While each United Way campaign is unique, the Seven Steps to Success are the building blocks for an effective campaign and should be followed as closely as possible. Your United Way representative will help you develop a campaign plan that works best for your organization.
As Campaign Coordinator, your most important first step is to work with your CEO to establish a top-level team. Support from the top demonstrates to employees your company's firm commitment to the campaign and to changing lives in our community.
STEP 1: Establish support from the top - More
Your top-level team should include the following roles: (For the CEO)
- Visibly participates in the campaign
- Speaks at campaign events
- Sends campaign and thank-you correspondence to employees
- Makes a personal contribution
Campaign Chairman (Someone who reports directly to the CEO)
- Visibly participates in the campaign
- Speaks at campaign events
- Meets with the company's United Way committee to help plan the campaign
- Serves as the liaison between the company's United Way committee and company leadership
- Sends campaign and thank-you correspondence to employees
- Makes a personal contribution
Leadership Giving Chairman
- Visibly participates in the campaign
- Speaks at Leadership Giving Campaign events
- Meets with companys United Way committee to plan Leadership Giving Campaign
- Communicates with past and prospective leadership givers
- Makes a personal contribution at a Leadership Giving level
STEP 2: Set goals and track results - More
Set a goal for your company (perhaps for your business unit or department as well). Track and report results throughout the campaign to build excitement among employees.
Your United Way representative can help you set your goal. Consider these factors:
- Your company's past results
- Current company environment, including changes in number of employees
- Needs of our community
Tracking results throughout your campaign makes final reporting to the United Way easy. It's also a great way to generate excitement for your campaign as employees watch you get closer and closer to your goal.
Your United Way representative will provide you
with reporting materials to report the following results:
- Number and dollar amount of pledges by payroll deduction
- Number and dollar amount of gifts by cash and check
- Number and dollar amount of pledges by direct billing and securities
- Detailed information on leadership level gifts
- Dollars raised through special events
- Number and dollar amount of pledges by retirees
- Corporate gift amount
Please report your results to United Way as soon as possible after completing your campaign.
It is important for many reasons:
- Permits timely deposit of checks and processing of credit card pledges
- Ensures accurate records for our annual audit
- Allows appropriate acknowledgement of leadership level donors as indicated on your Leadership Giving Report
- Enables volunteers to begin allocating dollars to the community
STEP 3: Recruit your United Way team - More
Recruit a campaign committee to help plan and implement the campaign.
- Ask for volunteers
- Seek dedicated, organized employees with various skill sets
- Include representation from key departments in all areas and levels of your company
- Recruit people who share the commitment to strengthen our community
Recruit a team of campaigners to help solicit and communicate the United Way message one-on-one with employees
- Ask for volunteers
- Seek employees who have high energy and are well respected in your organization
- Recruit from various departments
- Seek those who have personally benefited from United Way
- Strive for one campaigner for every 10 employees or as low a ratio as possible
Train your campaigners through a brief training session led by a United Way representative
- Help motivate and educate your volunteers about United Way
- Enable volunteers to confidently answer questions and help employees get excited about giving
- Equip campaigners with valuable resources provided by your United Way staff person
STEP 4: Conduct a Leadership Giving Campaign - More
Moving the needle in your campaign
Leadership Giving is your company's greatest opportunity for campaign growth. Companies that conduct a Leadership Giving program have an average employee gift of more than double the average gift of companies that do not. Leadership gifts are personal gifts of $1,000 or more annually. Payroll deduction makes leadership giving easy - membership starts at just $20 per week.
Membership levels
- Alexis de Tocqueville Society ($10,000 or more)
- Leadership Circle ($5,000 to $9,999)
- Chairman's Club ($1,000 to $4,999)
- Women's Initiative ($2,500 or more)
- Young Leaders ($1,000 or more)
How to make it a success:
- Appoint a chair to organize the campaign - someone who currently contributes at a Leadership Giving level
- Work with your United Way representative to help identify potential leadership donors
- Recruit a team of leadership donors to make peer-to-peer contacts. Ask your United Way representative to help train these volunteers
- Conduct a special solicitation that specifically asks for a leadership-level gift. By doing this prior to the overall kickoff, results can be announced to boost momentum and enthusiasm of the overall campaign
- Ensure that your leadership donors are able to take advantage of the member benefits by completing a Leadership Giving report
STEP 5: Educate Employees - More
It is important to educate potential donors about the positive changes they make in our community by giving to the United Way of Greater Houston. There are many effective ways to educate employees. Here are some of our suggestions:
Hold a kick-off rally
- Coordinate with your United Way representative to plan your event.
- Create a relevant theme for the campaign that employees will embrace.
- Provide food and door prizes - they are a fun way to boost attendance.
- Show the United Way video that demonstrates how the United Way changes lives.
- Ask a co-worker who has benefited from a United Way program to speak to employees.
- Ask your CEO or Campaign Chair to speak to employees, demonstrating company support.
- Announce Leadership Giving Campaign results - a great motivator!
- Distribute United Way pledge cards and materials.
- Provide incentives for returning signed pledge cards by end of rally or making an e-pledge by end of day.
Tour a United Way agency
Tours are the best way for donors to see firsthand their dollars at work. United Way affiliate agencies are located all over town so chances are there is one conveniently located near you.
Utilize the United Way Center or agency facilities for:
- Company staff meetings
- Campaign planning meetings
- Campaigner training
- Brown-bag lunches
Hold employee meetings:
- Incorporate the United Way into a regularly scheduled staff meeting.
- Invite your United Way representative to speak to employees.
- Also include employees who have benefited from United Way services as speakers.
- Show the United Way video.
- Include all company locations and shifts - we run a 24-hour shift at United Way, so we'll be there day or night.
- Distribute the United Way pledge cards and materials.
Volunteer for United Way Days of Caring:
Each September, thousands of company volunteers around the city come together to assist partner agencies and strengthen our community. From repairing homes for seniors to reading to children to planting a garden, this volunteer-driven effort changes lives. This opportunity also enables you, our volunteers and donors, to see firsthand the services provided by United Way agencies and hear how your contributions are helping touch one of every two lives in our community.
COMMUNICATE
At the heart of every successful campaign is effective communication. Here are some suggestions for keeping your co-workers informed:
- Distribute a United Way pledge card and United Way Guide to each employee.
- Place United Way posters and table tents in key meeting areas and break rooms.
- Create signs and banners tailored to your company's campaign.
- Create thermometers and graphs to publicize your ongoing results.
- Include campaign information in your company newsletter, web site or daily e-mail communications.
- Provide a link to www.unitedwayhouston.org on your company's intranet site.
- Post United Way facts and daily reminders on your company's intranet site.
- Ask your United Way representative about our United Way ePledge system generously designed by Chevron.
STEP 6: Ask everyone to give - More
THE MAJOR REASON PEOPLE DO NOT GIVE IS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ASKED - SO PLEASE ASK EVERYONE!
United Way firmly believes that giving is a personal decision. Please allow everyone the opportunity to contribute by supplying information about how United Way changes lives in our community.
Include everyone
- Start at the top - ask executives to set the example by making their contributions early.
- Include off-site and remote employees.
- Ask for employees' pledges within 48 hours of employee meetings so the United Way is fresh on their minds.
Utilize Campaigners
- One campaigner for every 10 employees is ideal. Use the lowest ratio possible.
- Campaigners should visit each employee to answer questions and ask for a contribution.
- Campaigners should also distribute the United Way Guide and collect pledge cards or follow up on e-pledges.
It is easy to give
Payroll deduction is the preferred method of giving. It provides donors the ability to give a larger donation easily. For example:
- A gift of $250 is less than $5 per week
- A gift of $500 is less than $10 per week
- A gift of $1,000 is less than $20 per week
Other ways to give are:
- Cash / Check
- Credit Cards
- Direct Billing (minimum gift $250)
- Stock Transfer (ask your United Way representative for details)
STEP 7: Say "Thank you" - More
You and your generous donors and volunteers are the keys to a successful United Way campaign, which results in critical services provided to those in need.
Wrap up a great campaign by thanking all those who helped you to accomplish your goals:
- Your CEO and campaign chair
- Your committee
- Your campaigners
- Your donors
A little thanks goes a long way
- Write a personal note
- Ask your CEO to send a thank-you letter to all employees
- Send a thank-you e-card
- Provide a small token of appreciation
- Host a celebration!
United Way recognizes your important efforts in several ways:
- Hosting a celebration at the end of the campaign to announce our results
- Publishing an Honor Roll recognizing companies by levels of giving
- Publishing a Leadership Giving Roster recognizing leadership givers in our community
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