successful campaign tips  

Workplace campaigns generally run in the fall, over a 2-4 week period. You decide on the dates and the duration of the campaign. The pledges will be deducted from the employees' paychecks beginning the following January 1 and ending December 31. In order to allow your payroll/HR department sufficient time to process the pledges prior to the January 1 payroll, you should end the campaign by early- to mid-December.

Prior to the campaign's kick-off, a letter or email from your CEO or top management should announce the campaign and build excitement. You may wish to publicize a goal you have set for your organization (a total amount to raise, or a percentage of participation). Earth Share of Illinois can also provide posters and/or videos to help publicize your campaign.

Earth Share of Illinois will provide you with brochures and pledge forms. We just need to know where your offices are located and the number of employees at each office. We can ship directly to their locations, or if you prefer, you can distribute the materials from your headquarter office. The number one reason why employees don't give is because they weren't asked. Ensuring that each employee is contacted and receives information is crucial to the success of your campaign. If you wish to distribute campaign materials electronically, the Earth Share staff can help you prepare the materials you will need.

Your primary Earth Share of Illinois contact is the campaign director, Katherine Brazas - (312) 795-3740 or katherine@earthshare-illinois.org. The campaign director will ensure that each of your locations receives the needed materials. All collected pledge forms and prepared pledge reports should be sent to your campaign director.

Campaign events generate interest in the campaign, make it more fun, and encourage employee involvement. Including educational events helps employees learn about the various charities such as charity fairs or brown bag lunch presentations by representatives of charities. Below are some suggested events:

Charity fair
Ice cream social
Guest speaker
Kick-off party or rally
Company picnic
Offering incentives

Incentives can stimulate participation, and can be as simple as free food like doughnuts and cookies, or a pizza lunch. Incentives can also be dinner/gift certificates, or an invitation to a special recognition breakfast/lunch for leadership givers. Employees who turn in completed pledge forms by a certain date can be eligible to win a raffle prize.

Reminder messages or status reports are effective communication tools to generate interest, particularly if you are striving to meet a goal. Reminders can state the number of days left in the campaign, or announce a raffle drawing date. The employees’ confidentiality must always be honored, so any company-wide communication should include general information only, such as total pledges, perhaps broken down by office location, and percentage of employee participation. Your communications should carefully avoid making the employees feel pressure to participate in the campaign.

Your employees simply need to decide which organization(s) they wish to support and the amount of their gift, and complete a pledge form. They have the following three options:

1-Use payroll deduction to have a set amount per pay period deducted from their pay checks, normally beginning the following January 1 and ending December 31.

2-Have a one-time deduction taken out of their first paycheck of the year.

3-Give a one-time gift by check or credit card so that the tax deduction may be taken in the year of the campaign.

NOTE! Payroll deduction allows employees to give more than they could if they were to make a one time donation - up to five times more, and it comes painlessly out of their paychecks in small increments.

The campaign should be wrapped up by no later than mid-December in order for your payroll/HR department to process the pledges and begin payroll deduction January 1.

Pledge forms: The pledge forms from all of your office locations should be collected by your headquarters for payroll processing, and then sent to your Earth Share campaign manager. The office location should be clearly indicated on the pledge form.

Reporting: To properly distribute your employees' pledges according to their wishes, Earth Share will need at a minimum, the total amount pledged to Earth Share and each member organization broken down by state, and the names and addresses of all employees requesting acknowledgment of their gifts, or who have given a single gift of $250 or more. This report should also be sent to your Earth Share campaign manager.

Recognition: Many organizations personally thank each of their employees who participate in the campaign, as well as any volunteers who helped to coordinate the campaign. Inexpensive items such as lapel pins for minimum donations ($5 per pay period, for example) can also build enthusiasm and recognize those individuals supporting the effort. If the employee indicated on the pledge form that they would like to receive an acknowledgment, they will also be thanked by Earth Share and any organization they designated.

Post-campaign report: There should be a special post-campaign message from management announcing campaign results, along with any special recognition of the campaign team, or of an office location which met or exceeded its goal. The message can include any of the following:
- Percentage of fund raising goal
- Percentage of employee participation
- Average gift per employee
- Total dollars raised.

Have fun! You can create a theme and have fun with your campaign.

Reach out to each and every employee. They won't give if they're not asked.

Be sure that information is available to them if they wish to learn more about any of the participating organizations.

Have CEO or top management endorsement - the employees will appreciation the organization's commitment.

Recruit volunteers to help you, particularly if you plan to run the campaign in multiple locations.

Stay donor-focused - your campaign is really their campaign and should incorporate what they want, which many times is variety and choice.

If you distribute materials electronically, make an extra effort to personalize your communications.

We look forward to working with you on your campaign to make it a fun and rewarding experience for your entire organization which will continue to grow year after year.