What is Canoe for Cancer?
Canoe for Cancer has been bringing communities together for 23 years, united by the same goal of creating a world where no Canadian fears cancer. The event is also an opportunity to celebrate those who live and have lived in the face of cancer and those moving past cancer.
Why should I participate?
Every 3 minutes someone in Canada is hears the words “You have cancer”. This is a staggering statistic and Canoe for Cancer is determined to change this.
The goal of Canoe for Cancer is to have fun while improving the cancer experience by raising funds to help people live longer and enhance their quality of life while creating a world where no Canadian fears cancer.
Why do I have to fundraise?
With the money you raise, the Canadian Cancer Society can fund research that leads to life-saving discoveries and support people who are facing cancer today. Without your fundraising efforts, none of that would be possible.
How do I volunteer at Canoe for Cancer?
Thank you for your interest in lending your time to help make Canoe for Cancer successful! There is a wide range of volunteer opportunities at this event. For specific opportunities, please contact Gloucester Pool Cottage Association.
What are the different participation types?
There are 4 ways you can register to participate in Canoe for Cancer:
- Start a team and become a team captain. Team captains are an important part of Canoe for Cancer success. Build your own team and work together to reach your goals. A team of 10 members can have 10 times the impact!
- Join a team that already exists. From fundraising to event day, share your Canoe for Cancer experience with a team, working together to meet your goals and celebrate success!
- Participate as an individual. Register, set your goal, fundraise and make a difference! If you want, you’ll be able to join or create a team later.
- Join as a family! Are you bringing your family? Register yourself and let us know how many family members you are bringing with you to the event, set your family fundraising goal, fundraise and make a difference!
If you’re starting a new team, you’ll have to create a team name that isn’t already taken. If you’re joining an existing team, you’ll need to know the name of the team you want to join.
If you are creating a Family registration, please enter the # of people in your family (yourself included).
My fundraiser is over. How do I close my page?
Your fundraising page will remain open for the rest of the year and there is no action you need to take. If you no longer want your page to appear on our website, you can email us at connect@cancer.ca.
What is a Fundraising Centre?
It’s where all the fundraising magic happens! Once you register for your event, you’ll automatically be given access to your Fundraising Centre. From there, you can:
- Update your registration information
- Customize your personal fundraising page, team or family page with a photo and story.
- Import email contacts and send fundraising, recruitment and thank you emails
- Set your personal and team fundraising goals and track and manage your progress
- Easily share your personal page on social media
- Add offline donations to your online total
- Quickly access fundraising and participant resources
What if I forget my Username/Password?
- Go to the log in page
- Click “Email me my log in information”
- Enter the email address that you registered with
Your username or password will be emailed to you. Sometimes these emails end up in Spam or Junk folders, so be sure to check there.
How do I change the photo on my personal fundraising page?
- Log in to your Fundraising Centre
- From the “Personal Page” tab, click “Photos/Video”
- Select “Choose File”
- Add a photo from your computer, then select “Open”
- Write a caption if you want
- Click “Save/Upload”
How do I add my story to my personal fundraising page?
- Log in to your Fundraising Centre
- From the “Edit Personal Page” tab, edit your page title and story as you’d like
- Click “Save”
How do I import my email contacts into my Fundraising Centre?
Adding your contacts is easy to do, and it will help you track who you’ve sent emails to, so it’s well worth it! To import your contacts:
- Log in to your Fundraising Centre and go to the “Email” tab
- Click “Contacts”
- Click “Import Contacts”
- Select your email provider and click “Next”
- Follow the instructions
You can also add contacts one at a time from the “Email” tab
How do I send a fundraising email from my Fundraising Centre?
It’s quick and easy!
If you want to use a sample email, you’re welcome to use it as is or personalize it as much as you’d like.
- Log in to your Fundraising Centre and go to the “Email” tab
- Enter email addresses in the “To” field
- Click “Suggested Messages” and choose “Solicitation”. You can personalize the message once it’s selected
If you want to write your own email, you can save your custom message as a template so you can use it again later.
- Log in to your Fundraising Centre and go to the “Email” tab
- Enter email addresses in the “To” field
- Enter your subject line in the “Subject” field
- Write your email
I sent emails to my friends and family from my Fundraising Centre, but they haven’t received them. What can I do?
This isn’t your fault, it happens sometimes. Ask people to check your Spam folder. If they use Gmail, ask them to check their “Promotions” tab.
If you’re concerned they won’t receive your email, you can:
- Send yourself a fundraising email from your Fundraising Centre
- Copy and paste it into a new email
- Forward it to your friends and family from your personal email account.
Just remember that if you do this, your Fundraising Centre won’t be able to track who you’ve sent emails to
Is it safe to donate online?
When you or your supporters donate online to the Canadian Cancer Society, your information is completely secure. We use the highest levels of internet security and encryption to protect your credit card and personal information.
Will my information be shared or traded with anyone?
We collect your personal information in order to process your donation, issue a tax receipt, and provide updates about our impact and other ways to help. Your personal information will not be sold or traded with other organizations. For more information about our privacy practices, view our privacy policy at cancer.ca.
Do I get a tax receipt?
Yes, charitable tax receipts will be issued for any donations of $20 or more.
Can people other than my team see the results of our fundraising?
Yes, Team and individual fundraising pages – along with your results – are public, unless you opted to make them private when you registered. People will be able to see your fundraising totals. When someone donates to your page, they can choose to do so anonymously. Having a public fundraising page allows people to search for you and donate easily.
How will you use the money that I raise?
Funds raised through Canoe for Cancer are changing lives for the better by supporting ground-breaking cancer research, programs and services that help people with cancer and their families. Learn more about the impact funds raised through Canoe for Cancer are making.
How many donors do I need?
As many as you want - there is no minimum number of donors for this event.
Why wasn't my credit card accepted?
There are several reasons a credit card might not be accepted. You might want to check that you have typed in the number correctly, that the expiry date is correct and that the name you’ve typed in appears exactly as it does on the card. If you would like further information, please reach out to the Canadian Cancer Society via chat, phone or email by visiting cancer.ca.
Is online giving safe?
Give with confidence. The Canadian Cancer Society donation system is secure. When you donate online to the Canadian Cancer Society feel confident that your information is completely secure. We use the highest levels of Internet security and encryption to protect your credit card and personal information. Look for the “https” in your browser URL and the padlock symbol in your browser window.
When will my donors get receipts?
When donations are made directly to your online fundraising page, the donor will receive a tax receipt by email. You can also choose to collect donations in-person. You can find a donation form and instructions for submitting donations made by cash or cheque in your Fundraiser Portal.
My donor didn’t get a receipt. What do I do?
Check with your Canadian Cancer Society staff partner or email Donor Care at connect@cancer.ca.
To ensure they are able to assist you, make sure you have the donor’s full name and all other available details. The more details you provide, the better.
What is an offline donation?
An offline donation is in the form of a cheque or cash to a participant instead of an online credit card donation.
Do I need to enter the offline donations I’ve collected into my Fundraising Centre? How do I do it?
Adding your offline donations to your Fundraising Centre is a great way to keep track of your total fundraising amount. But it is not a requirement. Follow the steps below to enter your offline donations and see your fundraising thermometer go up.
- Log in to your Fundraising Centre
- From the “Progress” tab, select “Enter a Donation”
- Follow the prompts
What is the Fundraiser Portal?
When you sign up online, your Fundraiser Portal houses everything you’ll need for a successful online fundraiser! Once you’ve logged in to the site at cancer.ca/fundraise your Fundraiser Portal is your one-stop fundraising shop! From here, you can edit and personalize your fundraising page, send fundraising emails out to your contacts, download the fundraising toolkit and find other helpful resources