On the surface, a workplace giving campaign is an opportunity for employees to make charitable donations through payroll deduction or other payment methods. Charities rely on several fundraising streams to provide services to beneficiaries, and workplace giving donations can be a powerful source of funding as it typically comes unrestricted and throughout the year. Charities also gain valuable exposure as employees may share their experience with friends and family, who now know about the charity and their goals. Workplace giving campaigns allow employees to step into the world of philanthropy in several easy steps.

Supporting philanthropic work is certainly reason enough to have a workplace giving campaign, but the side benefits to employee morale, employee engagement, company culture and campaign worker professional development can have an unexpected, but welcome positive impact in your workplace.

Boosting Employee Morale and Engagement
Joining forces for charitable giving draws us closer to our coworkers, increases personal empathy and creates an overall improved sense of well-being. Plus, charitable giving makes us feel good and can be fun. There are many reasons that workplace giving campaigns and other programs in your company can increase a company’s bottom line:

  • Active corporate social responsibility programs can attract/retain talent and increase company profits. 
  • Reaching participation and monetary goals are great public relations news for the company.
  • Engaged employees are 71% more productive and efficient in their positions.
  • Studies have shown that people who give are happier and have an overall higher sense of well-being.
  • Top employee retention elements are people-focused: an organization’s leadership and the employees’ colleagues are the reasons that people stay in their job.

An employee giving campaign (also known as workplace giving) is an opportunity for employees to support causes and charities through engagement activities and gifts typically sent through a payroll deduction. Depending on charity partners and the interest of the company, contributions could be closely aligned to the company’s mission, or it could be a chance to learn about a new cause or area to support.

Some campaigns focus on monetary fundraising, while others may invite departments to volunteer together for a day for field experience. Often, it may result in team bonding and office rewards for performance during the campaign. Friendly competition between departments can draw people together as a team.

Professional Development Opportunity
Serving as a volunteer, such as a campaign manager or keyworker, in a workplace giving campaign provides an opportunity for professional growth and demonstrates your ability to multi-task and your commitment to making the world a better place. During this service, you can gain experience in project management, event planning, marketing, public speaking, and more – areas that might fall outside your day-to-day job description. Additionally, serving as a campaign worker also usually means facetime with your organization’s leadership and an opportunity for recognition.

Now that we’ve reviewed some of the excellent reasons to have a workplace giving campaign, we have some additional tools and resources to help you make it a success. In the coming blogs, you will gain access to valuable materials and information that you can edit and adjust for your own campaign.

The three key areas we will focus on are:

  • Activating a leadership team for your workplace campaign
  • Marketing and promoting your plan successfully
  • BONUS: Making the direct ask of employees

More resources and assets are available in our Employee Giving Hub. You can gain complimentary access by logging in here. Utilize these resources as you need them; glean the information as it fits into your own vision for your campaign plan.

Stay tuned for the second installment of our Workplace Giving 101 series where we will discuss how to activate a leadership team for your campaign.