CHANGING the future
2013 CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR GUIDE
Capital Area United Way
CAUW.org
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Table of Contents 4.Benefits of an ECC to the 5. Steps campaign
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Thank you for being an Employee Campaign Coordinator Thank you for leading your organization’s United Way campaign. You are helping Capital Area United Way support the mission of maximizing community potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. As your company’s United Way Employee Campaign Coordinator, you are the critical link between Capital Area United Way and the people you work with everyday. Inside these pages, you will find proven techniques that will help your company run a fun, creative, and successful campaign. Because your company is unique, your Campaign Manager will help you develop a customized plan that meets your needs and goals.
7. Plan 9.Educate 10. Follow-up 12. Volunteer United 13. FAQ’s
It is with your support and dedication that United Way is able to create measurable change in our community. Thank you for who you are and what you do.
Who are we?
Established in 1925, Capital Area United Way is a nonprofit organization that exists to give back to the 10-parish area it serves by funding programs that impact education, income, and health – the building blocks any community needs to offer everyone the opportunity for a better life.
14. Awards
We are a backbone organization that vets all the programs we fund to ensure people in our community are better educated, can manage their incomes, and live healthier lifestyles. Every dollar invested by CAUW returns $9 to the community. Capital Area United Way connects people with resources that impact education, income, and health through United Way 211 and the programs we fund with 47 partner agencies. These programs in our community address high poverty rates, low graduation rates, high crime rates, and high obesity rates while connecting the dots between issues and solutions to improve our community. We give individuals and organizations the opportunity to give back to the community and be part of something larger than ourselves. Together, we can change the future for our community.
give. advocate. volunteer.
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Benefits of being an Employee Campaign Coordinator There are many advantages to being a Campaign Coordinator for you, your company and our community.
Coordinator Benefits • Visibility • Leadership Growth • Career Development • Credit for Campaign Participation • Recognition • Impacting Community through Monies Raised • Educated About Critical Community Issues & Opportunities • Informed About Area Support & Solutions
Company Benefits • Community Leadership • Corporate Recognition • Improved Customer Relations & Loyalty • PR Opportunities About Company Accomplishments • Brand Visibility & Reputation Building
Community benefits
• Expanded Outreach • Increased Partnership • More Resources • Impact on Goals for Education, Income and Health • Improved Lives
Leadership Giving Capital Area United Way recognizes the following leadership giving levels:
Young Leaders Council Women’s Leadership Council Leadership • Bronze Level • Silver Level • Gold Level • Platinum Level
$500+ $1,000+ $1,000-$9,999
($1,000 a year) ($2,500 a year) ($5,000 a year) ($7,500 a year)
Alexis de Tocqueville
$10,000+
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Steps to a successful campaign 1. Learn
• Learn the facts about your United Way. • Meet with your United Way campaign manager. • Review the campaign resources on-line for additional ideas. (CAUW.org)
2. Plan • Involve your CEO. • Review last year’s campaign results and set a goal. • Recruit a campaign team. • Develop a campaign theme. • Plan special events. • Identify incentives. • Schedule group meetings, promotions and publicity. • Schedule tours and agency speakers.
3. Educate • Promote your campaign early and often. • Conduct group employee meetings and/or One-on-One Asks.
4. Follow-up...Follow-up...Follow-up! • Pledge Card Collections. • Report back to United Way. • Say thank you to everyone who gave and report final results back to employees.
5. Additional Growth Opportunities • New Hires. • Retirement Program. • Winning back donors.
6. Volunteer United!
Like us on and follow us on for all the latest news on community issues and share how we are advancing the common good. You Education
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CAUW.org Facebook.com/capitalareaunitedway Twitter.com/cauw
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Learn - who makes the decisions? United Way doesn’t shelter abused women, help children with disabilities or feed and care for seniors. You do - because you run a campaign, and you rally co-workers to make our community a better place to live. Our program investments are determined by a group of community volunteers that come from many walks of life. These volunteers have a unique perspective on the hard work and dedication needed to determine investments and provide the community with needed resources. Every year new and returning volunteers come together to start the evaluation process to measure the results of the programs currently funded and to assess the needs of the community to guide future program funding decisions. This process happens over the fall and the spring and involves multiple touch points through which volunteers learn more about our 47 community partners and the more than 120 programs that are creating impact in the areas of education, income and health. Once linked to a focus area, volunteers not only look at the mission and intent of each program but place a strong focus on the return of investment with the programs and the impact each program will have on the community. Volunteers gather this information through on-site meetings with agency and program staff as well as larger volunteer meetings and discussions more focused on the expertise and perceptions of community volunteers. All processes lead to the best way to invest money into the community and create long-term solutions that better our 10-parish region as a whole.
Goal
The goal of the Program Investment process is to allow transparency and accountability around the stewardship of donor dollars. Since the community is making the contributions, we feel strongly the community should also make the decisions about what the greatest return on investment is and how this aligns with the needs in our 10-parish region.
Program Investment Funding
The Program Investment process is a great opportunity for you to have your voice as a company and as a donor represented in the community. We are always looking for more individuals and corporate partners to join the process and be great stewards of the donor dollars entrusted to us.
Volunteers
In addition, a great way to show your company who is out making the decisions about your donations is to ask co-workers that have been CAUW volunteers. If you are not sure who has volunteered with CAUW in the past, please let us know, and we will provide you with a list. These are the individuals that make the tough calls and experience the impact of investments first-hand. They are a great voice for CAUW and an excellent resource to energize any company campaign.
If you are interested in learning more about Program Investment or getting your company involved, please contact Katie Pritchett, Director of Program Investments. Katie can be reached by phone at 225-346-5805 or email katiep@cauw.org.
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Plan
Notes
Involve your CEO Set up a meeting with your CEO to review your overall campaign plan and ask for his/her support with: • Allowing you adequate time to plan and execute a successful campaign • Providing a campaign budget for food at meetings, incentives and thank-you events • Announcing your role as an Employee Campaign Coordinator • Appointing next year’s Employee Campaign Coordinator to work with you to ensure smooth transitions each year • Sending a letter/email of support (samples at CAUW.org) • Endorsing a plan for leadership solicitation (consider a Leadership Level coordinator) • Speaking at employee meetings in support of the campaign and leading by example by sharing that they have already made their pledge • Granting permission to take employees on agency tours • Attending and participating in campaign events
Set a Goal A great way to increase your campaign is to focus on increasing the number of people who give or encouraging people to consider giving a little more. The following will help you set your goal and communicate how you can achieve it.
Desired Participation _____% (______ x _____%) X $________ = $___________ # employees Participation
Last year’s avg gift
Potential goal
Desired Per Capita Gift $ _______ ______ X $ _______ = $ ____________ # employees
per capita gift
Potential goal
Note: Top performing campaigns achieve participation of more than 75% and per capita gifts of $250 or more.
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Recruit a campaign team • Try to include representatives from all departments • Talk with your team about strategies and events that have worked/will work with your company • Clearly define roles and responsibilities
Notes
Create a time line
• Short, quick campaigns work best. Aim for no more than TWO weeks.
Make it fun • Decide a theme, incentives and thank-you events such as Mexican Fiestas and Hawaiian Luaus.
Plan Special Events • Bake sales, car washes, raffles or rummage sales are a great way to get the entire organization involved and motivated. • Special events that raise money can be used as a final boost to get your company to its goal, but don’t lose sight of the real impact of payroll deduction as the main source for investing in our community.
Use Incentives
Incentives are a great way to increase employee participation. Give everyone who turns in a pledge card fun, inexpensive prizes such as: • Entry into a drawing for a day off • Lunch with the boss • Special parking space and more
Schedule your meetings • If you can’t hold a standalone kick-off then try to add the United Way “ask” to an existing meeting.
Schedule your tours or agency speaker • This one of the most effective “best practices” you can do to make your campaign a success. Visiting an agency to see the need firsthand or the personal touch of an agency speaker is very powerful.
Provide Donor Pledge History • Print each employee’s name and employment number on the pledge card. Show what the donor pledged last year and what the pledge will look like with a 10%, 15% and 20% increase. Be sure to align it with your current goals.
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Educate Group meetings and/or the one-on-one ask
Educating and exciting employees about Capital Area United Way is an important part of the campaign. Employees who feel connected to and invested in United Way are more likely to have an active role in the campaign.
Educate employees • Schedule a special United Way meeting or incorporate United Way into a regularly-scheduled meeting.
Sample meeting agenda
Minutes
• Coordinator and/or CEO welcomes and endorses the campaign.
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• Coordinator explains how the pledge cards will be distributed and collected then introduces the Campaign Manager.
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• Coordinator shares a personal story or one of the following speaks: United Way Campaign Manager, partner agency representative or client.
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• Show United Way video • United Way Campaign Manager and coordinator extend invitation to give and ask employees for support. • Coordinator collects pledge cards and thanks employees.
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Energize employees
• Decide if you would like to have a campaign theme. • Develop fun ways to get employees energized. Special events and kick-off rallies are a great way to do this. • Announce the campaign goals so employees can feel invested. • Have refreshments and incentives at the event. This is a great way to get people in the door. • Be sure to always convey the United Way message at events.
Fundraiser Best Practice
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Whitney Bank kicked off their 2012 campaign with an afternoon of CAUW and snowballs. Employees were able to come out and enjoy a snowball and learn a little about CAUW and what their donations are doing in the community. Not only did Whitney Bank increase their campaign by 26%, they increased their number of leadership donors by 33%.
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Notes
Follow-up Pledge card Collections Getting the pledge card back can be challenging if done incorrectly. Do NOT hand out campaign materials prior to your kick-off. Your co-workers are at their highest level of educational awareness regarding United Way and are most likely to give during this meeting. Instead, make sure employees are given materials at the meeting and ask them to complete their cards and return them to you before the end of the meeting. By collecting all cards (or as many as possible) at the end of the meeting, you reduce the amount of time you spend following up and asking your co-workers to participate. For those that do not turn in their card at the end of the meeting, try to get them to return it to you by the end of the day. You should be able to turn in the majority of our pledge cards within one week of your kick-off.
Reporting back to United Way Your Campaign Manager will be calling to pick up the first round of pledge cards within a week of the kick-off. Even if you have fundraising money still outstanding, we can begin entering your employee payroll deduction and one-time gifts into our database for speedier tracking of campaign results. 1. Account for all pledge forms 2. Verify the annual gift from each employee 3. Separate all the pledge forms into the following categories: • payroll deduction • fully paid pledges • charge card pledges 4. Write your totals on your campaign envelope and seal the pledge cards inside. • YELLOW COPY pledge forms to the PAYROLL • WHITE COPY to CAUW • PINK COPY for the DONOR 5. Contact your Campaign Manager to pick up your pledge cards.
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Notes
Conduct your thank-you campaign
How you say thanks isn’t as important as the act of saying it. Just be sure to have fun and acknowledge your co-workers’ hard work and generosity. • Send out thank-you emails, notes, cards or letters • Throw a pizza party • Have a special lunch for your Leadership Givers and your campaign team • Give out United Way pins, stickers, cups etc. (unitedwaystore.com) • Put a piece of candy on each person’s desk
Additional opportunities for growth New Hire Program Through employment changes or job loss, United Way incurs contribution losses. A New Hire Program can help replace those contributions. Please help your community by making sure your company holds a New Hire Campaign through which new employees are asked to support CAUW at the time of their hire. Materials are available for your orientation packets.
Retiree Program - Don’t retire from giving United Way relies on the support of retirees as the needs in the community grow. Many retirees have the support of pensions and benefits, however, there are many who live in the 10-parish area without that security. Ask your CEO and CAUW Campaign Manager to help you get a Retiree Program started.
Winning back donors
A lapsed donor is someone who gave the previous year, but did not give during the current fundraising campaign. As you turn in your final numbers for your company’s drive, you will be given a list of lapsed donors. Once you review the list, you will be able to quickly identify whether that person has left your company or was absent on the day of your kick-off. It is important to follow up with those employees to allow them to participate. This can help your company’s total campaign dollars go up. If the person is no longer employed at your company, please let your United Way contact know to help them maintain accurate and updated donor information.
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Volunteer! United
Is your company looking for ways to volunteer in the community? Maybe you are looking for ways to increase your company’s United Way campaign revenue? Or perhaps, your company has managers looking for ways to build their team while having fun. If you answered yes to any of these questions, then we have just the thing for you. Capital Area United Way’s volunteer center offers many volunteer opportunities for companies of all sizes and skill sets. Involving your company’s employees in volunteering will help them see first-hand what it means to LIVE UNITED. Capital Area United Way also offers opportunities for your friends and family including:
Program Investment Volunteer
Volunteers are charged with mobilizing our community through collaborative efforts to advance the common good through evaluating programs of partner agencies and working to discover how we can collectively change lives for the common good.
Hands On Baton Rouge
Flexible, diverse, one-time volunteer opportunities for individuals, families and small groups. Registering on-line makes it a simple way to volunteer.
Youth Volunteer Corps of the Capital Area (YVC)
Year round opportunities for youth in grades 7 - 12 to serve the community by volunteering in small, supervised groups. This is a great way for teenagers to give back.
Power of 9 Honors
Every month, Volunteer! Baton Rouge honors an individual or group in the community for their excellence in volunteerism. All honorees are recognized at an awards luncheon. In addition, corporations are honored for their volunteerism in the community.
National Days of Service
Organized service projects coordinated around National Days of Service such as Martin Luther King Day and 9/11 Day of Remembrance.
Best Practice
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Louisiana Healthcare Connections came up with innovative ways to get their employees to interact and raise awareness about what CAUW does in the community. One of the best examples was “email bingo.” Numbers were sent out via email every 10 minutes allowing phone workers the opportunity to play along without the need to leave their work station. This out-of-the-box thinking helped Louisiana Healthcare Connections raise more than double their campaign goal and have a great time in the process.
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FAQ’s
As an Employee Campaign Coordinator, you may encounter some questions about United Way that are hard to answer. We have listed the most frequently asked questions below to help you. Of course, if you come across another question that you cannot answer, please don’t hesitate to contact your campaign manager.
What is United Way’s Mission Statement? Vision?
Our mission is mobilizing our community through collaborative efforts to advance the common good. Our vision is maximizing community potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. When people in a community are educated, effectively managing their income, and healthy, everyone in the community enjoys a better quality of life.
How many agencies does CAUW fund?
Capital Area United Way no longer funds agencies, we fund over 120 programs with 47 partner agencies.
What parishes does United Way serve?
Capital Area United Way has been influential in our community since 1925 and serves a 10-parish area, which includes: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. James, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana parishes.
Who decides how donations are spent?
Program Investment Volunteers decide how much money is invested in the programs United Way funds. We currently have over 60 volunteers who are assigned to agencies within each of our three focus areas. From September to March, they visit the agencies and review their programs and budgets to ensure every dollar is well spent. Recommendations are then made per group to the Investment Cabinet who approves the investments. Partner agencies are notified of their program investment in May.
Why should I contribute to United Way if I have never used their services?
United Way provides one very practical way for self-sufficient and fortunate people like you to give direct help to people who can't help themselves right now. We hope that your circumstances are always as they are today. However, you never know when you or someone you know may need a United Way service. Job loss, loss of a loved one, illness, accidents, disabilities, family problems, natural disasters, mental disorders, and the problems of growing up and growing old can affect anyone.
How do you expect donors to give to United Way when our nation is currently in a recession?
United Way understands that all Louisiana residents are feeling a strain on their finances. At the same time, the needs of our community are on the rise. Your donation to United Way is critical for our community to remain strong and to have the support system it needs to get through tough times.
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Awards Capital Area United Way is proud to honor companies and Employee Campaign Coordinators that run successful campaigns. In order to be eligible for an award, a company or Employee Campaign Coordinator must meet the specified criteria below:
2012 5 Star Award Winners
Live United Award This award is presented to a company that gives, advocates, and volunteers and meets the following criteria: Small Business (company that has 100 or less employees) Medium Business (company that has 101 - 600 employees) • Company runs a United Way employee workplace campaign • Company advocates on behalf of Capital Area United Way • Company participates in a volunteer project coordinated through Capital Area United Way or though their company
Best of the Best Award This award is presented to the campaign coordinator that meets at least six of the following criteria: • Company has a minimum of 75% employee participation in campaign • Company has increased employee participation by 10% from the previous year • Company has an average employee gift of $230 or more • Campaign Coordinator attended the Employee Campaign Coordinator training • Company participates in a volunteer project coordinated through CAUW or their company • Company has at least one United Way presentation during the course of the campaign • Company submits a full list of donors • Has 3 out of 4 Leadership Giving Levels
Leading the Way Award The award is presented to a company that has increased the number of Tocqueville donors or leadership givers and meets at least two of the following criteria: • Company has an established leadership program • Company has representation in the Tocqueville Society • Company has member(s) in Capital Area United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council • Company has member(s) in Capital Area United Way’s Young Leader’s Society • An increase in Silver and Gold Leadership donors from the previous year
New Company Campaign Award This award is presented to a company that runs a new United Way employee workplace campaign and meets at least two of the following criteria: • Company makes a corporate donation • Company has an average payroll gift of $130+ • Company has a minimum of 25% employee participation in campaign
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Awards Continued Top Notch Award This award is presented to a company that meets the following criteria: • Company has the highest participation rate amongst all workplace companies • Based on the participation rate, company has the highest campaign total
Campaign Spirit Award
This award is presented to a company that runs the most creative and innovative campaign. Campaign Managers will submit nominations for this award and the United Way staff will determine the winner.
Movin’ on Up Award
This award is presented to a company that meets the following criteria: Small Business (company that has 100 or less employees) Medium Business (company that 101 - 599 employees) Large Business (company that has 600 or more employees) • Company has the largest percentage increase over the previous year • Based on the percentage, company has the highest campaign total
5 Star Award This award is presented to a company that fully supports the organization and our community through five key actions that support the United Way motto of give, advocate, and volunteer. • Company has active support for major gifts at the leadership and Tocqueville levels • Company participates in a volunteer project coordinated through CAUW • Company has a strong workplace campaign, demonstrating best practices to encourage participation • Company submits a corporate donation, sponsors an event, or underwrites an impact program • Company advocates on behalf of CAUW through active participation as a volunteer in the community with a partner agency
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ExxonMobil invests $1.5 million through United Way Campaign Support Income
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Capital Area United Way
700 Laurel Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 (p) 225-383-2643 (f) 225-382-3523 CAUW.org