# What Does the Host Do in a Duck Race Fundraiser?

> The honest split: what your team owns (water, permits, sponsors, race day) and what Derby Duck Races carries (ducks, race site, ads, print, payout).

- Canonical URL: https://derbyduckrace.com/blog/what-does-the-host-do-in-a-duck-race/
- Published: September 23, 2026
- Author: Derby Duck Races
- Source: Derby Duck Races
- Audiences: nonprofits, schools, rotary-civic, churches, sports, events
- Tags: duck race volunteers, host responsibilities, event planning, committees, duck race

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Every host wants to know the same thing before they sign: how much of this lands on us? Here's the straight answer, including the parts that are real work.

**The host owns the community side: the date and the water, permits and event insurance, sponsors and prizes, teams, a tagging party about a week out, and race day itself with roughly 8 to 10 volunteers. Derby Duck Races carries the back-of-house: the ducks and freight, the race website and checkout, the ads and print, and one payout. Nobody from DDR is on site on race day.**

## Who does what in a duck race fundraiser?

Your team owns everything that depends on knowing your town. We own everything that depends on having done this since 1988.

| The job | Your team | Derby Duck Races |
|---|---|---|
| Race date and venue | Pick the date and the water | Look at your spot with you and send test ducks |
| Permits and event insurance | Secure them | Advise. We never pull permits |
| The ducks | Store them until race day | Numbered racing ducks, freight both ways |
| Tags and the finish-line trap | Use them | Included with your ducks |
| Tagging party | Host it, about a week out | Send the tagging kit |
| Race website and checkout | Edit it, watch sales | Build it on eQuack, with Apple Pay and Google Pay |
| In-person sales | Staff the table | Tap-to-pay and an iPhone app for card sales |
| Sponsors | Make the asks | Build the sponsor packet with you |
| Prizes | Pick them, fund them, deliver them | Add them to your site, identify the winners |
| Teams | Recruit captains who will sell | Team pages, goals, and a live leaderboard |
| Marketing | Share on your own channels | Race logo, managed Meta and Google ads, print kit designed and shipped |
| Race day | Run it with your volunteers | Not on site. Planned with you step by step beforehand |
| After the race | Rinse and repack the ducks | Schedule the freight pickup and send one payout |

Every package also includes a $1,000 merch credit for tees, hats, and duck keepsakes. Our [full cost breakdown](/blog/duck-race-fundraiser-cost/) covers what sits outside the package.

## How much work is a duck race for the host?

Real work, the fun kind. We carry the heavy back-of-house build so your team doesn't have to, but a duck race doesn't run itself.

Here's where your team's hours actually go:

- **Sponsor meetings.** The biggest job, and the one that decides your margin. Most hosts line up local sponsors to cover the package before adoptions open.
- **Rallying teams and adopters.** Adoption events, team captains, your own email list and social channels.
- **The tagging party.** One afternoon with a crew of volunteers.
- **Race day.** A few hours of setup, the race, prizes, and cleanup.

What you're not doing: sourcing thousands of matching racing ducks, building a numbering system tied to checkout, coding a website that takes Apple Pay and tracks teams, designing print, running ads, or reconciling every online adoption into one payout. Handing that off saves a host team 200+ hours.

## How many volunteers does a duck race need?

A small planning committee, a crew of 10 or more for the tagging party, and roughly 8 to 10 volunteers for the race itself. Add more if you wrap the race in a festival.

- **The committee.** Most races run on a "head duck" plus three to five other key volunteers. The full structure has chairs for sponsorship, adoptions, finances, marketing, and logistics, each with a few helpers. Small groups combine roles. Our [duck race committees guide](/duck-race-committees/) covers each one.
- **The tagging party.** About a week before race day, 10 or more volunteers put a numbered tag on every duck. The kit is built so a crew can finish it in an afternoon.
- **Race day.** Roughly 8 to 10 people for the race itself: the drop, a kayaker or two, a couple of people with nets, someone verifying winners, and an emcee. Food, music, and an adoption table need their own people.

The [race day logistics guide](/duck-race-day-logistics/) lays out every race-day role and when each one starts.

## Is Derby Duck Races on site on race day?

No. Nobody from our staff comes on site. We plan every step with you beforehand, and you have one main point of contact the whole way.

A lot of first-time hosts assume otherwise, because the videos show a truck or a front loader dumping thousands of ducks and it looks like the kind of thing a vendor brings. We don't bring it, and that turns out to be an opportunity. Some hosts hand the drop to their local fire department. Others let an equipment company sponsor it, so their logo is in the photo everyone shares. Our [guide to getting ducks in and out of the water](/blog/how-do-the-ducks-get-in-and-out-of-the-water/) covers the options.

That's by design. Race day is your community's event, run by your people, in front of your sponsors. The volunteers in waders and the emcee on the mic should be faces your town knows. What we make sure of is that nothing on race day is a surprise: your cutoff time is set, your winners report is tested, and your crew knows who does what.

## Who handles permits and insurance?

The host does, and we'll coach you through it. Check with your parks department or whichever agency controls the waterway, and carry a special-event liability policy.

We advise on permits but never pull them, because we work with races in many states and the relationship with your city is yours. Ask your insurance broker whether your existing policy already covers a one-day event before you buy anything new.

The first-race mistake we most want you to avoid is assuming someone else had this covered. Put a name next to permits in month one.

## Where should the host's team spend its time?

On sponsors and teams. Those two drive most of the money.

Sponsors come first because they cover your costs before a single duck is adopted. Our [sponsorship playbook](/corporate-sponsorship-ideas-duck-race/) has the tiers and the ask script.

Teams come next, and the numbers are hard to argue with. Across 37 completed races on the duckrace.com directory, races with more than 10 teams sold 2.3x more ducks (a median of 11,745 versus 5,000) and hit their goal 44% of the time versus 26%. The practical lesson: recruit captains who will actually ask their people, not just team names on a list. Use the groups you already have. Every grade, every player, every committee, every table captain from your gala. Nobody on your team should be selling alone. It shows up in the money, too: in our online order data, about 90% of online adoption dollars came through fundraising teams.

## How does the money get handled?

Online adoptions run through your race site. Cash, checks, and sponsors who pay you directly go straight to you. After race day we reconcile the online side and send one payout.

That means your finance lead isn't chasing thousands of small online payments. They're tracking the in-person cash and checks, entering them into the race site so every adopter gets a duck number, and watching one payout land after the race.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Derby Duck Races run race day?

No. The host runs race day with their own volunteers, usually roughly 8 to 10 people for the race itself. Nobody from Derby Duck Races is on site. We plan every step with you beforehand and test the winners report with you during race week.

### How many volunteers do we need for a duck race?

A planning committee of a head duck plus three to five key volunteers, a crew of 10 or more for the tagging party about a week out, and roughly 8 to 10 volunteers for the race itself. If you add food, music, and an adoption table, staff those separately.

### Who gets the permits for a duck race?

The host. Check with your parks department or whichever agency controls the waterway, and carry a special-event liability policy. Derby Duck Races advises on permits but never pulls them.

### How much work is a duck race for a small organization?

Real work, but the fun kind. The host's hours go to sponsor meetings, rallying teams, one tagging-party afternoon, and race day. The ducks, website, checkout, ads, print, and payout are handled for you, which saves a host team 200+ hours, so your team isn't building any of that from scratch.

### Does Derby Duck Races find sponsors for us?

No. Your people make the asks, because local businesses say yes to people they know. We make the asks easier: we build the sponsor packet and tiers with you, and sponsor logos go on your race website and your printed materials.

### Who collects the money from a duck race?

Online adoptions run through your race site, and after the race Derby Duck Races sends one payout. Cash, checks, and sponsors who pay you directly go straight to your organization. Volunteers enter cash and check sales into the race site so every adopter still gets a duck number.

## Know your side before you sign

The races that go smoothly are the ones where the host knew their side of the work on day one. Water, permits, sponsors, teams, tagging, race day. Put a name next to each before the kickoff call and you've already done the hardest part of planning.

Want to see what your side looks like for your race? [Four quick questions](/#race-plan) get you a free race plan, and [our planning timeline](/blog/how-far-in-advance-to-plan-a-duck-race/) shows when each piece happens.