In any fundraiser, volunteers are key in helping throughout the entire planning process of a fundraiser and a duck race is no exception. Whether they’re year round volunteers, students who need school volunteer hours or members of the community who want to give back, there are plenty of opportunities to offer which helps off-load some of the work of your full/part time staff.
Adoption Events: Volunteers are great for adoption events to help hand out marketing material, providing information about your race/organization and directing people on how they can adopt ducks online or in person at your table. Best practice would be to create an adoption event schedule with a sign up sheet based on 2-4 hour windows and how many volunteers you’ll need for each adoption event. 
Tagging Party: Depending on the size of your race, having at least 8-10 volunteers for every 5,000 ducks that need to be tagged are suggested, based on a 2 hour tagging party. The key to having your tagging party run as seamless as possible is having separate groups of volunteers removing the current tags on the ducks and another group placing your designated tags on the ducks. If it’s a longer time frame for the tagging party, offer snacks, soft drinks and throw on some music. Although the task can be tedious, who says your tagging party can’t be fun?
Clean Up Crew: The last tasks at hand before you send your ducks on their way, is to clean them up. Have a group of volunteers on the sidelines ready to collect your ducks once your winners are found. Some racers use pool skimmers and others (if the water is shallow enough) have used laundry baskets to scoop the ducks out of the water and get them back into the totes. Be sure to give your volunteers a briefing on how the ducks need to be packed so they’re best prepared on how to clean and pack them up.
*We know putting on a fundraiser can be an all hands on deck kind of work, be sure to send your volunteers a thank you card to show your appreciation after you race.
- September 27, 2023
Summer has been heating up and so has Derby Duck fundraising season! The Rockland Duck Derby was the first fundraising event to kickoff the month, and a new race as well! They adopted over 4700 ducks their first year which is quite the feat! This week more duck races in Chicago, Reno, and Idaho Falls will take place. Keep reading to learn about the rest of our upcoming fundraising events in the month of August!
August 10 – Chicago Ducky Derby
The Chicago Ducky Derby is a signature fundraising event for Special Olympics Illinois. This year, a minimum of 100,000 rubber ducks will race to the finish line. The winners of the ducky derby will receive prizes, including a 2024 Chevy Trax, four lifetime passes to Six Flags Great America, a Royal Caribbean cruise, and more! All proceeds from this event benefit the athletes of Special Olympics Illinois. This year’s event includes a two part family festival, a watch party, and of course the ducky derby!
August 12 – Nevada Humane Society Duck Race
Nevada Humane Society has been partnering with GAME for over 10 years and growing their race steadily in return. Last year they raced over 47,000 ducks, and we can’t wait to see how many ducks they race in 2023. All proceeds from their event benefit the animals of the Nevada Humane Society – cats, dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs too! Race day begins at 10 am and includes tons of fun activities including live music, a beer garden, fun games for kids, vendor booths, and the duck launch!
August 12 – Great Snake River Greenbelt Duck Race
On August 19, at least 10,000 rubber ducks will race down the course at Highland Park in Endwell, New York. Proceeds from every duck adoption will go to the Broome County Humane Society, an animal welfare organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty and finding permanent, loving homes for companion animals. The Humane Society services the community by sheltering animals, finding them homes, investigating reports of animal cruelty, educating people of all ages and rescuing animals from life threatening situations.
August 19 – Blue Ridge Duck Race
Established in 2005, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Blue Ridge serves the children of Martinsville and Henry Counties in Virginia through their exceptional afterschool and summer programs. The proceeds from their 8th annual duck race will support these programs and continue to provide the children who participate in safe and nurturing learning environments with caring professionals from the community. The duck race is one of the club’s most significant fundraisers and symbolizes the support of the community and their efforts to empower all young people to reach their fullest potential in life.
August 26 – Center for Prevention of Abuse Duck Race
This year marks the 35th Annual Duck Race for CFPA – their longest running and signature fundraising event. In 2022 they raised more than $200,000 for survivors of abuse in their community and sold out of all 30,000 ducks! This year they are racing 35,000 ducks and definitely plan to sell out again! CFPA provides free and confidential services to victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse, and offers violence prevention education to students helping to prevent abuse before it begins in the tri-county area, reaching more than 38,000 young people each year.
August 31 – Gwinnett Duck Derby
The 9th Annual Gwinnett Duck Derby will be a virtual event again this year on Facebook live. As the largest fundraising event for the Rotary Club of Sugarloaf, net proceeds of more than $100,000 have benefited many local charities in the community including the Special Needs School of Gwinnett, Lawrenceville Boys & Girls Club, Annandale Village, Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation, Rainbow Village, Gwinnett County Library Foundation, Gwinnet Tech, Because One Matters, Nothing but the Truth Food Ministry, and several title I schools in Gwinnett County.
- August 9, 2023
Recently we’ve gotten questions about next steps from some of our newer racers. Here are the tasks you’ll want tackle after your new racer workshop.
Completing these items will be your main priority until you get to duck season, which starts 6 weeks before your Derby Duck Fundraiser. During duck season you’ll focus on acquiring both online and hand-to-hand adoptions and marketing your event in the community.
Feel free to reach out to your GAME team members with any questions you may have!
- June 21, 2023
It’s been quite a busy two weeks with 8 races across the country! For some, they had record breaking adoptions this year and we couldn’t go without highlighting their QUACKtastic efforts in raising money for their cause and communities!
- May 16, 2023
It’s officially springtime so you know what that means – it’s race season! Ocala, Brevard, Naples, Tampa, and Ft. Lauderdale were the first cities to kick off the beginning of the derby duck fundraising season. Keep reading to learn more about the rest of our upcoming fundraising events in the month of April!
April 15 – Second Harvest Food Bank
Second Harvest Food Bank is excited to host their second Acadiana Duck Derby in Louisiana on April 15th. Second Harvest leads the fight against hunger in South Louisiana by providing food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response. They provide food and support to 700+ community partners and programs across 23 parishes. All proceeds from the Acadiana Duck Derby benefit Second Harvest Food Bank and their work fighting hunger every day across Acadiana!
April 22 – Partners for Quality
All proceeds from the Steel City Duck Derby benefit the Partners For Quality family of nonprofit agencies. The family fun event includes games, music, food, face painting and more! Headquartered in McKees Rocks, Partners For Quality provides administrative management for organizations that serve individuals with intellectual & developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges.
April 29 – Kiwanis Incredible Duck Splash
The 2023 Duck Splash will be the 18th Year for the KIDS! The Annual Kiwanis Incredible Duck Splash proceeds benefit numerous youth oriented non-profit organizations, programs, activities and schools throughout the city of Glendale and other communities of Los Angeles County. More than $1,200,000 has gone back into community programs benefitting local children and youth!
April 29 – Ken-Ducky Derby
This year marks the 20th Annual Ken-Ducky Derby for Harbor House of Louisville! It is their largest fundraiser of the year and at least 45,000 rubber ducks will race in the Ohio River. All proceeds from the Ken-Ducky Derby go towards helping to empower individuals with disabilities and their families to lead fulfilled and productive lives.
April 30 – Hope Floats Duck Race
For 19 years, Hope Floats Duck Race has brought KinderMourn families together to raise money to help others traveling the same road. This one-of-a-kind event at the Whitewater Center brings together people of all ages to watch thousands of rubber ducks rush through the rapids and share a meaningful afternoon where HOPE FLOATS and loved ones are honored. To date, the duck race has raised more than $2.5 million!
- April 12, 2023
This past weekend, we kicked off the 2023 duck season in Ocala, Florida. Our Florida racers have had to face some weather challenges over the last few years, Hurricane Ian being the last one in 2022. Although not nearly as bad, the Marion Rotary Duck Derby had to make some last minute calls before the weekend due to rain and the cancellation of the Cattle Drive & Cowboy Roundup the derby was in conjunction with.
But we all know ducks don’t mind a little rain, so the show or should we say derby must go on! By the time the ducks were ready to race Saturday morning, all 5,000 ducks had been adopted benefitting the Discovery Center and other local charities.
We have to commend the hard work of the Marion County Rotary Club, Discovery Center and the other city entities involved who helped make it happen with all the last minute changes! Let’s hope sunshine will make an appearance next year!
- February 15, 2023
Committee Organization
Getting your staff, boards, and volunteers organized in correct roles is
crucial. To be efficient in the planning and execution of your fundraising event, GAME
suggests the following for the committee roles. We recommend a minimum of 2-3 people per committee.
In many instances, an organization may select to combine two or three committees. It
is imperative that all committees understand they must work together and
communicate for the benefit of the rubber duck race. Often there will be some
crossover between two committees to finalize a particular aspect of the race.
Head Duck
The Head Duck will oversee all aspects of the duck race and will make all
decisions as it pertains to the structure, layout, and operations. The Head Duck
will communicate the needs of each committee to ensure a cooperative environment
in which the responsibilities and needs of each committee are being met.
- Oversees all duck race committees.
- Capable of delegation and follow-up.
- The management and business leader.
- Serves as the liaison between their organization and the GAME team.
- Able to assemble quality committees, execute plans and meet deadlines.
- Skilled at recruiting and cultivating people best suited for the various key responsibilities.
Sponsorship Chair
- Requires a strong working knowledge of sponsorship acquisition.
- Oversees all sponsorship acquisition and is the main contact for sponsors .
- Responsible for creating presentations for the media to solicit sponsors.
- Capable of establishing sponsorship levels and the components involved.
- A background or understanding of marketing, advertising and promotion.
- Capable of contacting, negotiating, and closing media & sponsor deals.
Adoption Chair
- Must have a sales background and sales experience.
- Secures adoption event dates and locations.
- Manages adoption event staff and volunteers.
- Able to motivate teams to sell, distribute and collect adoptions.
- Able to recruit and cultivate volunteers to work at adoption events.
- Collects adoption papers from adoption events and sponsor locations.
Equack Chair
- Prior experience in database management and marketing is vital.
- An advanced understanding of computer software and technology.
- Able to coordinate and train volunteers who will perform data entry.
- Works with GAME to setup and manage the online adoption website.
- Interface with the adoption committee chair, provides data of sales for meetings.
- Able to plan for week of event and race day sales, assigning tag ranges to teams and identifying race winners.
Logistics Chair
- Experience with event production and assistance from volunteers and staff.
- Hands on person who is mechanically inclined, possessing strong organizational skills and execution.
- Able to execute a tagging party, provide manpower and a facility for transportation and storage of ducks.
- Responsible for the race day event, including operations, manpower, venue coordination, race site and management, equipment, communication, racecourse design, test, trap, and post-race responsibilities.
- Responsible for post-race clean up, cleaning and organizing the ducks and getting them ready to ship the to the next race city.
Marketing & Social Media Chair
- Plans and implements the digital marketing campaign for the duck race.
- Creates new and engaging content to post on social media on a regular basis leading up to the event.
- Acknowledges and tags sponsors in social media posts as part of their sponsorship package.
- Communicates with GAME regarding their Facebook ad campaign and social media content.
- In charge of posting to all social media accounts during duck season leading up to the duck race.
Organizing Your Volunteers
Once you have organized your committees and identified the best chair for each committee, you will want to look at recruiting a few motivated volunteers to assist each chair. Make sure to identify the strengths of each person to ensure they are qualified and have the time to commit to the role. Once you have recruited volunteers, you should identify which committee is best for each person’s skill set.
- January 17, 2023
The holidays are right around the corner and although most racers aren’t in duck season, many have found ways to incorporate ducks during the holiday season. Showcasing ducks here and there during different holidays are a great way to keep ducks and your organization on top of mind when it comes to sponsorships and the community. Check out how racers are doing just that this season!
- Holiday Parade
2. Adoption/Race Information Booth
3. Duck Christmas Tree
4. Elf on the Shelf Accomplice
5. Stocking Additions
- December 15, 2022
Duck season may be coming to a close, but the holidays are a great opportunity to show your duck partners your appreciation! We encourage you to reach out to sponsors, duck adopters, and potential donors for Thanksgiving in a fun and festive way. Below are a few ideas to help you get started.
Happy Thanksgiving from your GAME family. We hope you have a great holiday!
- November 21, 2022
- October 24, 2022
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