Steps for having a Successful United Way Campaign
1) Prepare Yourself
Review your employee’s giving history
- What was the total amount raised last year?
- What was the participation rate?
- What was the per capita gift?
Meet with the previous campaign representative to evaluate last year’s campaign.
Confirm your payroll deduction process. What information is needed for the Payroll Department?
2) Plan Your Campaign
Request support from your CEO.
If more than 25 employees, get additional people involved by asking a cross-section of employees to serve on a Campaign Planning Committee.
Set a challenging goal.
- Increasing participation?
- Increasing pledged amounts?
- Offering incentives?
Determine the date of your campaign presentation.
- Can it be coordinated with an employee meeting?
- Are you going to hold any special events?
Promote the campaign in advance.
- Publicize goals, meeting dates and times.
- Utilize bulletin boards, newsletters, e-mail etc.
3) Running Your Campaign
Group Solicitation – An employee meeting is scheduled to hear a United Way presentation. (See sample meeting agenda.) Presenters can include:
- United Way Campaign Chair
- United Way Executive Director
- Partner Agency Director, volunteer or service recipient
- United Way Campaign Video
Advantages of Group Solicitation:
- Efficient use of time.
- Uniform message.
- Accommodates the work schedule of the school.
- Enables employee campaigns to be completed in shorter period of time.
- Relieves prospective contributors from the distractions of the work area.
Tips:
- Personalize pledge cards. (we suggest labels)
- Distribute pledge forms and brochures at the meeting.
- Have a box available at the meeting for employees to return their completed pledge forms. This will save you time in only needing to follow-up with those who did not already complete their forms.
One-To-One Solicitation – Campaign Chair and the members of the Campaign Planning Committee personally ask a co-worker for a contribution.
Advantages of One-To-One Solicitation:
- Involves more employees as volunteers in the campaign.
- Allows the solicitor to tailor the United Way message to individual employees.
- Gives the contributor an opportunity to have questions and concerns answered immediately.
- Gives the solicitor an opportunity to ask for an increased contribution.
- Gives the solicitor an opportunity to convince a non-participating employee to contribute.
Generally, the most successful campaigns include an employee group meeting followed up with one-to-one contact.
4) Wrapping Up Your Campaign
Collect pledge cards –
- Fill out the donation list with the names and amounts of all who have donated.
- A copy of pledge cards from those making payroll direction contributions may be placed into the report envelope if you wish.
- Submit contributions made by payroll deduction to the payroll department as they require.
- Place pledge cards from employees who have made cash contributions into the report envelope along with their cash or checks.
- Place pledge cards from employees who want to be billed into the envelope.
Fill out the front of the report envelope and bring to a United Way report meeting. Only what is inside the envelope should be reported inside the envelope – do not provide cumulative results.
Announce the results to everyone at your company.
Evaluate the campaign. Write down any ideas or changes for next year’s campaign.
Thank every contributor and volunteer.