Campaign Support
Keep it Simple!
The most effective employee campaigns are two weeks long, utilize some basic fundraising strategies and incorporate just a couple of fun special events to create some excitement.
Best Practices
Our most seasoned and successful Employee Campaign Chairs follow these simple best practices.
Build Awareness
Your co-workers will be inspired to donate if they understand how much their contribution helps in the community. No one makes the case better than people who have been there. Invite an Agency Speaker to a staff meeting, or campaign event, to help your team connect with the real people their support is helping. A very inspirational video describing the work United Way does in the community is also available.
Build on Your Success
Breathe new energy into your employee campaign! United Way of York Region Success Sessions are 2 hour sessions that help you analyze past campaign performance and develop growth strategies. Last year, campaigns that hosted Success Sessions enjoyed an average 25% growth in results! Our campaign staff is ready to help you.
Leadership Campaigns
Leadership Giving is one of the fastest growing areas of our campaign. The Leadership Giving Program includes all individuals who contribute more than $1,000 annually.
Canvass your Colleagues
People can’t donate if you don’t ask them to! Activate a team of energetic Canvassers to distribute pledge forms to their colleagues and explain why United Way is important to them. This is perhaps the single most effective campaign practice. United Way staff can provide training to help make your canvass fun and effective.
Day of Caring®
United Way of York Region matches your organization’s volunteers with charitable groups that need help with meaningful one-day volunteer projects. Taking part in Day of Caring® is a wonderful way to help employees feel a direct connection with the agencies they are supporting.
New Hires and Retirees Campaigns
Integrate New Hires and Retirees into your campaign. It is a great way to build team spirit in your organization.
United Way of York Region Campaign Best Practices
- Visible CEO Support
- Attend campaign special event(s)
- Speak at campaign kick off and/or wrap up
- Send out letter/memo/email of endorsement for campaign
- Get quoted in a company newsletter
- Sign Thank You letters or certificates for the ECC and committee
- Leadership Campaign
- Have a dedicated chair and committee to canvass senior management
- Have a peer one to one canvass with a ratio of 1:10
- Have personalized packages for leaders, pre-leaders and senior management
- Peer leadership presentation at an agency using a Leadership presenter and an agency speaker
- Canvass
- One to one canvassing with a ratio of 1:10
- Hand out pledge forms personally with an emphasis on 100% pledge form return
- Canvass at the start of the campaign before any special events
- Re-canvass to ensure no one has been missed
- Campaign Kick Off with Agency Speaker
- Campaign should have a definitive beginning and ending
- Kick off should be a fun, low cost event designed to be an education/awareness event
- Try to have 100% of the employees hear an agency speaker
- Personalized Pledge Forms
- People are more apt to reading something with their name on it
- Ease of tracking returned pledge forms
- Recognition and Thanks
- Certificates of appreciation for ECC and committee
- Participation awards
- Labour
- Recognition of unions
- Letters of endorsement
- Joint union - management program
- New Hires/Retirees Campaign
- Invite retirees back for key events during campaign or hold a special retiree event
- Send retirees information about campaign
- Invite key retirees back to sit on a committee
- During exit interview, ask for permission to be contacted by United Way of York Region
- Incorporate United Way campaign information into a new hires package
