Leadership giving is the best way to grow your campaign. Here are some great ideas from a variety of Houston companies:
American General Life Companies created a blog with a faux twitter feed as the primary communication for their 2009 campaign including videos, photos, announcements and special campaign incentives. Both boosted awareness about United Way and resulted in a 17 percent increase in YL giving and a 54 percent increase in Women's Initiative giving.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation started a highly successful internal Young Leaders Program, nearly doubling their Young Leaders membership in its first year. The program offered service projects, leadership development and networking opportunities. This resulted in a 6 percent increase in Young Leaders giving.
Andrews Kurth recruited two partners to serve as co-chairs for the Alexis de Tocqueville Society campaign, and two young professionals to lead the Young Leaders campaign in 2008 and 2009. Their experienced leadership resulted in a leadership giving increase of 5 percent, and boosted giving among YL by 29 percent.
Bank of Texas held a leadership giving breakfast, with incentives for giving, and executives sharing why they support United Way. This resulted in a 30 percent increase in leadership giving and a 17 percent increase in the overall campaign.
BHP Billiton Petroleum ran a three-week leadership giving campaign prior to the overall kickoff. At multiple locations, company leaders, United Way representatives and beneficiary speakers told the United Way story. This resulted in a 26 percent increase in leadership giving.
CenterPoint Energy implemented a matching gifts program that matched all increases in leadership giving and any increases that brought donors to the leadership giving level. This resulted in a 44 percent increase in overall campaign results for 2009. Employees were inspired to give knowing that when they stepped up their giving, so did the company through the match.
ConocoPhillips hosted two Executive breakfasts. Pledge packets are mailed to employee's home addresses (including retirees), with solicitation letters signed by the CEO and campaign chair. Contributions are matched dollar-for-dollar. ConocoPhillips' Women's Network hosted an event called "Women Supporting Women through United Way." These efforts resulted in a 7 percent increase in Leadership Giving.
ExxonMobil promotes leadership giving at all United Way meetings, and 82 percent of contributions come from leadership giving. 20 internal divisions run a leadership giving campaign that includes breakfast or lunch meetings, and smaller, peer-to-peer meetings. The company's Young Leaders initiative includes a special kickoff, "Meet the Leaders" luncheons with top executives, and more. These efforts resulted in a 10 percent increase in Leadership Giving.
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, appreciating the busy schedules of its attorneys, hosted a coffee hour at the firm that included a short presentation by the Community Campaign Chair and a Q&A session. This convenient and efficient effort boosted their leadership giving by 17 percent.
Memorial Hermann CEO Dan Wolterman held a leadership giving breakfast with his executives to share his personal reasons for supporting United Way. He highlighted the needs in our community and also invited United Way CEO Anna Babin to speak and thank the leaders for their continued support. A special introduction message by Mr. Wolterman is added to the United Way campaign video, which is shared with all staff. Thanks to CEO support, and a strong leadership giving campaign, Memorial Hermann has the highest overall campaign results in the health care division.
Spectra Energy's United Way campaign leadership is set several years in advance. Corporate executives visibly participate, and promote Stewardship Giving based on "days of pay" so that all employees can give as a leader, while those giving at the United Way levels are doubly recognized. This holistic approach resulted in a 13 percent increase in leadership giving.
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