” participants or select participants from previous years. The Communicate section is a perfect way to engage with your participants by sharing event details, updates, milestones and featuring key donors & fundraisers.

As a VEO, can I link a Facebook Fundraiser to my event page?

At this time, event pages cannot be linked to a Facebook Fundraiser. We recommend that event organizers go to their individual participant dashboards to create a Facebook Fundraiser and support the event fundraising goal! If you have further questions about your Facebook Fundraiser, please contact your event coach or email us at Fundraising@StBaldricks.org.

How can I live-stream my event to my St. Baldrick's Event Page?

Click here for streaming instructions on how to stream through both YouTube and/or Facebook and embed the video to your event page.