Thank You For Your Efforts
Our local United Way has been serving communities throughout Central Washington for over six decades. Our ability to provide funding to various agencies and programs depends heavily on the generosity of our local businesses and community members.
Our 2023/24 Campaign presents an opportunity for companies large and small to run a workplace campaign. Our team will coordinate with your company to show how employees can give back and contribute financially, even if it is a dollar per period. Every little bit counts! We also make it easy and seamless through automatic payroll deductions.
We have seen over 400 workplace campaigns over the years and many of the participating businesses have said that their employees feel good about giving, knowing that what they contribute is going to those most in need. Many company leaders have also mentioned that employee morale and retention is greater knowing that the company cares enough to invest in the community.
What is a Workplace Campaign?
Without a doubt, the workplace campaign is the most high-profile United Way fundraising activity across the world, representing a significant portion of the funds we gather to invest in changing community conditions. Workplace giving is an easy and effective way to help employees make a difference and show them that their workplace is actively supporting the local community’s most important issues. Employees of a company are given an opportunity to support United Way by donating a portion of their paycheck. In many cases, the donations from employees are pre-tax pay, and many companies match their employees’ donations, which makes their charitable contributions go further. Whether you're a small business, major corporation, or even a nonprofit, you can join the thousands of local businesses and organizations that run workplace campaigns each year.
Benefits of a Workplace Campaign
- Education: Campaign information about charitable organizations expands employees’ knowledge about their community.
- Enhanced Employee Relations: Running a campaign provides a way for employees to improve their community. Also, participation in a campaign committee or events can help develop team building skills and boost morale as employees learn to set goals, work together, and achieve positive results.
- Investment: Companies and their employees may be able to receive tax deductions and/or credits from charitable giving as well as enjoy the ease and convenience of payroll deduction.
- Satisfaction: Allowing employees to donate to an organization that addresses issues that are important to them provides greater employee satisfaction. For example, United Way provides many choices to employees through education, financial stability, and health areas included on pledge forms as well as a variety of special local United Way community initiatives.
- Workforce Development: Running a campaign provides leadership opportunities for the campaign, committee, or event leaders as well as those aligned with affinity groups that empower employees to create new strategies to reach their networks.
Benefits to Companies
- Community Leadership: Creates a bond of interest between employer and employee; each knowing the other is working for the community’s best interest. Companies prosper in healthy communities and tend to stay and increase their employee base. Companies outside the area are more likely to invest in communities with a well-educated workforce, attractive and safe neighborhoods, a strong educational system, and social services that address and reduce health and human service needs.
- Corporate Recognition: Campaigns demonstrate to employees, customers, and the public at large that community service, impact, and leadership are a company priority. Companies that participate in campaigns are often recognized in events, media, marketing materials, and other platforms. Companies receive third-party recognition from United Way and other nonprofits and can also use campaign participation and results in their own internal and external communications such as websites, press releases, and annual reports.
- Easy Administration: Workplace campaigns are efficient and easy to administer. Payroll deduction is easy for employees and spreads giving throughout the year producing larger employee gifts.
- Improved Customer Relations and Loyalty: Market research shows that customers are more likely to purchase goods and services from companies that support their local community. Supporting nonprofit organizations and the community through the campaign shows that a company provides more than a product or service — it provides support for the local community as well — creating good community relations.
Benefits to Community
- Education: In many cases, employees (and their friends and families) are unaware of the programs area organizations provide. Running a campaign provides an easy way to bring the community together, convey educational messages and expose employees to resources they may have never known about.
- Expanded Outreach: The workplace provides new and expanded avenues for community outreach, making it easier for more employees to give and take an active part in vital community service activities.
- Increased Partnership: Employee campaigns encourage cooperation and collaboration among charitable organizations, as well as between companies and nonprofits. These partnerships help reduce duplication and build more meaningful community coalitions.
- Delivering Impact/ Getting Results: Funds raised during workplace campaigns go directly back to the community to improve lives.
- Service: Your employees will be able to tap into a wealth of year-round opportunities through our Corporate Volunteer Opportunities (coming soon) that benefit the community directly.
Advantages of Payroll Deduction
- It is the easiest method available to help meet the needs in our area. People often find it easier to contribute a small amount each pay period than to contribute the same sum of money all at once.
- Eliminates the annoyance of multiple drives throughout the year by grouping many worthwhile agency appeals and services into one annual pledge.
- Allows an employee to contributions without facing a sudden substantial drain of cash.
- Increases employee morale by creating a feeling of teamwork between employees and their employers.
- Provides for an automatic cut-off of deductions when paychecks are not received.
How do I start a workplace campaign?
- What a Dollar Buys - Flyer
- By The Numbers - Flyer
- Ways to engage your employees
- The impact of COVID-19 on struggling families (ALICE) Access more info.
Engage Employees During Your Campaign
- Review the Campaign Best Practices Guide
- "Fun-raising" Activities- Download the flyer here.
- Go to the Volunteer Portal and view opportunities in the community (Coming Soon)
- Sign Up for the United of Central Washington's Newsletters to stay informed about our initiatives. Sign up here
Resources For Your Employees
- Individual pledge form (coming soon)
- Retiree pledge form (coming soon)
Tips and techniques to make your campaign stand out
We’ve got the tools to help you make your United Way campaign stand out. Check out best practices proven to engage, excite, and ultimately unite your people.
The end goal? Heightened levels of contribution dollars and participation. Use these established strategies to get the job done. In the end, they could help you stand out among your United Way Employee Campaign Chair (ECC) peers!
Recruit a Team
Don’t run your campaign alone. Recruit a committee of enthusiastic, resourceful, and committed employees to help you plan the best possible campaign.
- Involve representatives from various departments/shifts in your organization. Diversity is important, so invite individuals from groups such as marketing, human resources, accounting, and more.
- Set up regular committee meetings and delegate responsibilities. You can ensure campaign success by creating roles such as department liaison and payroll contact, and areas of focus such as marketing/events and campaign communications, for committee members.
Lock down the logistics
It’s all about timing—take it from us.
- The most effective campaigns have proven to be short and sweet, so design yours with that in mind. Kick it off and wrap it up within 2 weeks.
- Plan ahead. It’s important to launch the campaign with a clear kickoff and wrap it up ceremoniously. These are key elements to take into consideration when establishing timing upfront.
- Set goals. United Way will help you determine the numbers. Once they are set, make sure your colleagues know what they’re working toward.
Rally the Troops
Bring people together to not only Give but to Volunteer as well. It’s all part of Living United.
- Host a kickoff event. Educational meetings and events throughout your campaign get employees together— plus, they offer an element of fun and help drive engagement. It’s an opportunity to learn more about community needs and find out how to get involved. Ensure events offer employees a variety of ways to learn and understand what their contribution to the United Way of Central Washington will help accomplish.
- Promote volunteer projects. United Way of Central Washington offers a variety of group volunteer opportunities promoting team building. Reach out to your United Way contact for details you can share within your organization.
- Create a competition between departments.
- Facilitate a leadership meeting. Set a meeting designed to educate a unique segment of past contributors— those who have donated at a specific level (for example, $500 or more)—about the benefits of giving at the Leadership Giver level ($1,200+ annually).
Promote Your Campaign
Campaigns with great visibility encourage everyone to get involved. Here are a few ways to mix your communications up and get them the visibility they deserve.
- Employ regular, consistent communication. Launch your campaign with creative kickoff communications— then, communicate along the way to maintain excitement and engagement.
- Use a mixed media approach.
- Email your intranet, personalized letters, pay stub inserts and United Way of Central Washington's website are all valuable elements you can use to promote your campaign.
- Hang posters and flyers in prominent places like lobbies, kitchens/lounges, and elevators to announce your Charitable Campaign dates and important information.
- Increase employee awareness by creating competition between departments and/or using various events.
- Payroll stuffers
- Frequent updates on the progress of the campaign
- Children’s art contest with a United Way theme
- Brochures
- Fliers about incentive items
- Articles in the company’s newsletter, if applicable
- Voice and email messages
- Display campaign thermometers and posters, at building entrances, in break rooms, and other common areas
- Decorate break rooms and other common areas with United Way Information
Strategies to Increase Participation
- Hold a drawing at the end of each employee meeting for all who turn in a pledge form
- Give everyone who turns in a pledge form at ticket [or several tickets]. When the campaign is complete, have a drawing for incentives, or have daily drawings that include only those who have already submitted their pledge form.
- If you make the company goal, throw a party.
Strategies to Increase the Average Gift
- Give the employees extra time off for increasing their gift by 10%.
- Hold a leadership giving campaign
- Establish a company leadership level and recognize accordingly.
- Ask the employees to give $1.00 more a week.
Incentives (You will need to ask your manager about these)
- Time off work
- Extra PTO time
- Casual Day/Jean Day
- Reserved/covered parking
- “Sleep-in” passes
- Extra half hour for lunch for a week
Don't Reinvent the Wheel!
Visit our Campaign Toolkit to find existing promotional and campaign materials like brochures, posters, pledge forms, videos, and more.
Wraps Things Up
Clearly signify that the campaign is officially a wrap and, while you’re at it, make sure your colleagues receive proper thanks.
- Report Results. Publicize your campaign’s end date and ensure all pledge forms are turned in by the deadline (remind donors to keep their copy of their pledge for tax purposes).
- For paper pledge/donation forms- place the donations and forms in an envelope [can be provided by United Way of Central Washington's office] In preparation for delivery or pickup:
- Include the original copy of pledge forms and all cash and checks from one-time gifts and special events.
- Sign the envelope verifying the amount of cash and/or checks enclosed.
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Submit all final results to United Way of Central Washington within two weeks of your campaign’s close, allowing United Way to process donations and thank your employees in a timely manner.
- For paper pledge/donation forms- place the donations and forms in an envelope [can be provided by United Way of Central Washington's office] In preparation for delivery or pickup:
- Don’t forget to say thanks. Ensuring your employees have a positive experience is critical to reinforcing your appreciation and creating consistent donors. And, be timely with your thank-you efforts. Thank donors, employees, and your campaign team in a well-timed fashion at the end of the campaign.
- Recognize specific contributions. Thank contributors for participating in the campaign with incentives such as prize drawings, a thank-you luncheon, or personal letters.
- Stay in touch with United Way. Your United Way of Central Washington contact is available year-round. Arrange quarterly face-to-face meetings to keep them up to date on what’s going on at your company and to learn how your organization’s support of United Way makes Yakima and Kittitas Counties great.
More Information
If you still have questions about the campaign process, please contact Richard Perez at (509) 248-1557 or Richard@uwcw.org.
For questions about our corporate volunteer opportunities, please contact Barbara Kinmark-Gurney at (509)-248-1557 or Barbara@uwcw.org