Getting a Campaign off the Ground: Campaign 101

1. Getting a Campaign off the Ground:Campaign 101 United Way of the Wine Country June, 2010

2. What does it mean to “run a United Way campaign”? Campaigns look different dependent upon the company. In short, it means providing employees the opportunity to give to United Way. Some environments are more conducive to special events, others focus more on the pledging process. The key is a natural integration of United Way into the culture of the workplace. United Way staff and Campaign Ambassadors work individually with each location to find out what will work best for every account.

3. Secure top level management support • Meet with the CEO/President/Manager to get their support and ask for personal • financial commitment • Ask the CEO to encourage donors by providing an incentive of • matching dollars on employee contributions. • Encourage the CEO to speak at your all-staff kickoff meeting to • encourage participation • Ask the CEO to assist in involving any unions to support the campaign. • Recruit the CEO to host a Leadership presentation to encourage • giving of $1,000 and up.

4. Educate employees about United Way • Contributions are raised locally and are invested locally. • United Way is a fully transparent organization that takes financial responsibility to donors very seriously. All records are available to the public at any time upon request. • Hundreds of volunteers give their time and talents to drive the work of United Way. • United Way is focused on addressing our community’s most pressing issues by working in partnership with local organizations to provide lasting community change.

5. Set goals and track results Planning is key to the success of the campaign. Apply the techniques of effective business management to goal setting and reporting. The CEO normally sets the goal with the campaign team. Analyze last year’s results, both employee and corporate. Encourage top executives to consider a dollar-for-dollar match. Breakdown last year’s results along department lines to determine department goals. Ensure that participating branches are included in the goal-setting.

6. Calculation Formulas

7. Employee Campaign Leader (ECL) Job Description • Objective: To encourage co-workers to participate in creating community impact by planning, coordinating, and implementing a successful United Way workplace campaign. • Reports to: The CEO at your workplace • Responsibilities: • - Recruit an enthusiastic committee- Work closely with Campaign Ambassador (CA)- Promote the campaign- Invite EVERYONE in the company to give- Encourage volunteerism among workers- Thank donors and volunteers

8. Recruit a campaign team This team will develop a company-wide campaign plan including solicitation of employees, development of additional campaign materials and planning of promotional events and materials. Recruit representatives from across the organization. It helps to include members of management, organized labor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Payroll and even retirees. Educate your committee about the United Way and its community building efforts before kickoff.

9. Campaign Ambassador (CA) Job Description • Objective: The Campaign Ambassador’s (CA) job is to assist the United Way staff in implementing successful campaign strategies by supporting workplace campaigns and developing new markets. • Reports to: United Way VP - Resource Development and Marketing • Responsibilities: • - Develop strategies for assigned accounts- Manage assigned accounts- Perform administrative tasks- Troubleshooting problems as necessary

10. Conduct group presentations – Have a Kickoff Event! • Educating the broadest sector of employees about the work of the United Way is key to a successful campaign. • Companies that utilize this technique experience, on average, • 58 percent higher employee per capita giving than companies not employing this technique. • A kick-off event is an opportunity to: • Tell employees how their contributions change lives • Give employees an opportunity to hear more about United Way • Inform employees about how the campaign operates in the company • Thank employees for investing in United Way’s work. • Answer questions

11. Special Events and Themes Themes can be a great way to up your level of participation in fundraising events. Employees can really show their creativity and (more importantly) have fun. Fun Event Ideas: Jail & bail Crazy tie day Casual day for making a goal Company picnic dunk tank How many beans in the jar Car wash Charge for a “Jeans Day” Silent auction Stress relief/ Spirit week Costume contest Baby picture-guessing contest Health Fair Departmental penny wars Executive Dunk Tank Coloring contest Putt-Putt Golf Tourney

12. Promote the Campaign • Feature employees who volunteer for the United Way or one of its partner agencies. • Interview a Campaign Ambassador • Interview a co-worker who has participated in the United Way investment process. • Feature an employee who has benefited from services at a United Way agency • Solicit and publish quotes from past contributors: “Why do you give?” • Reprint messages from labor leaders, management, or anyone else with strong • United Way ties, connections, or convictions • Highlight groups or individuals touring United Way agencies • Create a special “United Way of the Wine Country” newsletter edition/ • brochure/payroll stuffer

13. Increase Leadership Giving Efforts Leadership giving is a way to recognize contributors while inspiring others to reach higher levels of giving. This is the fastest growing segment of most employee campaigns. Recruit a senior executive to chair the Pillar Leadership Giving Campaign, targeted to donors of $1,000 and up. Consider running this solicitation in advance of regular workplace campaign to “set the tone” for the entire company-wide campaign. Your CEO could address leadership giving at a specially scheduled meeting. Thank leadership givers. Possible methods are a letter from the CEO, a telephone call from a senior executive or a thank you reception.

14. Increase Leadership Giving Efforts Pillar Leadership Giving Bronze Pillar: $1,000 - $2,499 Silver Pillar: $2,500 - $4,999 Gold Pillar: $5,000 - $9,999 Tocqueville: $10,000 and up

15. Report your results • Publish overall campaign results to ensure that all employees are aware of the success of their efforts. • Include with amount of dollars collected: • Corporate Match • Percent of participation • Percent of increase over last year • Amount of dollars collected through special events

16. Say thank you and celebrate • Send an e-mail or letter from you or your CEO to every employee. • Give out pins, buttons, or cards. • Write a thank you message for your company’s newsletter or intranet. • Pass out candy, balloons, etc. • Include a thank you note with paychecks. • Schedule a thank you event, luncheon or other special meeting as a • way to report results AND convey gratitude. • It would be nice to spend money advertising how much we appreciate • everyone, but we would rather invest as much of a donor’s gift into • the community as possible. Please help us make sure everyone in • your organization understands their gift is appreciated!