If you are a campaign chair, you are probably wondering how to make your annual employee giving campaign a success. Would insider knowledge from an employee giving campaign pro help? In that case, we have just the information you need. Recently we spoke with one of our fantastic campaign chairs and board member Samantha Powell. She has years of experience working on employee giving campaigns, and this year she is the campaign chair for 3 Rivers Federal Credit Union.
Samantha had some great insight that we thought we needed to share with our new campaign chairs. If you need some help Making It Happen in 2021, please contact us or browse our campaign toolkit, created specifically with you in mind.
Overcoming COVID
2020 was a challenging year for employee giving campaigns, but organizations like 3 Rivers overcame and supported Wayne and Union counties. They came up with ways to raise funds while following COVID-19 precautions. They were so dedicated to their campaign that they increased their pledge significantly from 2019 to 2020.
The CEO of 3 Rivers, Don Cates, is a dedicated advocate for United Way, and he enjoys employee giving campaigns. With the support of their CEO, the 3 Rivers employee giving team went out to branches asking for support. One genius social distancing activity they planned was offering jeans Friday. Instead of the regular business professional dress code, employees could wear jeans on Friday if they donated a certain percentage of their paycheck. Jeans Friday was a very successful tactic and could be used in any setting, not just a business professional office. The 3 Rivers 2020 campaign was impressive, but Samantha and her team have an even bigger goal this year.
3 Rivers 2021 Campaign
How is Samantha’s team going to Make It Happen and exceed their contribution from last year? Well, they have some very fun activities planned. For example, they are playing Penny Wars. Penny Wars can be played in a variety of ways, but at 3 Rivers, teams can donate by adding one penny or a dollar to a jar to get points for their team, but the goal is to sabotage the other team by adding nickels, dimes or twenty-dollar bills to their pot.
Another activity they are planning is called Flocking. Flocking is when employees can donate to flock someone’s office. What is flocking exactly? It is putting all kinds of flamingo figurines into an employee’s office. 3 Rivers has added a twist, and they are offering flock insurance; employees can donate a specific amount to make sure their office doesn’t get covered in flamingos. How fun is that?! You know what they say, birds of a feather…
These fun activities play on employee’s competitiveness, and because they are donating small amounts, it feels easy to give. Don’t be surprised if teams get competitive and funds start to add up quickly! But how long should you run an employee giving activity like penny wars or flocking? Samantha provides us with the answer in her three tips for Making It Happen in 2021.
Samantha’s Tips for Hosting a Successful Campaign
- Set a Timeline
One of the most important things you can do to make sure you Make It Happen in 2021, is setting an appropriate timeline. Some activities will be finished in a day, but others will take longer. Make sure to end activities promptly to keep the campaign fresh in an employee’s mind. Something between two weeks to a month is usually a reasonable amount of time.
- Organization is Key
Organization is the way you are going to Make It Happen in 2021. Making sure that the campaign itself and each of the activities are well organized. That is why it is helpful to have a team to delegate activities too. If you need help managing your campaign, check out our 10 Steps to a Successful Campaign.
- Have Fun!
Having fun is the most crucial tip; make sure everyone has a great time! The more employees enjoy your campaign, the more engaged they will be with your activities! An employee giving campaign can’t be all work and no play. To keep things light, try out some of our fun activities below.
Fun Campaign Ideas
To get you thinking about possible campaign activities, here is a list of ten creative group activities. Also, for more ideas, check out our fun campaign ideas list.
- Jeans Day
- Flocking
- Penny Wars
- Cornhole Tournament
- Golf Tournament
- Raffling
- Cupcake Wars
- Jersey Day
- Pie-In-The-Face
- Parking Spot Fundraiser
How Can You Make It Happen?
We are getting close to the kick-off date of our Make It Happen campaign. If your organization is looking to Make It Happen in 2021, get into contact with us. We can schedule a time to come and talk to your leadership board about a United Way of Whitewater Valley giving campaign. Or check out our campaign toolkit, which includes all of the tools you need to for your annual campaign. The toolkit has marketing materials as well as guides to a successful campaign.
If you are not quite ready to make the jump to a campaign chair this year, sign up for our monthly newsletter to learn more about United Way of Whitewater Valley.
