FAQ

Registration for this event is Online Only.*

*PLEASE NOTE: This event is limited to 1200 participants. Deadline for registration is June 7, 2010 or when the event sells out.

Register Online: Go to the Rat Race registration page. It will guide you through the registration process. You will receive a confirmation e-mail once your registration has been successfully processed. You can then login to your personal fundraising page as often as you wish to:

• Check your fundraising totals
• Invite friends, family and co-workers to sponsor you
• Join a team
• Record your offline pledges using the "Manage Cash or Cheques" button.

If you are collecting offline pledges (cash/cheques) please follow these steps:

• Record all your offline pledges with complete contact information for your donors. This will ensure that they receive a tax receipt in the mail. Offline pledges will automatically populate the results form.
• Print off the results form and submit the donations and form to United Way. Don't stop at $60! Check out our prize incentive page for details.

When you register and submit a minimum of $60 in pledges, you will receive an official Scotiabank Rat Race t-shirt and runner's bib. Please pick these up at the check-in on race day at Scotia Plaza, Concourse Level near Investor Services from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm.

There is no registration fee however all participants must collect and submit a minimum of $60 in pledges on or before the race in order to participate. Don't stop at $60! Check out our prize incentive page for details.

Yes. Enter your login information using last year's user ID and password. If you have forgotten your password, click on "Forgot Password" and your password will be e-mailed to you. Once you have successfully logged in, you will be taken to the "Welcome Back" screen. From here you can go back to your previous registration information and make changes if necessary. You can then re-register for this year's Rat Race.

We encourage participants to register themselves. However, as long as you have all of the accurate and required information for the participant, you can register them for the Rat Race. Please be sure to let them know so that there will not be duplicate registrations. Also, remember to link your teammates to you team. Each person must submit a minimum of $60 in pledges to participate. Don't stop at $60! Check out our prize incentive page for details.

You can change your contact information online by logging in and clicking the "Edit My Profile" link in the top right-hand corner of the dashboard.

Select "Login" on the side menu and enter your user ID and password. This will take you to your personal fundraising page.

If you would like to cancel your registration, please contact us at unitedwayevents@uwgt.org to let us know. Unfortunately, we are not able to refund any donations that have been received by United Way Toronto prior to the time of your cancellation. Please let your potential sponsors know that you have cancelled.

Click "Forgot Password" on the Registration page. Type in your user ID and click submit. Your login information will be sent to your personal e-mail address. If you can't remember your user ID, please contact unitedwayevents@uwgt.org.

"Pending" status means that you have registered online, but you have not raised the minimum of $60 in pledges. Pending refers to online fundraising only (donations by credit card). In order for your status to change from "Pending" to "Registered", you must raise the minimum $60 online using Visa/MasterCard by June 7, 2010. If you have offline pledges towards your $60 minimum please record these in your "Manage Cash and Cheques" page, print off the Results Form and submit the outstanding balance to United Way before the event or on race day. Your minimum $60 must be submitted before you are issued a race kit.

• Click on "Register Now!"
• Select the "Create a Team" option
• Complete the "Team Name", "Team Description" and "Team Goal" fields
• Fill in your personal information and your account information
• Once your registration is confirmed, you should see a "Congratulations!" message and details of your personal and team information
• You will receive a confirmation e-mail in your e-mail inbox; it will provide you with a quick link to your team info page
• Now you can invite others to join your team
• Each member of the team must create an individual profile

Note: Please keep a record of your user name and password so you can login again to check on your team status and fundraising achievements.

• You can ask your family and friends to join your team by sending an e-mail from our online registration system. This will provide your teammates with more information about the Rat Race and a link to the team registration page. You can also send a personalized message (not mandatory).
• Copy the e-mail addresses of your potential teammates into the box on the "Invite Others" page and press "Send e-mail".
• If you have a lot of contacts, or if there are strict firewalls at your workplace, you may want to send your e-mails from your personal e-mail account. Before you do this, send yourself a "Join a Team" e-mail through the online system as per the instructions outlined in the above text. Once you receive this e-mail you can forward it onto contacts from your Outlook or your personal e-mail account. This e-mail will include your 'Join My Team' link. E-mail recipients will be able to click on this link and join your team.

• You must register as an indvidual before you are able to join a team
• From the Rat Race home page, click on "Register Now!"
• If you have already registered, please login using your e-mail and password
• Select the "Join a Team" tab
• Select the name of the team you would like to join
• Once your registration is confirmed, you should see a "Congratulations!" message and details of your personal and team information.

Only the team captain has the ability to change team settings. The team captain can login and go to the team page to check the team status, send messages to the team members, see who has joined and how the fundraising is progressing.

As long as there are two or more people, you can set up a team. There is no maximum number of people per team. Each individual team member must set up his/her own profile page in order to fundraise online.

If you have signed up for the incorrect team, or would like to switch teams, please contact us at unitedwayevents@uwgt.org . We will be happy to make the required changes. Do not re-register yourself.

If your team has registered and fundraised online, team captains can get a total of all the online and offline pledges. Please ensure that your team records their offline pledges (cash/cheques) to their personal fundraising page using the "Manage Cash or Cheques" button. Submit all offline pledges, accompanied by a printed results form by race day. You can continue fundraising above the $60 minimum up until July 9, 2010. Receipts will be issued by mail for offline donations over $20 only if you record, print off and submit your pledges with the results form.

You cannot sponsor an entire team. You can only sponsor individuals on that team.

We strongly recommend using our online donation system. Our website is secure and your donation will be e-receipted by e-mail immediately. Your donation will appear on the participant's page instantly. If you prefer to sponsor someone by cash or cheque, you can submit this directly to the participant. Be sure to give the participant accurate contact information so that a tax receipt can be mailed to you if you give $20 or more. The participant will record your offline donation on our online registration system using the results form.

Donations can be made securely, and tax receipts are issued to your sponsors instantly. Here's how it works:

1. Click on "Sponsor" in the top right corner. This will take you to the search page.

2. Search for the Rat Race participant you wish to sponsor. Enter all or part of the person's name you are searching for and click "Search".

3. From the search list, click the participant's name. This will take you to their personal fundraising page. From here you can begin the donation process.

4. On the donation form, enter your contact information, complete your credit card information and click the "Donate Now" button.

5. Your donation will be processed and you will receive an e-mail acknowledging your donation as well as an electronic tax receipt. Please retain your tax receipt for your tax records.

Do not mail cash donations. If you would like to make a cash donation, please submit cash or cheques directly to the participant. Be sure to give the participant accurate contact information so that a tax receipt can be issued if you give $20 or more. The participant will record your offline donation on our online registration system using the results form.

You can hand in all your offline donations on race day if it is accompanied by a results form. Or you can hand deliver or mail in additional pledges above the minimum $60, to our office by Friday, July 9, 2010 to:

United Way Toronto
ATTN: Processing Dept.
26 Wellington Street E, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON, M5E 1W9

Please write a cheque to cover the total amount of your cash pledges. Make it payable to "United Way Toronto". Receipts will be issued for all donations of $20 or more.

If you made an online donation using your credit card an electronic tax receipt will be issued immediately through e-mail if the transaction is successful. Please make sure that you have provided us with a valid e-mail address. For offline donations (cash/cheques) a receipt will be issued by mail. Only donations of $20 or more will be tax receipted for offline donations.

E-mail us at unitedwayevents@uwgt.org and we will issue another one if necessary.

Registering online allows you to manage your fundraising efforts through our user-friendly online system. The site allows you to personalize your website, join a team and send e-mails to your friends and family asking them to sponsor your run. Your page will update automatically so you can track your fundraising.

Offline donations (cash/cheques) can be entered using the results form only. Simply login to your account and:

• Click on "Manage Cash and Cheques"
• Fill in the correct contact information and donation of all offline donations
• Print off the results form, and;
• Submit the results form and all donations on race day. If you have any additional donations above your minimum $60 please submit them to our office by July 9, 2010.

All offline donations must be submitted to United Way Toronto along with a hard copy of the results form.

"Pending" status means that you have registered for the event, but you have not raised a minimum of $60 in pledges online. In order to be fully registered and have a "Registered" status, you must ensure that you have raised a minimum of $60 by credit card before June 7 by 5:00 pm. Don't stop at $60! Check out our prize incentive page for details.

• "Verified" means that a successful online donation has been made using Visa/ MasterCard.
• "Unverified" means that you have manually recorded your offline donation (cash/cheques) into the "Manage Cash or Cheques" page. "Unverified" donations will not change your status from "Pending" to "Registered" even if the total collected offline meets the minimum $60.

To log into your fundraising page, click the "Login" link in the side menu. You will be asked for your User ID and Password that you created when you registered. If you have forgotten your login info, click the "Forgot Password" link and follow the instructions. Your login information will then be sent to your personal e-mail address. If you can't remember your User ID please contact unitedwayevents@uwgt.org.

You can ask your friends, family and co-workers to sponsor you by sending an e-mail from our online registration system. This will provide your sponsors with more information about your participation in the Rat Race. You can send a personalized message by copying the e-mail address into the box on the "Solicit Sponsors" page, type in your personal message (not mandatory) and press "Send e-mail". If you have a lot of contacts, or if there are strict firewalls at your place of work, you may want to send your e-mails from your personal e-mail account. Before you do this, send yourself a fundraising e-mail through the online system as per the instructions outlined in the above. Once you receive this e-mail you can forward it on to contacts from your Outlook or your personal e-mail account. This e-mail will include your personal fundraising address link. e-mail recipients will be able to click on this link and make a donation directly to you.

Your donors will automatically receive a thank-you from United Way confirming their donation. You can also send a personalized thank-you. Just follow the instructions on the "Sponsor Page".

• We recommend using our online donation system. Our website is secure and your donors will have their tax receipts e-mailed to them instantly!
• Your personal page will identify new donations immediately.
• You can enter offline donations in the Manage Cash or Cheques page and then print the results form which will automatically populate with both your online and offline donations.
• You must submit offline pledges with your results form to United Way.

To record your offline pledges you must:

• Record all your offline donations using the "Manage Cash or Cheques" button in your personal fundraising page.
• Once you have completed entering all your offline donations you will need to print the results form which has been automatically populated with both your online and offline pledges. Be sure to include the address and phone number of your donors so we can issue a tax receipt for donations $20 and more.
• You must submit the results form with your cash and cheque donations on race day.
• You can submit additional donations, above the minimum $60, with your results form up until July 9 2010 to our office.

Address:
United Way Toronto
ATTN: Processing Dept.
26 Wellington Street E, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON, M5E 1W9

*TIP:To avoid registration line-ups on race day and to ensure your participation, please submit your minimum $60 in pledges online before the June 7 deadline. Don't stop at $60! Check out our prize incentive page for details.

• To qualify for our fabulous incentive prizes, you must raise and submit a minimum of $250 in pledges no later than 5:00 pm, Friday, July 9, 2010.
• Incentive prizes must be picked up in person anytime between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm at United Way Toronto, 26 Wellington St. E., 2nd Fl., from August 9 - 20, 2010 only.
• Incentives are awarded for raising $250, $600, $750, $1000, $2500 and $5000+. One top fundraising prize will be awarded to the individual who raises the most money by the July 9 deadline.
• Prizes are non-cumulative and United Way reserves the right to substitute prizes for equal or greater value. Check out our prize incentive page for details.

• Yes, someone other than yourself can pick up your prize but the designate must show identification and sign upon pickup.
• Incentive prizes must be picked up in person, anytime between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm at United Way Toronto, 26 Wellington St. E., 2nd Fl., from August 9 – 20, 2010 only.
• You can also arrange for a designate to pick up prizes for all team members who qualify. E-mail us at unitedwayevents@uwgt.org at least 24 hours in advance. We would be pleased to put your prize package together for you.
• Please Note: United Way cannot mail or courier prizes.
• United Way Toronto will not issue incentive prizes after August 20, 2010.

The Scotiabank Rat Race for United Way is held at Scotia Plaza, 40 King Street West in downtown Toronto. The event itself is accessed from both the Adelaide Street West and King Street entrances. There is ample paid parking in the area.

Click here for map.

The 2010 Scotiabank Rat Race route will only be open for 1 hour. When picking up your race kit please indicate that you intend to walk. We will provide you with a special wristband. In the interest of public safety, all walkers will be asked to start the race immediately following the runners. Race marshals will move behind the runners opening up the route for traffic. Participants moving slower than this pace will be asked by Police to move onto the sidewalk and proceed to the finish line obeying regular pedestrian road rules.

No. To ensure the safety of all runners, in-line skates, bikes, chariots and strollers are prohibited.

Yes*, there is a complimentary coat check located at Scotia Plaza on the Concourse Level.

*Please note: United Way Toronto is not responsible for lost or stolen articles. We strongly recommend that you bring as few items as possible.

If the event does not sell out*, you can register on race day from 10:00 am - 7:30 pm at Scotia Plaza, Concourse Level, near Investor Services. To register, a minimum of $60 in pledges and any additional funds that you have collected is required. If you plan to register on race day, we strongly recommend you arrive early.

*This event is limited to 1200 participants and will most likely sell out in advance. Please register online early.

Your race kit can be picked up on race day at Scotia Plaza, Concourse Level, near Investor Services from 10:00 am–7:30 pm.

• A runner's bib is provided for timing purposes, to indicate that you are registered and have paid the minimum $60.
• Participants will be timed electronically as they start the race and pass the finish line. All participant times will be posted at the event and at unitedwaytoronto.com after the race.
• There will be a medal presentation for the fastest female and male immediately following the race.

Please refer to the notice of closure (pdf).