Thanks for Running a

Workplace Campaign!

P.O. Box 334 • Tupelo, MS 38802

662-841-9133 Lee • 662-862-5557 Itawamba • 662-539-0018 Union 662-456-4234 Chickasaw • 662-728-0318 Prentiss

662-489-5576 Pontotoc • 662-423-2368 Tishomingo 662-680-5754 Fax

www.unitedwaynems.org

United Way of Northeast Mississippi

2011-2012 Campaign Toolkit

United Way of Northeast Mississippi

Table of Contents

Campaign Basics 3-4

Leadership Giving 5

Online Help 5

Steps to Success 6-7

Awards 8

Frequently Asked Questions 9-11

Campaign Worksheet 12-13

Themes, Idea, Incentives 14

Sample Letter and Emails 15

Sample Letter and Emails

Pre-Campaign Letter to Employees from CEO/Manager:

Dear (Employee Name):

United Way is (insert company’s name)’s partner in caring for our community. By raising funds for 65 local agencies in Northeast Mississippi, we help our friends, our neighbors,. . . our own. United Way uses professional and volunteer expertise to bring the community together to focus on our most pressing issues. An investment in United Way has real, measurable results in our community – like helping kids succeed and strengthening families, caring for the elderly and handicapped, the sick and the hungry. I hope you will join me in giving generously to United Way of Northeast Mississippi.

With many thanks, (CEO/Manager)

Sample Email Messages:

To: All Staff Subject: United Way of Northeast MS Campaign United Way’s network of agencies enable us to make the greatest impact in improving peo-ple’s lives – right here in our community. That’s why I invest in United Way, and why I volun-teered to lead our company’s 2011 campaign. I know you share my desire for achieving real and measurable results, like increasing self-sufficiency and building safe neighborhoods. On (date), we will be kicking off (company’s name)’s 2011 United Way campaign. This is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in our community. I will be contacting you soon with more details. Thanks in advance for your participation.

To: All Staff Subject: 2011 United Way Campaign Meeting

(Add date, time, and location of meeting). Don’t miss this opportunity to hear how or contri-butions make it possible for United Way to make real and measurable differences in our com-munity. Hear how United Way is local, accountable, efficient, and expert with our donations. We’ll get to hear stories of how our donations make a difference in our community. (Name of United Way representative and/or Agency Representative) will be joining us to share some success stories and explain more about how United Way works. Together, we can build a bet-ter community.

Page 15

Themes, Ideas, Incentives

Build interest and excitement for your campaign with themes, special events,

and employee incentives! Here are some ideas to help you get started:

Themes: Around the World Beach Party Bingo Board game: Monopoly, Twister Broadway Cartoon: Flintstones, South Park, etc. Cooking Circus Cruise Era: ’20s, ’50s, ’70s, ’80s, etc. Farm Fiesta Fishing Harvest Time Jungle/Safari Magic Mardi Gras Movie: Spiderman, Shrek, Star Wars, etc. Music Mystery Olympics Oscars/Red Carpet Pajama Party Picnic Racing Salsa/Latin Seasons Superbowl TV shows Western/Rodeo

Special Events: Agency Fair Baby Picture Guess Battle of the Sexes Big Hair Fair Book, Music and Movie Sale Basket Auction Bowl-off Carnival Casino Night Chili-Cook Off Costume Contest Craft Fair Cubicle Decorating Fashion Show Ice Cream Social Interdepartmental Basketball Tournament Karaoke Latte Stand Lunch Box Auction Miniature Golf Pancake Breakfast Pet Picture Guess Pizza Party Popcorn Sale Pumpkin Carving Contest Spaghetti Supper Spelling Bee Silent Auction Talent Show Tricycle Race Wine Tasting

Dress Down / Casual Day Stickers Certificates for Massage/Manicure/Pedicure Get Out of Meeting Pass Movie Tickets Park in the Boss’s Spot Restaurant Gift Certificates Sporting Event Tickets

Incentives: Boss Does Your Job for a Day Breakfast With the Boss Cash Prizes Wal-Mart Gift Cards Celebration Lunch Drawing for “Sleep in Late Pass” Drawing for Days Off Theater Tickets

Campaign Basics

What exactly is a workplace campaign?

A workplace campaign takes place over a set period of time. Company CEOs and

campaign coordinators (like you!) encourage employees to give to United Way of

Northeast Mississippi. You achieve this by sharing news and information about the

needs in the community and how we are addressing these needs—and inviting them to

participate in company activities. To use a sports analogy, you are the coach and your

coworkers are your team. You want to get them pumped up, excited and “in it to win it.”

The ultimate goal? You and your company come together and collectively raise money

for those in our community who so need it.

What’s my role as a campaign coordinator?

Work closely with a United Way staff member to develop an effective campaign

plan for your organization.

Recruit and coordinate a team of company volunteers to help you run the

campaign.

Make a personal gift to United Way of Northeast Mississippi.

Schedule employee campaign meetings and coordinate with United Way staff.

Promote the campaign throughout your organization and ensure that everyone is

asked to give.

Coordinate the distribution and collection of campaign materials and pledges.

Prepare and submit a final report and pledge forms.

Thank all campaign participants.

Who can help me run a successful campaign?

Full-time United Way staff members are available year-round to assist with

workplace campaigns.

Your United Way staff person can help you develop a campaign plan, coordinate

presentations at campaign events, ask for contributions and help complete all

paperwork.

If you don’t know who your United Way staff person is, just contact us at 662-841-

9133.

Page 3

Tailor your campaign to fit your company’s needs Work with your United Way staff member to map out a campaign plan that will be easy

to implement and well-positioned for optimal success.

Smaller, single-site campaigns

Don’t try to do too much!

Think about what strategies work best for your company. If you have a small

company, don’t try to have an overly complex campaign.

Make sure to include people from different departments on your planning team to

help.

Multi-site campaigns

If your headquarters and branches aren’t all in the same county, ask your United

Way staff member to help you locate the contacts in the other counties.

Utilize a team captain model when forming your campaign team. The most

important thing when forming a team is to try to make sure that all the different

sites and departments have representatives to help with their portion of the

campaign planning. Make sure to include those representatives, as you can utilize

their skills and contacts. Also try to include leadership wherever possible so that

decisions can easily be made.

Team captains can help run the campaign in each area of your company so you

don’t have to do it all! They can directly contact United Way staff to plan events,

request speakers and order supplies for their department, store or division.

Online-only campaigns

Some companies don’t use paper pledge forms and want to have a campaign that

has a low impact on the environment. While doing this, what is the best way to

have a successful, yet low-key campaign?

E-mail testimonials from employees that are passionate about the cause.

E-mail United Way facts out to the employees. You can even have an electronic

game associated with it.

Page 4

Campaign Worksheet Develop a campaign plan

Six Weeks Before Campaign

Attend Employee Campaign Coordinator training or meet with United Way staff member.

Meet with CEO or Senior Manager to obtain support for the Campaign.

Start recruiting your Campaign Team, educating them on United Way’s role in the community.

Four Weeks Before Campaign

Set your company goal.

Develop a Campaign plan, including date, theme, and incentives.

Assign tasks to your team.

Two Weeks Before Campaign

Create energy and awareness using posters, flyers, e-mails, etc.

Schedule agency tours and speakers.

Send Campaign request form your United Way representative.

One Week Before Campaign

Send CEO letter or e-mail endorsing campaign to all employees.

Create enthusiasm! Talk about United Way, the benefits of giving, and the United Way partner agencies with your co-workers.

Review all plans for Campaign with your Campaign Team.

Week of Campaign

Host your Campaign, ensuring that all employees hear the United Way Story.

Collect pledge forms and hold drawings for participating employees.

Hand out t-shirts to qualifying employees as pledge forms are received.

Week After Campaign

Collect all remaining pledge forms.

Fill out final report form and send to your United Way representative.

Post final campaign results and thank employees and volunteers.

Page 13

Campaign Worksheet

Get connected

United Way staff contact name:__________________________________________

Contact number: 662-841-9133

Meeting with contact: ________/_________/20________ Get management support ■ Who in my company can help get the CEO and top-level/upper management involved? ■ Is there someone in top-level/upper management who would enjoy being involved? ■ How will you leverage your CEO and/or upper management? Recruit a team ■ What skills do I need my team members to have? ■ What departments should be represented? ■ Who would like to be involved? ■ Set individual roles and responsibilities:

If you would like

additional assistance

with your goal setting,

Simply contact your United

Way staff person, who

will be happy to

assist you.

Page 12

Benefits of Leadership Giving

We believe that our success begins with those who set high standards of giving. During the

campaign season, encouraging Leadership Giving has a tremendous impact on your

workplace campaign—and the future strength of United Way of Northeast Mississippi.

With a gift of $500 or more made

directly to United Way of

Northeast Mississippi, donors

become members of the

Leadership Giving program and

receive special public recognition.

Leadership Giving is possible for as

little as $10 per week. Donors also

reach a Leadership level by

combining gifts with a spouse.

Levels

Amount Per Two-Week

Online help at unitedwaynems.org/campaign-connection Visit the “Campaign Connection” section of United Way of Northeast Mississippi’s website for great tips and tools.

Get ideas for themes, ideas, and incentives

Download free sample letters and e-mails

Download the campaign guide, pledge forms, etc.

Connect with United Way of Northeast Mississippi on Facebook.

Follow @unitedwayofnems on Twitter.

Leadership Levels Amount Per Two-Week Pay Period*

Alexis de Tocqueville $10,000 - $24,999

$385 - $961

Pillar Society $1,000 - $9,999

$38.46 - $384

Cornerstone Club $750 - $999

$28.85 - $38.42

Foundation Fraternity $500 - $740

$19.23 - $28.81

*Dollar amounts based on one year with 26 pay periods

Page 5

Steps to Success

Attend or host a campaign coordinator training.

Contact your United Way staff person to learn how we can assist you.

Read your Campaign Toolkit and visit unitedwaynems.org.

Ask your United Way staff contact for suggestions on approaching management for support.

Talk to your company’s leadership about developing a budget for the campaign.

Discuss implementing a program that matches a percentage of employee gifts.

Ask your United Way staff contact about recognition for Leadership Giving (gifts of $500+)

Recruit a campaign committee that includes representatives from all departments.

Encourage your team to attend or host a campaign training.

Recruit colleagues with influence.

Recruit long-time donors and colleagues who frequently step up to help with community-related tasks.

Ask your management team for support.

Invite you United Way staff contact to attend your campaign planning meetings.

Get Connected

Get Management

Support

Recruit A

Team

Page 6

How can our organization become more involved with United Way of Northeast Mississippi year around? We offer an array of ways to become more involved year-round.

Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter—our lively newsletter filled with information about how companies are organizing workplace campaigns, ideas and resources for engaging colleagues throughout the year in philanthropy and stories of how to change things for the better through giving and volunteering.

Join our Facebook community—where campaign coordinators and others involved in successful workplace campaigns come together to share tips, tools and stories. “Like us” and regularly post comments.

Tweet about your campaign news and other United Way-related topics: @unitedwayofnems on Twitter

Host free, monthly Lunch and Learn sessions at your company. We’ll bring experts into your workplace for fun and engaging one-hour information sessions on a variety of topics.

Interested employees can join together to find rewarding volunteer opportunities on our website at unitedwaynems.org.

Assemble a team and participate in Day of Caring.

Talk to your United Way staff person about other ways to get involved.

2011 Campaign Kickoff and Back 2 School Resource Fair

Page 11

What is United Way doing to meet basic needs? We’re investing in programs that help in times of crisis. In the past year United Way of Northeast Mississippi funded agencies ...

Served 110,028 meals

Gave out 30,199 boxes of food

Provided 25,772 nights of shelter

Gave clothing to 2,976 individuals

Provided 14,489 prescriptions

Provided 4,577 visits to the doctor Why should I invest in United Way of Northeast Mississippi? We bring the expertise and strategic focus to create profound and positive change in our community. The strong relationships we share with business, government, nonprofits, talented volunteers and generous donors put us in a unique position to bring people together to create innovative solutions to the toughest problems facing our community.

We measure the progress we are making in the community because we are all about solid, tangible results that create lasting change. We are giving more children a quality education, helping more people in times of crisis, keeping more families on track, helping more people get and remain healthy, creating more ways for kids to thrive and improving the quality of life for everyone in Northeast Mississippi.

When you invest your time or financial resources with United Way of Northeast Mississippi, you change our community for the better in fundamental, lasting ways. What guides United Way of Northeast Mississippi’s investment of donor dollars? We conduct research to assess the strengths and needs of our community. More than 145 knowledgeable, well-trained volunteers and expert United Way of Northeast Mississippi staff work together to identify the best ways to solve the most pressing issues. What does it cost to run United Way of Northeast Mississippi? United Way of Northeast Mississippi spends about $ .20 of every dollar for operating costs which include rent, computers, support functions like accounting, research, marketing and fundraising. How can my company gain more recognition for its support of United Way of Northeast Mississippi? Corporate sponsorships of United Way events offer a wonderful way for organizations to receive wide exposure for their generous support. You can also work with your United Way staff person to develop a campaign strategy that could lead to a United Way of Northeast Mississippi Campaign Award.

Page 10

Steps to Success

Develop a timeline for your campaign.

Set campaign goals, including a targeted percentage of Leadership Givers (gifts of $500+)

Choose strategies that are tailored to your corporate culture.

Consider incentives that can increase participation.

Assign responsibilities to your team members.

Make a personal gift to United Way of Northeast Mississippi, and encourage your team to give a gift. (It’s easier to ask if you’ve already given.)

Schedule campaign meeting(s) for all employees.

Work with United Way staff to schedule agency speaker(s) for employee meetings.

During the campaign meeting work with UW staff to distribute Campaign Guides and pledge forms to every employee.

Allow United Way staff to meet with employees and make the “ask”.

Encourage leadership giving.

At the end of campaign meetings, help UW staff collect pledge forms and distribute

t-shirts and discount cards.

Make sure all pledge forms and donations from employees have been collected.

Make sure all qualifying donors have received

t-shirts and discount cards.

Schedule a wrap-up meeting with your UW staff person to complete Campaign Report Envelope.

Report final totals to your employees.

Thank everyone.

Congratulate yourself and your committee for a job well done.

Conduct a Thorough Campaign Wrap-Up

Make The Ask

Develop A Campaign

Plan

Plan your campaign using the worksheet on pages 12-13

Page 7

Awards for Workplace Campaigns

Outstanding Employee Campaign Awards Every year, United Way of Northeast Mississippi gives Employee Campaign Awards to companies that run workplace giving campaigns with exceptional results. Criteria such as employee potential rates and campaign percentage increase awards allow for companies of all sizes to compete equally with each other.

Growth Award: The largest percentage increase for an organization

giving up to $10,000

Progress Award: The largest percentage increase for an organization

giving over $10,000

Advancement Award: The largest dollar increase for an organization

giving up to $10,000

Achievement Award: The largest dollar increase for an organization

giving over $10,000

Best New Campaign: Depends on both dollars raised and participation

percentage

Campaign Volunteer of the Year: A Campaign Cabinet member who

goes above and beyond the call of duty

Potential Awards

Potential is measured by taking the total # of employees and multiplying

that # by $3.45/wk (average gift) and multiplying that by 52 weeks.

Ex. United Way has 6 employees. 6 x $3.45 x 52 = $1076.40 is 100% of

Potential

Presidential Award: 100% of Potential

United Way Award: 90 – 99% of Potential

Gold Award: 75 – 89% of Potential

Silver Award: 50 – 74% of Potential

Bronze Award: 25 – 49% of Potential

Participation Award: 5 – 24% of Potential

Page 8

Frequently asked questions about United Way and Workplace Campaigns

Running a Campaign

How long should our campaign run? The average campaign runs for two weeks. Longer campaigns often take up additional time and resources for both the campaign coordinator and the employees. A two-week campaign is the perfect amount of timeto kick off your campaign, get your message out effectively and make your ask without overburdening your staff with extra announcements and activities. What is Leadership Giving and how will it impact my campaign? Leadership Giving is a recognition program to encourage employees to make high-impact gifts of $500 or more. Strategies include a customized “ask” to employees to give at a higher level, and specific personalized recognition within the company and United Way of Northeast Mississippi. It can also be motivating for you and your colleagues to see the number of Leadership Givers and establish goals around it. Companies will often honor employees who give at the Leadership level by having an event to thank them and ask for support again. Special “thank yous” or certificates are also best practices for this. How should I ask for money in this tough economy? Even though times are challenging, those of us who still have the ability to give can make a tremendously positive difference in the lives of so many. United Way of Northeast Mississippi is focused on helping the most vulnerable in our region. We are working to provide food, shelter and hope for families who are facing hunger and homelessness—and helping prepare the youngest among us for future success. Making a gift—whatever the amount—through payroll deduction is an easy and powerful way to make a tremendous impact for so many who desperately need our help.

Why is United Way focused on meeting basic needs? The nation’s economic downturn has taken a particularly harsh toll on our community’s most vulnerable—and the needs have not abated. Food, shelter and hope are becoming increasingly out of reach for many.

Our nation is currently experiencing the longest period of high unemployment since monthly rates began to be measured in the 1940s.

Employment has increased slowly over the past year.

Visits to food banks rose significantly during 2010 and have remained at high levels.

Per capita income for North Mississippi is $26,851, well below the $40,584 average for the United States. Mississippi ranks 50th in per capita income.

At 21.1% Mississippi has the highest overall poverty rates in the U.S., the 2nd highest child poverty rates in the U.S. at 29.5%, and the highest number of seniors living in poverty at 15.7%.

Page 9