On June 16, Brittany Mattfeld Craig delivered the 2020 Campaign Kick-off Webinar to Global Impact’s Charity Alliance members, joined by President and CEO Scott Jackson. The webinar presented a three-pronged promise toward all of our charity partners:

  • We are committed to workplace giving – regardless of this year’s campaign format.
  • We have invested in marketing and visibility in order to ensure the transition to a virtual campaign.
  • We are prepared to support our Charity Alliance beyond our typical employee giving expectations as we continue to experience uncertain economic and social times.

Past, present and projected workplace giving trends

Despite the uncertainty of these times, giving is an important aspect of society that has stood the test of time. Over the past 40 years, despite economic downturns and 9/11, there has been an average of a 7 billion dollar increase in giving in the United States each year. Today we are seeing enormous need across a variety of causes, and we are entering into an election year, which presents another area of solicitation. This often leads to the concern of donor fatigue, but research points us in another direction. In a study of 400,000 donors who donated 800 million dollars to political campaigns, they donated an additional 800 million to other causes. Engagement drives generosity. During times of recession, the number of households giving does go down. With a decrease in disposable income, this is understandable, but what research shows is that those who can give tend to give more. These trends show promise particularly as we anticipate the monumental influence of COVID-19 on our economies, workplaces and personal lives.

Giving trends and findings from this year and the foreseeable future will be a fascinating study in the role of donor engagement, event fundraising and the importance of revenue diversification. Already, Benevity conducted and released a study on giving between March 1 and April 30 of this year, which presented five key findings on how COVID-19 has affected the corporate giving space:

  1. Businesses were quick to respond.
  2. The most common response was matching donations.
  3. Community investment budgets are being sustained/bolstered.
  4. Virtual volunteering is on the rise.
  5. There have been shifts in giving toward different causes, which reflect the new needs of our world and communities.

These findings and trends will help guide Global Impact’s employee giving strategy – both in the opportunities that corporations may be looking for and in how to engage individual employees.

2019 campaign results and 2020 campaign plans 

We look forward to releasing our 2019 campaign year success later this year. Here are some key success that we shared with our Charity Alliance.

  1. We distributed over 20,000 marketing pieces.
  2. We attended 247 in-person events.
  3. Our corporate toolkits reached over 1,000 views by campaign leaders.
  4. We released a workplace giving video featuring Charity Alliance members.

Overall giving in the public sector is experiencing a moderate decline, and we continue to look at the impact that layoffs and furloughs at the local and state government level may have on pledge fulfillment. In the private sector, we anticipate moderate growth, particularly with the outpouring of support in response to COVID-19, Australia wildfires and racial injustice.

Our corporate toolkits and workplace giving video allowed us to test-drive some virtual campaign elements, which will be more widely used in our 2020 campaign due to workplace changes and the relevancy to a remote workforce.

As a result of COVID-19 and the repercussions of the pandemic, there are shifts we must account for while planning for the 2020 campaign.

  • Employees are likely not in the workplace.
  • There is uncertainty in the market.
  • Furloughs and layoffs are affecting campaign partners.
  • There is a significant need for inclusive communities.
  • There is a strong desire to support the nonprofit sector.

Taking into account workplace trends, 2019 campaign results and unique 2020 factors, we are pinpointing action-steps and strategies in both the private and the public sector to help drive engagement and giving in 2020.

Private Sector

  • Meet needs for virtual volunteer solutions.
  • Be aware that COVID-19 and racial injustice will take center stage.
  • Utilize matching gift opportunities to drive incentives in giving.
  • Use new platforms such as LinkedIn and internal communication tools to drive campaign communications.

Public Sector

  • Place an emphasis on social and digital promotion on social media networks.
  • Reduce barriers to the implementation of new technology with government networks.
  • Shift donor behavior from paper to online giving.

In order to prepare for the 2020 campaigns, Global Impact will be taking steps to prepare speakers for virtual charity fairs, develop a menu of virtual volunteering opportunities, prepare interactive donor engagement tools to drive giving and engagement, and launch an enhanced charity.org/give so donors can connect directly with global causes and how to give through their workplace campaigns. Every day will bring new challenges in the ever-changing working environments for campaign partners and our Charity Alliance members. Global Impact is committed to work with our all of our partners to adapt and continue forward.