Congratulations, your 2020 employee giving campaign is finished! This is a moment to reflect on the hard work of your volunteers and staff, your employees’ generosity and the success of the campaign. You’re not quite done though – the final and most crucial step is to thank everyone who participated. One study in the New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising found that nearly 40% of donors stop giving because they weren’t thanked or received poor communication.
To help, Global Impact has created a Thanking Your Donors Toolkit in our Virtual Employee Giving Hub that walks you through how to say thanks and end your campaign on a positive note. Access the hub here and select the pin Thanking Your Donors for creative and engaging tools that are free and easy to use. Here are just some of the tips offered in the toolkit to help you wrap up the campaign:
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- Remember to actually say thank you. This goes without saying, but don’t forget to say thank you to everyone in your post-campaign communications. This includes coordinators, key workers and volunteers, but it also most importantly includes donors. Make a plan to ensure that each individual donor gets some sort of thank-you message in the days following the closing of your campaign. We recommend you find ways to personalize it – for example, if someone gave for the first time or doubled their usual volunteer pledge, highlight that in your note. Regardless of how you send it (e.g., direct mail, email, phone call, etc.), make sure it’s meaningful and sincere.
- Highlight your volunteers. Your campaign relies on these folks, so really give them the shout-out they deserve. Grab an image of the team in action (virtual action, that is – take a screenshot during your virtual meeting using gallery mode so everyone’s in the shot) and include it in internal emails or social media posts to really showcase their efforts. Our toolkit offers photo filters that add a fun note to these kinds of visuals.
- Include a message from leadership. Employee giving campaigns are about giving back to charitable causes and cultivating a positive work environment. When leadership starts and ends the campaign by sharing why this campaign matters to them and the rest of the leadership team, it helps solidify the sense of community among colleagues who gave or participated in the campaign. This also contributes to building a lasting culture of giving back in your workplace.
- Share campaign results. You should of course share the total amount raised in your campaign – but also consider stats outside of dollar amounts. What was the employee participation rate or number of volunteer hours pledged? Was there an event that had a particularly successful turnout, or did you try a new kind of event that people enjoyed? Share any details you have so employees really see the impact of the campaign. Charities are often able to help demonstrate how campaign dollars translate into new school supplies or trainings for health care professionals. Global Impact can create a customized campaign results infographic that shows the global reach of your campaign’s pledges – see the toolkit for more details.
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- Host a thank-you event. You’ve worked hard, and now it’s time to have some fun! Global Impact has ideas for hosting creative virtual thank-you events and offers a quick agenda to help you plan. Celebrate your wins and enter the new year together feeling excited about the work ahead.
- Get creative. Your employee giving campaign was certainly different this year, so why can’t your thank-you message be different, too? Saying thank you in a unique way makes it memorable and keeps employees interested in future campaigns. Reference our social media guide for ways to share your campaign publicly and pull some fun graphics to go along with it. We’ve also seen campaigns give out prizes in friendly competitions or compile videos of employees sharing why they give or playing trivia games together. Work with Global Impact to create a thank-you mailing with our webcam covers (access a sample in our toolkit). They’re perfect for remote work and a fun way to give participants something tangible in this virtual environment.
- Think through next steps. Once you’ve fully celebrated the end of your workplace campaign, begin to brainstorm what next year’s campaign will look like. Share ideas with employees and invite them to give feedback. Keep the spirit of the campaign running year-round by organizing socially-distanced, off-season events and employee volunteering opportunities. As always, you can connect with Global Impact for ideas on how to do this or help thinking through your 2021 campaign.
Remember that the Virtual Employee Giving Hub gives you access to not only our thank-you resources but a number of campaign materials including trainings, campaign planning, observance day opportunities, videos, photos and more.
Congratulations again on completing your employee giving campaign, despite the unusual and difficult circumstances we all faced in 2020. We are grateful for your commitment to greater giving, especially when our communities are in need of more support than ever before. Global Impact remains committed to supporting your employee giving campaigns, and we’re already excited about our ideas for the 2021 season!
