TO THE UNITED WAY TEAM

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2 TO THE UNITED WAY TEAM Thank you for running your company s United Way campaign. As an Employee Campaign Manager (ECM), you will harness the generosity, talent, and energy of your workplace to fight for the Health, Education, and Financial Stability of Every Person in Our Community. You ll be supporting programs that deliver real results and transform lives. Whether this is your first time as an ECM or you are a seasoned veteran, this guide will help you to educate your colleagues about United Way. It will help inspire people to give, advocate, and volunteer in support of our work to advance the common good by focusing on Health, Education, and Financial Stability in Siouxland. Together, person by person, we can make lasting change. United We fight. United We WIN! Thank you for your leading role in creating change for our community! Contents Guide to Running the Best Campaign Ideas for Getting People Involved Sample Kick Off Communication Making Easy Changes (Value of a Dollar) Campaign Checklist If you need campaign materials or assistance call us at

3 HOW TO RUN A GREAT CAMPAIGN A Step by Step Guide Here are best practices taken from fellow Employee Campaign Managers and our United Way team. Follow these simple steps to ensure: You ll enjoy your role as Employee Campaign Manager. You will not only successfully raise money to advance the common good; you ll have fun doing it and stand out as a leader. Your employees will understand how they can make a difference by participating. People like to get involved in helping the community and with your workplace campaign; they can have fun at the same time. Your company will get the most out of its partnership with United Way. Whether you have an official corporate social responsibility policy or not, your company will shine in giving back to the community. Don t forget! Our team is available to support you every step of the way. We appreciate your time as a volunteer in this role. We are just a quick call or away untiedwaysiouxland.com/staff Keys to Success: A strong campaign team Clear goals Company leadership support Company buy in A communication plan Events to galvanize the team Thank ALL donors A meaningful campaign with a fun factor United We Fight. United We Win! 3 P a g e

4 Select a Strong Campaign Team Your best team will have broad representation from all departments and levels. Involve team members by establishing a campaign committee or simply by handing out assignments - make it easy on yourself! Have team members set goals for their departments and assist in deciding how best to engage peers. It doesn t have to be one size fits all. Connect Goals to Impact Goals inspire! Start with the most important goal: the impact coworkers are having on the community through their partnership with United Way! Set a company-wide goal. Connect your campaign to real results. For example, every $50 dollars raised provides five warm blankets for victims of disaster following a home fire, flood or tornado (see page 7 for more ideas). Participation = Success It s a simple equation, right? The more people that sign up, the bigger the difference you will make and the more you will have to celebrate! Find fun and creative ways to engage your colleagues. Hold a food-themed event. When food is involved, people flock. Invite a United Way partner agency to speak. Hearing firsthand how contributions make an impact in the community is powerful. Acknowledge loyal contributors. Recognize those who have given to United Way for 10+ years. Your United Way representative can provide you a list of those individuals. Highlight United Way Leadership Giving levels Young Leaders Those under 40, giving $250+ Caring Society Anyone giving $500+ AS Garretson Anyone giving $1,000+ Tocqueville Society Gifts of $10,000 or more (Giving can be alone or combined with spouse.) Involve Company Leadership Don t be afraid to ask your leadership team to get involved to help inspire others to give by leading the campaign. Ask your leadership team to support your efforts visibly. Encourage them to speak at rallies and events. Invite your leadership team to run a pacesetter campaign and make their personal gift and corporate commitments prior to your campaign launch. Participation Ask your United Way representative to help you build out an engagement strategy that could include: Publicity and Communication Advertising events and campaign dates early, often and everywhere will make a difference. Whether it is a poster in the break room, reminders at staff meetings, s, or messaging on your office intranet, United Way can provide you with all the tools you need. Make use of United Way videos, posters, social media, and website. (unitedwaysiouxland.com) Tailor the sample kick off s on pages 7 and 9; others available at "Individual commitment to a group effort that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." --Vince Lombardi United We Fight. United We Win! 4 P a g e

5 Keep Your Staff Engaged We hope you and your colleagues will continue your commitment to the community year round. Contact your United Way representative about our volunteer and social opportunities as well as our Leadership Groups. Engage your staff in United Way s Day of Action. Share monthly success stories of how gifts are making a difference. Organize a special thank event you for your leadership-level donors. United Way Staff is here to Support You! If you need campaign materials or assistance getting your campaign off the ground, call us at Gain benefits while helping others As an Employee Campaign Manager, you are a champion in improving the common good for our community. You ll be helping others, but you ll also gain valuable benefits in the process. GIVE ADVOCATE VOLUNTEER Develop and showcase your leadership and project management skills. Network with colleagues at various levels of your organization and in other industries. Help your company shine as a good corporate citizen. Become a leader in the community. United We Fight. United We Win! 5 P a g e

6 TEN IDEAS TO GET PEOPLE INVOLVED Hold a silent auction for United Way. Get individuals/departments to donate items and hold a silent auction with the proceeds going to support United Way. Have a raffle for everyone who donates. (Parking spaces, jeans days, late start, awesome hours, lunch with VIP, paid volunteer day at a United Way partner agency, etc.) Create office teams to encourage competition and boost morale. 4 5 Have 6 7 Set 8 9 Hold a theme-based contest. For example, host your own game show and have departments compete against each other for fun prizes. staff members visit United Way partner agencies and share what they saw. Host food-themed events and contests. Food brings people together and makes them feel engaged and feeling like they are a part of a team. participation rates as a company goal, share the results regularly and offer rewards for reaching goals along the way. Have teams compete against each other for the most change in a jar, with the looser serving lunch to the winner. Hold a cutest baby contest. Have everyone submit their baby picture, convert all photos to black and white and let everyone guess who is who. 10Google ~ Bing ~ Pinterest Search for your own ideas. United We Fight. United We Win! 6 P a g e

7 SAMPLE KICK OFF COMMUNICATION Sample CEO Endorsement Letter (Place on your company s letterhead) (Date) Dear (Insert Employee Name), (Company Name) is very proud to partner with United Way of Siouxland in its fight for Health, Education, and Financial Stability. These things matter most in our community. Last year, we raised $ for United Way with a participation rate of. This year, we have set a goal of raising $ with a participation rate of %. Here are the activities planned for this year s campaign: List Rally Dates & Encourage Attendance List Incentives for Giving List any Fun Activities Planned (Games, Auctions, Raffles, etc.) Include any rewards for Meeting the Goal for both Amount Raised and Participation Rate (Awesome Hours Off, Boss Buys Doughnuts, etc.) As we launch our campaign for United Way, I encourage you to participate. United Way is making a difference in our community. When you give to United Way, 100% of your gift stays right here in Siouxland and goes directly to programs and services, thanks to United Way s Corporate Champions. Your one gift helps more than one person, one family or one charity it helps build a stronger community for all of us. Last year alone, United Way was able to provide over 50,000 services through 83 programs in our community. United Way fights for the Health, Education and Financial Stability of Every Person in Every Community. Whether you are giving for the first time or are a Loyal Contributor, your gift is appreciated. Be a hand raiser and a game changer for those in need. United We Fight. United WE WIN! Sincerely, (CEO) Untied We Fight. United We Win! 7 P a g e

8 $ Covers the cost of two background checks to ensure children can be matched with a safe adult mentor $ Buys school supplies for one homeless child $ Provides clothing and shoes for a person in transitional housing who is interviewing for jobs $ Provides 25 hot meals for people during a largescale emergency $ Supports 16 firefighters / first responders on the disaster scene $ Allows a family to receive trauma therapy for their child who is still reeling from witnessing a horrific accident involving a family member $ Enables a young woman to break the chains of abuse experienced as a victim of human trafficking $ Provides financial education workshops for ten people $ Provides translation services to 78 people Untied We Fight. United We Win! 8 P a g e

9 SAMPLE MID-CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATION Subject line: What can a buck do? More than you d expect. One of the most common questions employees ask about United Way is what difference their gifts make. You might be surprised at how much an affordable weekly gift can accomplish when you invest in United Way. United Way makes the most of every dollar you give. How? By focusing efforts on strategies for long-term change and by investing in proven programs and initiatives. Last year United Way of Siouxland provided over 50,000 services to children, adults and families with 83 programs. For example: $ $10 per week enabled a young woman to break the chains of abuse experienced as a victim of human trafficking $ $5 per week provided 43 people food for three days $ $1 per week provided a nutritious snack for 200 summer campers 100% of your gift goes directly to support programs because of the generosity of Corporate Champions who underwrite United Way s administrative costs. Thank you for being a Game Changer to those in need. Untied We Fight. United We Win! 9 P a g e

10 EMPLOYEE CAMPAIGN CHECK LIST PLAN Meet with your United Way representative and begin planning your campaign. Go to for ideas and sample materials. Secure CEO or Senior Management support. Establish campaign goals like dollar amount and participation percentage. GEAR UP Recruit and train your campaign team. Establish time line for campaign activities. Begin campaign promotion by sending a letter from management to employees. RUN Conduct a pacesetter campaign for leadership givers. Hand out pledge forms and/or information about epledge (if applicable) giving to employees. Send follow-up s regularly to keep up enthusiasm. (Include updates, successes, and facts from the dollars at work sheet.) Hold rallies and FUNdraising events (Raffle, Game Show, Corn Hole Tournament, etc.). DUE DATE CLOSE Send out reminders that your campaign is wrapping up and pledge forms need to be submitted. Announce campaign results to your employees. Submit pledge forms and final reports/data to your payroll department and United Way by the Early Bird Deadline of November 1) Thank employees with a celebration event, letter, , etc. Thank your campaign team, leadership contributors and other special groups. Gather feedback and notes for next year. ONGOING Include Employee Pledge forms in New Hire Materials. Encourage employees to Volunteer. Send out periodic (monthly) s with success stories about the impact United Way programs are making thanks to them. Meet regularly with your United Way representative. Share available resources with employees in need. Untied We Fight. United We Win! 10 P a g e