Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an opportunity for companies to give back to the communities they operate in and boost their reputations at the same time. From creating matching gift programs to improving your company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices, there are several ways to get involved.
Review the following strategies and consider how you can incorporate them into your company’s operations. With the right mindset and intuitive social good software, you can navigate the ever-evolving CSR landscape with ease.
1. Familiarize Yourself With the Benefits of CSR
Before you create a CSR program, familiarize yourself with the rationale behind the movement and everything it can do for your business. First, embrace the fact that businesses are adopting CSR programs because of a clear demand — employees, customers, and shareholders alike want companies to be more socially responsible.
These statistics explain the rise in CSR-related initiatives and the profound impact they can have on your company:
93% of employees believe businesses should lead with purpose. By embracing CSR at your company and letting team members participate, you can show employees that your company is driven by a worthwhile purpose that they enjoy being a part of.
55% of employees say they would take a lower salary to work for a socially responsible company. This means that public, impactful CSR efforts that resonate with employees can improve your company’s employee recruitment, engagement, and retention efforts.
77% of customers want to purchase from socially responsible companies. When you prove to the public that your company is actively engaged in CSR efforts, you can retain more customers and boost sales revenue.
As these trends show, effective CSR programs can help your company improve everything from employee motivation to your business’s reputation. Plus, if you use a CSR platform to track and measure your programs’ results, you’ll be able to easily report on and publicize your company’s impact to access these benefits faster.
If any of your company’s key stakeholders are hesitant to adopt a CSR program due to the necessary investment of time and resources, share these statistics and others like them to demonstrate CSR’s proven value.
2. Reflect on Your Company’s Values
CSR programs are more likely to be successful when they represent a company’s core values and public priorities. Value alignment helps employees feel more motivated to participate in CSR activities and ensures that your company will retain a vested interest in the program long-term.
Take time to revisit your business’s core values and think about ways you could naturally align corporate social responsibility programs with them. For example, if one of your core values is giving back to the community, you should prioritize corporate philanthropy programs and community service opportunities for employees. On the other hand, a sustainable food service company would be more suited to create internal energy conservation initiatives or a program that donates leftover food products to community shelters.
Brainstorm ideas for a variety of programs that would align with your company’s interests, then research other companies in your sector to see what type of CSR programs they have. Choose one idea to explore first, then save the rest of the list for future program development.
3. Start With a Matching Gifts Program
As you evaluate your options for potential CSR programs, consider developing a matching gifts program first. Employee giving programs are especially effective for increasing employee engagement, and matching gifts are the easiest employee giving program for businesses to facilitate.
These programs involve your company financially matching donations that your employees make to eligible nonprofit organizations, often at a 1:1 ratio. This means that if your employee donated $100, your company would donate an additional $100 to the same organization. Matching gift programs allow your company to support a multitude of causes while helping individual employees make more of a difference.
Set eligibility guidelines for the gifts you’ll match. Determine what types of organizations will be eligible, such as 501(c)(3) nonprofits and educational institutions. Then, set a match ratio, minimum gift amount, and maximum gift amount. For instance, you might match gifts from $20 up to $2,000 at a 1:1 ratio.
Choose a CSR platform. Corporate social responsibility platforms allow you to easily manage matching gift requests and the disbursement of donations. Additionally, they help you track and report on your company’s total philanthropic impact.
Establish a matching gift request process. Choose a deadline for when employees should submit requests, such as within six months of the donation or by the end of the fiscal year. Then determine what information employees must provide about the gift and where they should submit the request, such as via your company portal.
Let employees know about the option. Create official documentation that outlines the matching gift request process and eligibility guidelines for employees, then distribute it to team members when you announce the new program.
To encourage employees to participate in your new matching gift program, emphasize the benefits of matching gifts for both employees and the organizations they support. Focus on how they can make more of an impact on the causes they care about without spending more of their own funds.
4. Offer Incentives for Volunteering
It’s likely that some of your employees already volunteer regularly, while others would appreciate an incentive to do so. By launching a corporate volunteering program, your company can embrace CSR and boost employee job satisfaction.
Consider offering one or more of the following volunteer incentives:
Volunteer grants: Similar to matching gifts, a volunteer grant program is employee-driven. Your employees volunteer for a certain number of hours at a nonprofit of their choice and fill out a grant request form. Then, your company donates a set amount (such as $100 per 10 hours) to the same organization.
Volunteer Time Off (VTO): In addition to vacation days, some companies offer a few days of VTO so employees can easily fit volunteering into their schedule and get paid for their time.
Company-wide volunteer days: Group volunteer outings allow your company to help an organization, engage employees, and foster team-building all at once. Choose a nonprofit to work with, then bring employees out for a fun day of community service.
No matter which programs you choose, a robust CSR platform can help you manage volunteer activities and monitor the impact of both your company and individual employees. With this information, you can recognize employees who volunteered the most and encourage team members to engage with your CSR programs.
As you explore what CSR looks like for your company, take note of any charitable organizations you interact with that seem especially aligned with your values. Cultivate relationships with these nonprofits through corporate volunteering outings and conversations with their staff, and they could become long-term partners you can sponsor in the future. The more you learn about your employees’ charitable interests and organizations that align with your core values, the more easily you’ll be able to develop and maintain impactful CSR programs.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bonterra_Double-the-Donation_Easy-Ways-to-Start-Embracing-CSR-at-Your-Company_Feature-scaled.jpg7201920Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2024-01-29 20:33:482024-01-29 20:33:484 Easy Ways to Start Embracing CSR at Your Company
You likely gather many details about your donors—those who support your cause with their funds, time, or resources. Perhaps you collect names, contact information, engagement history, interests, and hobbies. The more comprehensive an understanding you have of each supporter, the better you can tailor your fundraising strategy to effectively reach your target audience.
However, one critical piece of the puzzle that’s often overlooked is employment data. Knowing where your donors work can play a significant role in how you relate to them in terms of fundraising, corporate giving opportunities, and more. And if you don’t already have this data point on file? That’s where employer appends come in.
In this guide, we’ll provide a walkthrough of all things employer appends—including:
Understanding your donors’ employment status can elevate your fundraising efforts in huge ways. You won’t want to discard the wealth of information gathered through employer appends, nor the amplified impact it brings.
Let’s get started!
The Basics of Data Appends
Data appends are a particular type of data enhancement strategy that allows nonprofits and other fundraising groups to learn more about the individuals in their networks. These efforts aim to provide organizations with more comprehensive and up-to-date information, often concerning their donors and other supporters. This empowers fundraisers to adjust their messaging and overall engagement strategies by better discerning who a donor is and what makes them tick.
Organizations typically provide the information they do have to a company dedicated to data enhancement services. The company then compares donor information against a mega-database of individual data, filling in the details the organization lacks as they go.
Employer appends, in particular, empower organizations to collect new and optimized data regarding the companies their supporters work for. Beyond employer information, other common types of data appends include mailing addresses, email addresses, birth dates, and phone numbers.
As you’ll notice, these types of appends primarily fill in missing or outdated contact information. That makes connecting with supporters easy for email outreach, phonathon fundraisers, direct mail solicitations, and other campaigns.
What Are Employer Appends?
Employer appends are one of the most common types of data appends for nonprofits, schools, and other fundraising organizations. In this case, the unknown information an organization seeks is that of a donor’s employer.
By providing other data points—such as the person’s name, location, phone number, education experience, etc.—the intended result is to locate the company that the individual works for (and sometimes even their job title!). In the end, the organization receives invaluable insights that can help uncover matching gift and other workplace giving opportunities, estimate wealth data, and more.
How Employer Appends Work for Fundraisers
The employer appends process is simple. After locating a data appending service (we’ll cover what to look for below), you’ll want to collect as much data about your donors as possible. This should include:
Name
Unique ID number
Mailing address (home, business, or both)
Region (state, city, and country)
Email address(es)
Phone number(s)
College or university (along with class year and major/degree, if available)
Last gift amount
Date of last donation
Date the entry was last updated
You will likely not have every data point available for each donor. And that’s okay! However, starting with as much information as possible increases the likelihood that the appending service provider can locate and match supporter records to the right employer information.
From there, the appending service will conduct its own research, typically scanning a number of public and privately held databases, which may include government records, SEC filings, social media profiles, business registrations, and more.
When the service provider is able to match a donor record with an employing company, they make a note of the identified information, check the newly collected data for accuracy, and share their findings with the organization. Ultimately, the organization is able to utilize the information to its best advantage in terms of optimal fundraising and donor relations.
Benefits of Employer Appends for Nonprofits and Universities
Employer appends can bring big results to nonprofit fundraising. Knowing where your donors and other key supporters work plays a significant role in overall engagement strategies, not to mention enabling targeted efforts regarding available workplace giving opportunities.
Specifically, employer appending can help your team:
Determine matching gift eligibility —
Thousands of companies offer matching gift programs where they agree to match employee donations to charitable organizations.
However, you likely won’t know which donors are eligible for (and, as a result, which to follow up with about) matching opportunities if you don’t know where they work. In fact, this knowledge gap even results in over $4 to $7 billion in matching gift funding going unclaimed each year!
Once you have the information you need, however, you’ll be able to prompt qualifying donors to complete the match process and secure additional funding on your organization’s behalf. This is true not only in the form of corporate match revenue but in elevated individual giving (and donor engagement), as well.
Keep in mind that matching gift services—like Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro—can help nonprofits target and follow up with matching gift opportunities as well. However, employer appends are often able to provide additional data points with which to guide an organization’s strategy, allowing fundraisers to capture supporter information even if the individual is not currently in the donation pipeline.
Here’s an example: “Jody, did you know that your employer, the Home Depot, matches full- and part-time employee donations up to $3,000 per person each year? Click here to request your matching gift!”
Uncover volunteer grant opportunities —
Similarly, if your organization has a supporter base of dedicated volunteers, corporate volunteer grants can help stretch their donated time even further. These are additional giving programs offered by philanthropic-minded businesses, the difference being that employers contribute monetary funds to the organizations with which their employees volunteer their time. Volunteer grants, which are also referred to as “dollars for doers,” can be an excellent way to multiply the impact of volunteer time for your organization, and supporters love being able to get involved in that way as well.
But again, you’ll need to know which companies your volunteers work for, which is where your employer appends come in. That way, you can be sure to inform them about the opportunities, encourage participation, and direct them to their employers’ request processes to get involved.
Here’s an example: “Thanks for all of your help at the shelter this weekend and over the past several months, Sam!As a Verizon employee, your volunteer hours likely qualify you to request a corporate volunteer grant on our behalf. Click here to learn more about how to request your grant!”
Identify potential corporate sponsorships —
Corporate sponsors can bring your nonprofit’s next fundraising event to the next level, and knowing which companies your supporters work for can aid in determining top prospective sponsors and help get your foot in the door! Once you know where your donors work, leverage the information as an in with a potential sponsor or encourage donors to advocate for a partnership on your behalf.
Here’s an example: “Ashley, it’s great to connect with the Microsoft team. More than 100 of our nonprofit’s donors work for Microsoft, and we’ve received thousands of dollars in matching gifts from your company in the past. As it’s clear that we already have a lot in common, would you be interested in sponsoring our upcoming event?”
Estimate wealth data —
Your donors’ wealth levels can play a significant role in their ability to give charitably, and understanding their limits can help organizations determine ideal fundraising asks. Knowing which companies your donors work for, their roles in the businesses, and more can help shed light on their estimated incomes and, by extension, giving abilities.
Here’s an example: “Sarah, we thank you for your continued support of our nonprofit cause. Will you consider making a $10,000 donation to help us reach our year-end giving goal?”
Tailor donor communications —
You want your donor outreach to be as personal and targeted as possible. Including direct references to donor-specific information helps develop relationships and shows that you’re not sending the same copied-and-pasted message to each person in your contacts. And, as you likely know, targeted messaging can be one of the best ways to develop strengthened, beyond-surface-level donor relationships, build connections with the cause, and ultimately drive more nonprofit involvement among supporters.
Highlighting an individual’s employing company can be a great way to do so, especially regarding getting involved with workplace giving programs. And if you don’t already have your donors’ employment information, that’s where employer appends can help.
Here’s an example: “Jeffrey, the Walt Disney Corporation offers a range of corporate giving opportunities that can benefit our organization in big ways. As a member of the Disney team, you have the chance to participate in matching gifts, volunteer grants, and more.”
Learn more about your supporters —
The more you know about your supporters—donors, volunteers, and prospects alike—the better you can connect with the individuals who make your mission possible. Since most people’s careers are a key component of their lives and what makes them who they are, understanding where they work and what they do can be a key piece of the “getting to know your donors” puzzle. Plus, it can even help shine a light on their own interests and hobbies.
Here’s an example: “As a Petco employee, you likely care about the wellbeing of the little, furry friends in our community. That’s exactly what our organization, the Atlanta Animal Shelter, is dedicated to, as well. Learn more about how you can get involved with the cause here!”
Overall, employer records are an extremely beneficial tool for designing targeted and effective outreach. However, you likely don’t have that information on file for all of your supporters. By leveraging employer appends, you can collect the information you need to guide your organization’s engagement efforts toward success.
Employer Appends Services | What to Look For
It’s possible to conduct donor research on your own; however, your organization is significantly more likely to uncover accurate and up-to-date information about more donors more quickly when you outsource the efforts to a third-party provider. And employer appends services are dedicated to doing just that in the most effective and efficient ways possible.
So how can you select the right employer (or other donor data) appends provider for your needs? Be sure to do your research beforehand.
For example, here’s how it works with Double the Donation:
Organizations typically see successful appends rates between 20% and 50% of the records they provide to the appending service (which is significantly higher than the industry average).
Employer appends are typically completed and provided within a few days of the organization submitting their inputs.
Appends records are assigned an accuracy rating. This takes into account the uniqueness of a donor’s name and the level of detailed inputs initially provided, as well as the comprehensiveness and recency of the data source used.
As an added bonus, previously unknown corporate executives are often identified and flagged as potential major donors.
Multiple appending options are available, including real-time employer appends for Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro users, as well as one-time bulk appends services for any organization.
Employer appends can be uploaded into 360MatchPro to trigger matching gift emails and other automated donor outreach.
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Other Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Double the Donation get its employer data?
Our propriety screening method combines data from both publicly and privately available sources. These sources include public government records, SEC filings, social media profiles, business registrations, and a variety of other sources.
What hit rate should our organization expect?
We typically see append rates which range from 20%-50%. This is based on a variety of factors such as:
Donor demographics (higher append rates among organizations which have a greater percentage of donors still in the workforce)
Average donation amount (higher append rates for wealthier donors)
Type of nonprofit (higher append rates for higher education)
How does Double the Donation determine its “accuracy score” for each record?
Our accuracy score is based on a number of factors including:
Uniqueness of donor names: With only a name it can be tough to determine whether we’ve identified the correct individual. The number of individuals with the same name plays a role in our accuracy score. A search for a common name such as “Steve Smith” will have a much lower accuracy score than a more unique / one of a kind name.
Level of detail provided on a record: The more information that you provide on each record, the greater the accuracy score. Even though there may be 1,000 individuals named “Steve Smith” if we’re able to match additional fields such as a phone number or mailing address it increases the accuracy score for that record.
Our data source / date the data source was updated:
We recognize that not all of our data sources are created equal. The data source, as well as the update frequency, plays a role in each individual record’s accuracy score.
Which types of nonprofits see the highest append rates and the most accurate results?
Our ability to append employer data is dependent upon the input file an organization provides to us. Organizations which keep their databases up-to-date see the best results.
For instance:
Do you have an up-to-date email address?
Do you have an up-to-date mailing address?
For higher education institutions, can you provide us with the years your donor / alumni graduated?
How complete are the input files that nonprofits normally send to Double the Donation?
It depends. Very rarely does an organization have comprehensive data on all of its donors, especially when you consider an organization which raises funds from multiple channels (mail, online, phone, in-person, etc.)
We do request that you provide us with as much data as you can as it helps us locate and match your records to the appropriate individual.
Are subsidiaries and alternate spelling variations listed separately or all in a single subsidiary field?
Our matching gift database is comprised of the following two tables:
A table mapping subsidiaries to parent companies
A table mapping all company details to a single parent company
These tables are then joined using a unique ID that ties all the data together.
Can I use employer append files I already have with 360MatchPro?
An organization navigates to the “import wizard” to upload its employer appends CSV file.
The organization previews record uploads to ensure the data has been mapped properly.
The organization leverages employer append workflows to match Unknown Eligibility donors with the correct employers.
You can learn more about leveraging bulk employer appends files alongside 360MatchPro with our Knowledge Base article on the topic here.
Concluding Thoughts
The more you know about your donors, the more effectively you can target and attract them to your cause. Not to mention, having employment data on file empowers organizations to seek workplace giving opportunities as well.
You may have a solid base of information pertaining to donors’ employing companies already. However, employer appends can go a long way toward filling in the blanks and connecting the dots. This is especially true in terms of matching gift programs, volunteer grants, and more.
Interested in further developing your organization’s donor data strategy? Dive into these other forms of data appends services—and how they can benefit your team—below:
What Is a Date of Birth Append? A Comprehensive Guide. Uncover more about your organization’s supporters with date of birth appending. Find out donors’ ages for strategic segmentation, send birthday outreach, and more.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/DTD-The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Employer-Appends-for-Fundraisers.png3801000Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2024-01-28 19:14:372024-06-03 18:21:30The Ultimate Guide to Employer Appends for Fundraisers
According to OneCause’s Fundraising Outlook Report, the percentage of organizations that identify donor retention as a critical priority has decreased from 57% to 51%. While it’s concerning that fewer nonprofits are trying to reduce costs and form lasting relationships by focusing on donor retention, this insight reveals an opportunity to get ahead and stand out from other organizations vying for attention in your sector.
While the average donor retention rate hovers around 40%, there are strategies your organization can implement to increase this number and secure more long-term support. The top way to keep donors coming back is to create a donor stewardship plan.
We’ll help you dive into donor stewardship by reviewing the following topics:
With a better understanding of donor stewardship and a dedicated plan, you can make stewardship an ongoing, iterative process at your organization and consistently build enduring donor relationships.
What is donor stewardship?
Donor stewardship is the process of extending a relationship beyond the donor’s gift. The ultimate goal of donor stewardship is to encourage them to give again by building a deeper connection with them. Developing that sense of loyalty will make your fundraising efforts more seamless in the future because you’ll have a strong supporter base to tap into.
For stewardship to be effective, nonprofits must form mutually beneficial relationships with their donors. While nonprofits receive financial support, donors get to feel good about the impact they’ve made and join a community of people passionate about your cause. To create these relationships, nonprofits implement stewardship strategies that keep donors updated on the impact of their gifts and provide them with additional engagement opportunities.
What is the relationship between donor stewardship and retention?
Donor retention is a measure of how many donors come back to contribute to your organization after their initial gift. You can calculate your donor retention rate by dividing the number of donors who gave again this year by the number of donors who contributed last year, then multiplying that number by 100.
In recent years, donor retention has been on the decline, with an overall donor retention rate of 42.6% in 2022, which was 3.5% less than the previous year. There are costs associated with acquiring new donors, and when your donor retention rate is low, your organization has to continuously maximize the time, effort, and resources it pours into donor acquisition.
Donor stewardship helps your organization conserve resources and build a more reliable donor pool. You need regular communication to remind donors of your cause and how vital their support is, and with a dedicated donor stewardship plan, you can keep in contact with donors and ultimately retain them.
Additionally, retained donors are more valuable to your organization because they give more, more often, and are more likely to engage with your nonprofit in other ways. Considering 94% of recurring donors prefer to give to their causes of choice monthly, stewarding these donors enables you to build a consistent community of supporters rather than a sporadic, constantly shifting list of one-time donors.
Lastly, you already have data stored for previous donors in your database or constituent relationship management platform (CRM). You can use this information to reengage and steward these relationships because you know more about their interests and preferences. With a data-driven stewardship approach, you can meet donors where they are and personalize your communications to retain their support.
The donor pyramid is a visual representation of different donor giving levels. Since first-time donors are likely your largest donor group, they occupy the bottom of the pyramid whereas the few major donors you have reside at the top. When you understand which category of the pyramid each donor fits into, you can better steward them up the pyramid and increase their support.
The main categories of the donor pyramid include:
Prospective donors. Some organizations include prospective donors at the bottom of the pyramid to represent all potential giving opportunities. You may omit this group or narrow it down to those who have shown interest in your cause but haven’t yet contributed monetarily, such as volunteers, social media followers, or newsletter subscribers.
First-time donors. Most nonprofits place first-time donors at the bottom of the pyramid. While these supporters have demonstrated interest in your mission, it’s crucial to follow up with them immediately after their initial gift to show your appreciation and share the impact of their contribution.
Recurring donors. Recurring donors may give on a monthly, quarterly, annual, or varying basis. You may create different segments for each of these groups and develop stewardship strategies depending on giving frequency.
Planned donors. Planned donors pledge gifts to be contributed to nonprofits once they pass away. These bequests are typically sizable donations, so it’s important to show your appreciation for planned donors’ contributions.
Major donors. The top of the pyramid is comprised of major donors who give the largest gifts to your organization. Depending on your nonprofit’s size and typical donation amounts, you may define your major gift threshold differently than other organizations do.
To form your nonprofit’s own donor pyramid, draw supporter insights from your donor database. This information will help you determine which categories to include, roughly how many donors are in each tier, and how to best steward each group to higher levels of the pyramid or larger commitments at their current tier.
How does donor stewardship fit into donor cultivation?
Donor cultivation is the process of acquiring new donors and strengthening relationships with them. While donor stewardship is the last step in the cultivation cycle, it’s important to understand each step in the process and how it informs your stewardship efforts:
1. Identification
The first step in the donor cultivation cycle is to identify potential donors. This step may involve reviewing your CRM for supporters who may be interested in donating, identifying previous or lapsed donors, or conducting outreach to those who are completely new to your organization and mission.
Some strategies for identifying prospective donors include:
Prospect research. When you’re looking for potential major donors, conducting prospect research can help you determine supporters’ giving capacity and willingness to contribute. That way, you can focus your outreach on those who are most likely to make a major contribution.
Existing connections. Current supporters and stakeholders in your organization can help you identify people in their networks who may be interested in contributing to your cause. Ask your board members, major donors, and staff if they have any connections they can leverage.
Surveys. Sometimes the best way to identify if someone would be interested in giving is to simply ask them. Send surveys to your supporter base asking them if they’re open to making a monetary contribution and what type of gift they would like to make.
In this stage, it’s important to emphasize your nonprofit’s mission and let potential donors know the impact their contributions could make.
2. Qualification
Now that you’ve identified potential donors, it’s time to narrow down that list further to prioritize those with the highest giving likelihood. Some factors you may assess to determine the most qualified potential donors are:
Previous engagement. Potential donors may have interacted with your organization in ways other than donating, such as attending an event, volunteering, following your social media accounts, or signing up for your newsletter. These interactions demonstrate potential donors’ interest in your nonprofit and may indicate their likelihood to donate.
Wealth markers. Identifying potential donors’ capacity to give is especially useful for determining who may become a major donor. These wealth indicators may include real estate ownership, stock holdings, and business affiliations.
Affinity markers. Just because someone has the capacity to give doesn’t mean they’re interested in contributing. Affinity markers such as political involvement and previous support for other charitable causes allow you to assess the alignment between a potential donor’s values and your organization’s mission.
While some of this information may be stored in your CRM or found in public records, it can be helpful to work with a fundraising consultant or data provider who can acquire this data for you.
3. Cultivation
The cultivation step involves laying the foundation for a long-term relationship with prospects. Before soliciting a donation, introduce potential donors to your organization and invite them to get involved with:
Educational materials. Allow prospects to learn more about your mission and work by providing them with educational materials. Send them introductory pamphlets, videos of your beneficiaries, and summaries of your services so they can become more familiar with your organization.
Volunteer opportunities. When prospects volunteer with your nonprofit, they’ll receive hands-on experience with your cause. As a result, they may develop a connection to your mission and be more open to donating.
Events. An event is a perfect opportunity for prospects to meet current donors and find out why they support your cause. Consider inviting prospects to your next fundraising or advocacy event so they can become immersed in your community and determine if they’d like to become more involved.
Personalizing your communications with prospects is also a powerful strategy for developing relationships with them. Use data from your CRM to learn more about your prospects and tailor your communications accordingly. For example, if a prospect recently volunteered with your nonprofit, thank them for their support and follow up with additional volunteer opportunities they may be interested in.
4. Solicitation
After getting to know potential donors and informing them about your organization, you can begin soliciting donations. When making your initial asks, keep these tips in mind:
Be specific. Using the data you’ve gathered about your prospects, suggest a specific donation amount that aligns with their giving capacity. You should also be clear about what that amount of money will allow your nonprofit to accomplish. For example, an animal shelter might specify that a $100 donation allows it to restock its pet food supply for one week.
Appeal to prospects’ emotions. Don’t be afraid to use emotionally charged language to show prospects why they should care about your cause and how they have the power to make an impact. Including a testimonial from a beneficiary or current donor can help make a prospect’s potential impact more tangible.
Mention matching gift opportunities. Did you know that 84% of people say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered, and 1 in 3 donors claim they’d give a larger gift if matching is applied to their donation? Informing prospects about matching gift opportunities in your ask can motivate them to donate and allow you to gain even more for your cause. Matching gifts occur when a company matches their employees’ donations to a nonprofit, usually at a 1:1 ratio. As a result, your nonprofit can double its donation revenue. Learn best practices for promoting matching gifts in the video below:
As the video states, raising awareness for matching gifts is key. Once potential donors know about the power of matching gifts, you can make the process easier by researching their eligibility for them or providing them with a matching gift database where they can easily find their employer’s matching gift policies.
If a prospect says “no” to your first ask, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed to garner their support. Continue cultivating a relationship with this individual until it’s appropriate to make another donation request. Even if they don’t end up contributing monetarily, they can still become an active member of your community by volunteering, attending events, and engaging with your content online.
5. Stewardship
You should begin the donor stewardship process immediately after a prospect becomes a donor. Follow these steps to kick off your stewardship efforts:
Thank donors for their support. Show donors your appreciation for their contributions. To quickly and efficiently thank donors, automate a thank-you eCard to be sent to each donor right after they submit their donation. For larger gifts, you may send a handwritten thank-you note or call major donors to demonstrate your appreciation.
Recognize your donors. Larger gifts may also warrant public recognition of your donors through plaques, donor appreciation events, or invitations to your nonprofit’s giving society. You can also recognize mid-level donors by creating social media or newsletter spotlights.
Report on their impact. No matter the size of their donation, donors want to know that your organization is using their funds responsibly. Update donors on the specific initiatives you’ve allocated their donations toward, whether that’s a new program, supplies, a fundraising event, or something else entirely.
While these steps are a great start to donor stewardship, you’ll need a dedicated stewardship plan to effectively sustain your relationships with donors.
Creating a Donor Stewardship Plan: 5 Steps
A systematic approach to donor stewardship ensures no donor gets left behind and that your team knows exactly how to uphold donor relationships. To create a donor stewardship plan, follow these essential steps:
1. Determine your donor stewardship goals.
The beginning of any plan should start with goal creation, and donor stewardship is no different. Goals developed using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goal framework allow you to measure the success of your stewardship plan more easily.
For example, your nonprofit may want to grow its recurring giving program. Here’s how your team could incorporate each element of the SMART goal framework into your objectives:
Specific. Our fundraising team will reach out to first-time donors to introduce them to the recurring donor program and demonstrate how recurring gifts will maximize their impact.
Measurable. Our goal is to convert 20% of first-time donors into recurring donors.
Achievable. Considering 57% of donors are enrolled in a recurring giving program, and we had 10% of last year’s first-time donors become recurring donors, this is a challenging yet realistic goal.
Relevant. Growing our recurring donor program will allow us to develop a more consistent revenue stream for our nonprofit, empowering us to better serve our beneficiaries and fulfill our mission.
Time-Bound. Our goal is to convert these donors to recurring donors by the end of the year. We will start communicating with first-time donors next week and track monthly progress.
Other common goals may include increasing your donor retention rate, bolstering your major gift fundraising, or improving your post-event outreach. No matter what your goals are, setting clear objectives allows your team to stay on track and create progress benchmarks so you can make adjustments as needed.
2. Segment your donors.
While reaching out to each donor individually would be ideal for stewardship, it’s often unfeasible. When you segment your donors into relevant groups, you can personalize the donor stewardship process more efficiently.
Common ways to segment donors include grouping by:
Donation amount
Donation frequency
Donation recency
Engagement level
Communication preferences
Demographics
Then, you can reach out to each group with communications and engagement opportunities that they’ll resonate with. For example, you may create a special newsletter for monthly donors that lets them know about upcoming events and volunteer outings happening each month.
3. Develop an outreach cadence.
Using your segments, create an automated outreach cadence that keeps donors’ shared characteristics in mind. New donors should receive more in-depth information about your organization and mission that they may not have received in the initial cultivation process. Then, you can automate more specific communications to your segments to streamline your donor stewardship.
By integrating your email marketing software and your donor database, you can create personalized campaigns depending on donors’ interests and current stages in the stewardship process. For instance, during the cultivation stage, you may send prospects within a ten-mile radius of your organization’s headquarters information about in-person events and engagement opportunities in their community.
4. Offer additional engagement opportunities.
To maintain relationships with donors, you’ll need to offer engagement opportunities other than simply donating. While you may already have general fundraising events and volunteer opportunities planned, take the time to develop additional opportunities for donors to engage with your cause, such as:
Cause-related workshops and speaker sessions
Meetings with beneficiaries
Tours of your facility
Exclusive major donor events
Fundraising event planning committees
When you share activities with your donors that are unaccompanied by a donation ask, you prove to donors that you’re committed to providing them with a positive experience with your nonprofit. Through a variety of engagement opportunities, you can build a strong community of supporters and advocates for your cause.
5. Collect feedback.
You can (and should) measure progress using the key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals you identified early on in the stewardship process. However, qualitative data in the form of donor feedback can give you insight into what your donors enjoy about your stewardship efforts and what your team could improve.
Send regular surveys to your donors to gather feedback about your donor stewardship plan. The questions you may ask include:
How often would you like our nonprofit to communicate with you?
Is our current communication frequency too little, too much, or the right amount?
What engagement opportunities have you most enjoyed?
What additional engagement opportunities would you like to see offered?
Is there anything else our nonprofit can do to improve your experience with us?
Analyze donors’ responses with your team to glean any insights you can apply to your donor stewardship plan. For donors with multiple ideas or many points of feedback, consider calling them to hear more about their experience and gain an even more in-depth understanding of your stewardship efforts’ efficacy.
Wrapping Up
With a comprehensive donor stewardship plan, your nonprofit can build strong donor relationships, increase donor retention, and earn more for your cause. Whether you’re trying to grow your recurring donor program, acquire more major donors, or follow up with event attendees more effectively, a dedicated plan will assist you in reaching your goals and stewarding donors to higher levels of the donor pyramid.
To learn more about elements of the donor stewardship process, check out these resources:
Nonprofit Basics: The Donor Pyramid. When you develop a donor pyramid, you can more easily steward donors to higher engagement levels. This guide presents tips for how to personalize your donor pyramid to your organization.
Donor Recognition: When & How to Acknowledge Supporters. Recognizing your donors allows you to show your appreciation and strengthen your relationships with them. Dive deeper into donor recognition strategies with this guide.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Donor-Stewardship_Feature.jpg7502000Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2024-01-24 21:15:242024-01-31 18:22:13Donor Stewardship: How to Retain Support Effectively
Whether it’s a sorority, a food bank, or a socially responsible business, some organizations require their members to volunteer to build their skill sets and give back to their communities. Many nonprofits benefit from the temporary extra hands that mandatory volunteering provides, but there are many ways that you can convert these short-term volunteers into committed supporters, even after they’ve hit their hourly quota.
In this guide, we’ll go over the basics of mandatory volunteering programs and how your nonprofit can leverage them. Specifically, we’ll cover:
Let’s explore how your nonprofit can help your mandatory volunteering program reach its full potential.
Mandatory Volunteering FAQ
What is mandatory volunteering?
Mandatory volunteering is when an organization requires individuals to volunteer for a certain amount of time to receive benefits. Some examples of mandatory volunteering in practice include:
Educational institutions require students to volunteer as a graduation requirement.
Membership-based organizations require individuals to volunteer as a membership requirement.
Social service organizations require individuals to volunteer to receive social services, such as food banks where beneficiaries contribute volunteer hours for meals.
Judicial systems require individuals to volunteer in the form of community service as rehabilitation or restitution for minor offenses.
Businesses require their employees to volunteer as a team-building exercise.
Chances are, your nonprofit has an organization in your area that mandates volunteering. Volunteers for these organizations can make great additions to your program—we’ll explore the benefits in-depth in a later section.
How does mandatory volunteering work?
Before you add mandatory volunteering outreach into your nonprofit’s recruitment strategy, you should understand how it works. While each organization is different, most mandatory volunteering programs function like this:
The organization providing volunteers defines the objectives, rules, and structure of its mandatory volunteering program to complement its overall goals. Program guidelines might include the number of required volunteer hours or the type of volunteering the participant must complete.
Often, the organization providing volunteers reaches out to a nonprofit and establishes a partnership. While a partnership isn’t required, it ensures that the nonprofit has a steady stream of volunteers while guaranteeing placements for those who are required to volunteer.
The nonprofit provides custom onboarding and training for mandated volunteers based on their skill set, experience, and motivation for volunteering.
Once the volunteers have hit their required hours, the nonprofit thanks them for their work and gives them an exit survey to see how it can improve their program.
As you can see, mandatory volunteer programs benefit from open communication and mutual understanding between nonprofits and the organizations that mandate volunteering.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of mandatory volunteering for nonprofits?
Recruiting mandated volunteers isn’t the best solution for every nonprofit. Before deciding to add it to your outreach strategy, take these pros and cons into account:
Pros:
Expanded volunteer base. Mandated volunteers can improve your recruitment efforts and fill out your work schedule.
Consistent availability. Mandated volunteers will make a greater effort to schedule and attend volunteer shifts so they can hit their hourly quota.
Enhanced donation potential. Showing the importance of your mission through mandatory volunteering can inspire them to donate to your cause.
Improved community engagement. Forming partnerships with volunteer providers can help you make connections with other organizations in your community.
Potential for a long-term commitment. By being exposed to your nonprofit and mission, mandated volunteers might genuinely appreciate your staff, beneficiaries, and other aspects of your nonprofit and become long-term supporters even after they’ve hit their hours.
Cons:
Lack of connection to your cause. Since mandated volunteers come to your nonprofit to fulfill a requirement, they might not have a strong affiliation with your cause, which can lead to burnout.
Capacity challenges. Depending on the size of your mandated volunteer base, you might have to turn people away to avoid overwhelming your team or depleting your resources.
Mismatch of skills and needs. Since your mandated volunteers might have specific hour requirements and limited choices in their placements, it’s possible that their skills won’t be a good match for your nonprofit’s needs.
Various reasons for participating. Some of your volunteers might feel more or less enthusiastic about volunteering with you depending on their reasons for being there, which can impact their productivity and your overall performance.
High turnover rate. Since many mandated volunteers are motivated by their hourly benchmark, they’re more likely to move on after they’re done working with your organization.
How can you gauge if recruiting mandated volunteers is right for your nonprofit?
Adding mandatory volunteering to your recruitment strategy can be a big decision. Use this decision tree to evaluate whether your nonprofit would benefit from recruiting mandated volunteers. Any “no” answers mean it might not be right for your nonprofit currently and any “yes” answers mean you should proceed to the next decision.
Do you have a consistent need for volunteers?
Can you accept the costs of training mandatory volunteers knowing that they may not stay engaged long-term?
Can you provide meaningful and varied volunteer opportunities?
Do you have the capacity to manage and train a large number of volunteers?
Are there businesses, educational institutions, or social services organizations nearby to partner with?
Can you ensure a positive experience for volunteers?
Can your nonprofit accept the increased liability of working with mandated volunteers, including those fulfilling volunteer hours as part of court-ordered community service?
Please note that this is only a baseline decision tree. Each nonprofit is unique, so you should incorporate your own needs, goals, and preferences into account and adjust accordingly. Also, work with your legal team to review any potential legal issues or risks.
How to Turn Mandatory Volunteers into Lifelong [or Long-Term] Supporters
Accepting mandated volunteers into your program provides new opportunities to convert casual audience members into passionate donors and volunteers. You can convert them, boost fundraising, and secure your long-term success with these tips.
1. Spread awareness of volunteer grants and other CSR programs.
Many companies that mandate or highly encourage volunteering also offer other corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, like volunteer grants and matching gifts. Mandated volunteers can amplify their positive impact by contributing volunteer grants to your nonprofit
Volunteer grants are a CSR program in which corporations promise monetary donations if an employee volunteers for a certain amount of hours with a nonprofit. Here’s how your nonprofit can promote and collect volunteer grants from mandated volunteers:
An individual volunteers extensively at your nonprofit
Your team identifies volunteer-grant-eligible participants with a CSR database like Double the Donation
Your nonprofit reaches out to them, promoting volunteer grants and providing instructions for researching their policy
The volunteer researches their company policy
If the volunteer has met the policy requirements, they submit volunteer grant forms
The company reviews the volunteer grant application
If the application is approved, the company donates funds to the nonprofit
Besides volunteer grants, you can also promote other CSR programs to boost support for your mission. For instance, you can spread awareness of matching gifts, a CSR program in which employees can get their charitable contributions matched by their employer if they meet the program’s criteria. Research the types of CSR programs that your mandatory volunteers might respond well to and spread the word at an upcoming shift.
2. Focus on making lasting connections.
While their reasons for supporting your nonprofit may differ, mandated volunteers should be treated the same as other volunteers, which means you should strive to forge a personal relationship with them. Furthermore, mandated volunteers who feel welcomed and valued are more likely to continue working with your nonprofit. Here are some ways you can make mandated volunteers feel like part of the team:
Get to know them personally. Simply learning all of your new volunteers’ names when they show up for their first shift demonstrates that you put effort into getting to know them as people. You can take it a step further by asking about your volunteers’ hobbies, experiences, and other personal information on their intake form.
Offer social activities. Facilitate a welcoming community by allowing your volunteers to get to know each other outside of their shifts. For instance, you could organize a dinner at the end of a shift so mandated volunteers can make connections while bonding over great food.
Invite them to fundraisers and other events. Introduce volunteers to new aspects of your organization by inviting them to fundraisers and other events. This can help them feel more connected to their work and gives you the chance to strike up a conversation with them.
Provide progress updates. Show your volunteers the real impact of their work by updating them on your nonprofit’s progress. For example, you could let food bank volunteers know that a week’s worth of work yields an additional three hundred meals.
Genuinely showing that you care about your mandated volunteers as people is the most important component of motivating them to stick around after they’ve hit their quota. Take every opportunity to talk to them, compliment them on a job well done, and integrate them into your volunteer community.
3. Show your appreciation.
Your nonprofit relies on the help of your volunteers to execute your programs and give back to your beneficiaries at a high caliber. Showing your appreciation for their efforts isn’t just a nice thing to do—it also improves volunteer satisfaction and retention. Try these strategies for showing your gratitude to mandated volunteers:
Create custom awards. Whether they’re performance-based or superlative, invite your volunteers to an awards ceremony where you recognize them for their accomplishments. Just make sure you get permission from each attendee to be recognized publicly.
Take extra steps to improve your program. Go above and beyond to make your program stellar so mandated volunteers will want to stay. Ask them for feedback once they’ve completed a few shifts with your nonprofit and keep them updated on which items you plan to implement. For instance, you might start offering snacks for shifts that occur around a meal or adjusting your shift times so more people can attend.
Offer volunteer development days. Skill development is a valuable perk that you can provide to show your thanks for their hard work and help them advance to a higher role within your program. For example, a food bank might offer training in floor management and more hours to high-performing individuals, giving them skills that they can add to their resumes.
Send personalized thank-you messages. No matter how long they work with your nonprofit, you should thank each volunteer for their time. A handwritten note adds a unique personal touch that can feel more authentic than an email, so try to send those when you can. If you can only send emails, make sure each one is addressed to the recipient by name and mentions the specific project they worked on.
Involve beneficiaries. Getting a thank-you message from a beneficiary can be an unexpected, yet welcome surprise for your mandated volunteers. Ask beneficiaries if they’d like to be part of a thank-you email or video. Your volunteers will feel more emotionally connected to your nonprofit when you match a face to the cause.
Thanking volunteers is a simple gesture that makes their work feel valued by your team and beneficiaries. Also, remember that not everything has to be a planned gesture—simply thanking volunteers verbally at the end of a shift can go a long way.
Wrapping Up + Additional Resources
Now that you know the details of mandatory volunteering, it’s time for your nonprofit to decide if adding it to your volunteer offerings is worthwhile. Once you’ve reviewed the pros and cons and conducted a needs assessment, evaluate your current community connections to gauge if you could easily forge any partnerships.
If you decide to integrate mandatory volunteers into your nonprofit’s ecosystem, personalize your stewardship approach and focus on providing a rewarding experience.
Looking for more information about how to incorporate corporate volunteerism into your nonprofit’s volunteer strategy? Start with these additional resources:
Tons of companies (from Fortune 500 enterprises to the local law firm down the street) offer generous employee gift-matching programs. When such a program is available, the business essentially agrees to match donations made by its staff to a wide range of charitable causes. These opportunities are great—and relatively well-known in the nonprofit space. However, there’s another type of corporate matching program that’s less widely understood, and that is one-off matching gift programs.
One-off (or custom) matching gift programs generally involve specific partnerships between one corporation and one nonprofit organization. And the results can be grand!
If you’re interested in making the most of corporate matching opportunities for your mission, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know as you begin crafting a plan to source and leverage one-off matching initiatives. This includes:
Ready to dive in? One-off matching gifts have the potential to bring your organization’s corporate fundraising to the next level. You just need a plan that outlines how your team can do so. And for that, let’s start with the basics.
The basics of one-off matching gift programs
One-off matching gift programs are those that are unique to a single organization. In this case, it’s yours! In the matching gift sector, you may hear this type of partnership described in a few ways—including custom, one-off, exclusive, or even unique matching gift programs.
Regardless of the term used, the bottom line is the same: a company works with an organization to facilitate a matching gift program with narrower criteria than a standard match program would have.
Specifically, donations to your nonprofit are the only ones being matched.
You might wonder why a company would offer this particular type of donation-matching initiative.
Picture this: let’s say you run an organization dedicated to breast cancer research and treatment services. Now, imagine a corporate CEO has a soft spot for missions like yours. They come to your nonprofit team with a proposal: They’d like to match employee donations to your organization throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
While the company may not typically have the bandwidth to match all team member donations, a one-off matching gift program can serve as an excellent jumping-off point for corporate philanthropy. Alternatively, a business might offer a traditional matching gift initiative with a 1:1 ratio year-round. During particular times (or to particular causes), however, the employer might elevate its program by offering a temporary 2, 3, or even 4:1 match through a one-off program.
Check out the clip below to get a two-minute overview of one-off matching gifts.
Interested in a more in-depth examination of the programs? Register to get the webinar replay here!
Double the Donation’s one-off match program functionality [with auto-submission]
If you’ve made an effort to elevate corporate fundraising at your organization, you’ve likely invested in a matching gift automation software like Double the Donation. This tool makes it quick and easy for you and your donors to locate information regarding thousands of matching gift companies.
If a company doesn’t offer a widely available matching gift program, though, they likely won’t show up in a search of the database tool. And that confusion can cause a disruption in the number of matching gift requests actually submitted—and secured—for your cause.
When you’ve organized a one-off matching gift program with a corporate partner, you want your donors to seamlessly locate the information they need to initiate the match process.
Luckily, Double the Donation has the solution: we’re offering built-in functionality for managing unique matching gift programs in 360MatchPro. That means you can add matching gift programs specific to your cause to your matching gift search tool—without it populating in other organizations’ databases as well. This way, donors can access the policy and forms they need to complete their matching gift requests on your nonprofit’s behalf.
While this functionality has previously been available exclusively for 360MatchPro Enterprise clients, we’re excited to announce that all 360MatchPro Standard accounts now have access to our unique program management tools!
*As a note, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives—360MatchPro does not work directly with corporations. If you’re a company interested in creating a matching gift program, contact us, and we’ll share information about our corporate vendor partners.
Adding a One-Off Program in 360MatchPro
Already have a corporate partner offering a one-off matching gift program for your organization? To add your unique campaign to your nonprofit’s matching gift database, log into your 360MatchPro portal and fill out a brief form regarding the offered program. (This can be located under the settings tab → Manage Programs.)
To save the program in your database, you’ll be asked for a few key details regarding the agreed-upon guidelines and parameters. This includes:
Company name
Point of contact information (e.g., the workplace giving coordinator or HR department), email address, and phone number
Types of eligible employees (full-time, part-time, retired team members, and/or spouses)
Minimum and maximum donations matched
Matching gift ratio
Submission form URL or PDF upload (and an overview of the request process)
Program start and end dates
From there, the custom matching gift initiative will begin populating within eligible donors’ queries! All they need to do is begin typing their employer’s name in your organization’s search tool and select the company from the populating options. Once they’re redirected to your confirmation screen (or afterward in an email), donors should find the easy-to-access program details and instructions as usual.
Enabling Auto-Submission for Your One-Off Program
In the same form, your team will also be asked whether you’d like to enable optional auto-submission functionality for the one-off matching gift program. This essentially enables Double the Donation to pre-fill a request form on the donor’s behalf, thus streamlining their experience and enhancing participation and engagement rates.
In order to see the best results from auto-submission forms, be sure to also fill out your comprehensive Organization Profile within 360MatchPro. (This can be located under the settings tab → Organization Profile.)
This resource should include vital and up-to-date information about your nonprofit that will ultimately be used for your matching gift company to review and approve requests. When qualifying donors initiate the auto-submission process from your giving page, Double the Donation has the necessary details to complete the request behind the scenes, thus automating and streamlining donors’ efforts.
The details in your nonprofit’s profile should include:
Your organization’s name
Phone number
Tax ID number (EIN)
Website URL
Full mailing address
Form W-9
501(c)(3) IRS affirmation letter
In the end, proactively sharing this information increases the likelihood that matches are completed without a hitch. As a result, you can expect more matching gift funds flowing into your cause in a timely manner.
(Hint: Your Organization Profile helps streamline auto-submission for other companies’ general matching gift programs as well!)
Locating a one-off corporate matching gift partner
One-off or unique matching gift programs are, by definition, developed on an ad hoc basis. Luckily, that opens up a world of possibilities—because just about any company could offer such an initiative.
As you begin seeking the right partner for your one-off matching gift program, we recommend taking a similar approach to the pursuit of a traditional corporate sponsorship. Following these steps can help organize your efforts and make the most of every avenue of support available to you!
Identifying companies your donors work for that don’t have existing matching gift programs.
Reach out to non-participating employers and share that you have a lot in common with them and their key stakeholders (your donors and their employees) already. Then, let your point of contact know you’d like to launch a one-off donation-matching initiative. Point out that it can be a great way to get into matching gifts for the first time, and be sure to share that your organization has helpful tools and resources for streamlining the facilitation of such a program.
Top tip: If your team uses 360MatchPro, the “Leading Companies” feature allows you to isolate the employers most often searched by donors in your database tool. It even flags top companies according to whether they have an existing match program or not!
Encouraging donors to advocate for a one-off matching program on your behalf.
Your donors can be some of your greatest assets. If they work for companies without existing programs, see if your supporters would be willing to pitch the idea to their employer on your behalf. When you provide a handy template supporters can use to propose a program (such as one included below), they’ll be increasingly likely to take such steps. And a company is going to be more open to considering the opportunity when the proposal is coming from a member of their own team.
Top tip: We recommend implementing 360MatchPro’s custom redirect functionality to inform ineligible donors about the ways they can get involved regardless. When a donor is marked as likely ineligible for a matching gift, send them to a page on your website that shares a myriad of opportunities for increased support: including championing a one-off matching gift program to their employer!
Suggesting unique opportunities for amplifying existing matching gift programs.
One-off matching gift programs are sometimes built off of companies’ existing match initiatives, too! That means you might not be starting from ground zero when it comes to communicating the matching gift opportunity and how a company can get involved.
Instead, there may be a business that contributes a number of matching gifts to your organization already. But in the company’s giving, you see an opportunity for growth or additional, untapped potential. In this case, you might consider proposing the idea of an “above and beyond” matching gift opportunity to set your prospective one-off program apart.
Here are a few examples of ways a company can scale up its matching gift program for your organization:
Increased matching gift ratios (e.g., a company usually matches gifts at a 1:1 ratio but raises the rate to 2:1 for a cancer research organization during Breast Cancer Awareness Month)
Decreased donation minimums (for example, let’s say a company generally requires donations of least $50 to qualify for a matching gift. During Pride month, it removes the minimum gift size for an LGBTQ+ nonprofit as a way to incentivize employee giving to the cause)
Increased donation maximums (a company typically instills a $500 cap on matching gifts per employee but raises the maximum threshold to $5,000 for a local food bank during Matching Gift Month)
Fundraising matches (a company generally matches gifts that employees donate personally but opts to match all gifts collected for a peer-to-peer fundraiser on behalf of a particular mission organization)
Top tip: One-off matching gift programs can offer an excellent opportunity to highlight giving days, awareness and affinity months, and more. Consider which celebrations best align with your nonprofit and its mission, then begin seeking corporate matching gift partners to amplify such efforts.
Creating a “one-off matching gift” interest page on your website.
Your nonprofit’s website is one of its most valuable assets. And, just like you can leverage this resource to share general matching gift program information, you can also use it to drum up interest for one-off matching gifts. The key difference, however, is that you’ll be targeting prospective companies rather than individual donors!
As you build a one-off matching gifts page on your site, we recommend the following best practices for success:
Make it easy to locate. You won’t reap many benefits from a web page that’s nearly impossible to find!
Review your mission. Don’t assume any prospective partners are already familiar with your organization. Provide a brief summary of your vision and your team’s work toward it. Pictures help, too!
Define the “one-off match” opportunity. Make sure to clearly define a one-off matching gift program and clarify how it differs from a standard matching gift.
Focus on the benefits. Companies want to know what advantages are being offered in any potential partnership. State the ways a one-off matching gift program will aid the employer in reaching its goals. The more specific you can be, the better!
Embed a contact form. It should be quick and easy for corporate donors to enter the information you’ll need to be in touch. When initiating contact is as simple as filling out an online form, more companies will be willing to do so!
Top tip: Be sure to follow up regarding companies’ one-off matching gift partnership interest in a timely manner. Though there’s no universally agreed-upon timetable, reaching out within one business day of the form being submitted tends to be an accepted practice. Plus, following up quickly allows your team to make the most of a corporate contact’s heightened engagement level before it dwindles.
Making the pitch and communicating one-off matching gift partnership value.
At this point, you should have narrowed down potential partnerships and produced a short list of prospects that may be willing to offer a one-off match. Now, it’s time to make your pitch. And don’t forget to mention the vast benefits to participating companies as well! These include heightened employee engagement, improved corporate social responsibility (CSR), tax benefits, and more.
If you have metrics available from previous one-off matching gift partners, this information can help demonstrate tangible value through prior successful engagements. For example, you might inform your corporate contact that a previous one-off match program led to a 40% increase in corporate giving or a 65% employee satisfaction rating.
Top tip: Throughout your search, keep an eye out for companies with similar missions and visions as your own. This will help ensure your values align with one another and can maintain a mutually beneficial partnership in the long term. Not to mention, their employees may be increasingly likely to support your cause.
Establishing one-off matching gift program guidelines in conjunction with your corporate partner.
Once you’ve identified a corporate partner, you’ll need to determine specific program guidelines to define the opportunity. Like traditional matching gifts, these criteria are ultimately determined by the company offering the program. However, your organization may play a role in advising the creation of a matching gift policy. You’ll also need to ensure that the new program’s guidelines do not conflict with any of your pre-existing gift acceptance policies.
Policies for special matching gift programs typically include:
Minimum and maximum donation amounts;
Matching gift ratios;
Types of qualifying employees (i.e., full-time, part-time, retired);
Submission deadlines;
Forms and request processes;
And any other relevant information!
In this regard, the only difference between a one-off and a standard match program is the types of nonprofits eligible for funding. And that question is easy—the receiving organization is yours!
Still, it’s a good idea to discuss associated criteria with your matching gift partner before rolling out your program. This enables your team to better communicate eligibility standards and ensure match requests have the information required for approval. Plus, your organization can provide access to helpful resources that simplify the experience for you and your partners.
Top tip: If you’ve invested in Double the Donation’s matching gift platform, enabling the one-off matching gift management feature allows a company (and its employees) to benefit from a streamlined submission process.
Made possible with the standard matching gift form, this request method is quick and easy for donors to complete, minimizing additional steps and reducing roadblocks in participation. The result? More matches!
Key benefits of one-off matching gift programs for nonprofits
Though narrower in scope, one-off matching gift programs offer many of the same benefits that traditional matching gift programs do. Plus, this unique offering can unleash a number of exclusive advantages just for your cause.
These include:
Building deeper connections with charitable-minded corporations.
Whereas a typical matching gift program may lead to a company contributing to hundreds or thousands of nonprofits, a one-off matching gift program is just between you and your corporate partner. Therefore, it provides enhanced opportunities for strengthening your relationship. You might even be able to turn it into a recurring program!
Widening your fundraising reach to encompass new supporters.
When promoted effectively, one-off matching gift programs have the potential to direct first-time donors to your organization. A company’s employees may otherwise never have been made aware of your cause. But when their employer highlights the giving opportunity, your nonprofit is at the forefront of their minds. You might even uncover some new, long-term supporters this way!
Elevating donor engagement with unique match opportunities.
Perhaps your one-off matching partner employs individuals who are already involved with your cause. You have the chance to further their engagement through the program, too! In fact, studies show that simply mentioning matching gifts in donation appeals results in more than a 71% increase in response rate and a 51% increase in average gift amount.
Best practices | Top tips for successful one-off matching programs
Want to take your organization’s unique matching gift program to the next level? Consider these smart tips and tricks to better engage your donors and your corporate partners.
1. Encourage your corporate partner to promote the program to employees.
A matching gift program is only as good as the employees who know about it. Uninformed team members, after all, are not going to take the steps required to initiate a matching gift if they’ve never been informed of the opportunity. Thus, they’re not sending additional corporate revenue your way.
One of the best things a company can do to drive corporate giving participation—and, as a result, get the most out of its program offerings—is to make its employees aware of the opportunity in the first place. From the nonprofit’s end, it’s a good idea to encourage proactive employee outreach in order to aid your partner in doing so.
And when the employer incorporates the program in its public-facing marketing efforts, the philanthropic efforts also go a long way in building the company’s reputation as a charitable and socially responsible institution. Your team can even help drive promotions by sending co-branded graphics, social sharing templates, sample communications, and more!
2. Market the opportunity to your audience.
Just like you expect your matching gift partner to promote your one-off program to their employees, you’ll want to market the opportunity to your nonprofit’s audience as well. Marketing efforts from your organization might include:
A social media post highlighting the program and recognizing your matching gift company for their generosity;
A blog post on your organization’s website sharing program information and how to get involved, if applicable;
Personalized outreach (phone calls, emails, letters, etc.) to existing and prospective donors who work for the company hosting the one-off match program;
Your matching gift search tool—loaded with your one-off matching gift program—embedded in your donation forms and confirmation screen;
Post-donation email reminders that encourage the company’s employees to complete the matching gift request process if they haven’t already.
The more information that gets out regarding the one-off matching gift opportunity, the better!
Remember also that by sharing co-marketing materials with your own network of support, you can help provide additional benefits to the matching gift company. When the employer recognizes significant value from the partnership, they’ll be more likely to offer corporate and workplace giving initiatives alongside your organization in the future.
3. Enable auto-submission functionality to streamline participation.
You want your donors to be able to take part in your matching program as easily as possible. One of the best ways to simplify participation is to implement Double the Donation’s auto-submission functionality—essentially removing obstacles within the submission process and driving more requests to completion.
Why does this matter? Unfortunately, custom matching gift programs can suffer from many of the same roadblocks that traditional programs face. And one of the most common hindrances is a lack of understanding surrounding the matching gift request process from the donor’s perspective.
With auto-submission enabled, however, eligible donors can complete their match submissions right from your donation forms with no redirects, separate logins, or paper forms required! All donors typically have to do is enter their corporate email address on your gift confirmation page. Then, voilà—Double the Donation handles the rest of the submission process using our standard request form behind the scenes.
Here’s what the request process can look like with auto-submission:
Step 1) An employee of your corporate matching company makes a donation on your organization’s website and enters the company name.
Step 2) The donor enters their email on the confirmation screen, authorizing Double the Donation to auto-submit their match request.
By incorporating this innovative functionality for your unique matching gift program, everybody benefits. This includes:
Your organization, which receives increased matching gift revenue and elevated donor engagement.
Your donors, who save time with one-click matching gift requests, enabling them to make the most of their nonprofit contributions without dedicating more time and resources.
Your corporate match partner, who sees maximal program usage, more satisfied employees, and a positive brand image.
And don’t forget about your mission beneficiaries, who receive more extensive and better-funded programs and services from your organization, too!
4. Pitch an annually recurring one-off or custom match program.
Most one-off matching gift programs are going to be organized as short-term campaign initiatives (for example, a company supporting a breast cancer research nonprofit during the month of October or an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in June). However, that doesn’t mean that the partnership has to be a one-and-done experience!
Instead, pitching your one-off match as an annually recurring event is a great way to grow your relationship with a corporate donor and its employees for the long term. You can even position the initial campaign as a “trial run,” allowing both your organization and the company to fine-tune the program and ensure it aligns well with your shared goals and values over time.
Alternatively, your one-off matching gift efforts might inspire the corporate partner to dive in fully with matching gifts—rolling out an evergreen program in conjunction with a dedicated CSR platform to simplify ongoing management. Either way, your organization is able to benefit from the company’s philanthropy on an ongoing basis!
Helpful templates to streamline corporate outreach
Effective communications—with individual and corporate donors alike—are integral to successful one-off matching gift partnerships. But knowing how to ask a company to match donations can seem nerve-wracking!
If you’re not sure how to get started, check out these sample messages for various scenarios, and adjust the provided templates to reflect your own outreach strategy.
Template #1: Pitching One-Off Matching Gifts to a Company Without an Existing Matching Gift Program
One-off matching gifts are an easy way for companies to explore donation-matching for the first time. Use this template to propose such a program to a company that does not currently offer a matching gift program for its employees.
Subject: Will you support [nonprofit] with a one-off matching gift program?
Dear [HR or CSR department head],
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing on behalf of [nonprofit], an organization deeply committed to [mission or cause]. In the past year, we’ve been fortunate to receive support from donors who share our passion for creating positive change—and many of these generous individuals are employed by [company].
As a result, we wanted to reach out and see if [company] would be interested in implementing a one-off matching gift program as a way to encourage employee giving and grow your own social responsibility efforts. This special initiative allows your company to make a meaningful difference in the community by matching your employees’ donations to [nonprofit] during a designated campaign.
I would love the opportunity to discuss this further and explore how we can tailor a one-off matching gift program to align seamlessly with [company]’s values and objectives.
Template #2: Pitching One-Off Matching Gifts to a Company With an Existing Matching Gift Program
You can also implement a one-off matching gift program to elevate an existing matching gift company’s support for your organization. Use this template to pitch an above-and-beyond program to a company that already matches gifts but has room for improvement in its efforts.
Subject: Make [company]’s matching gifts to [nonprofit] go further with a one-off matching gift partnership!
Dear [HR or CSR department head],
I am reaching out on behalf of [nonprofit], expressing our most sincere appreciation for [company]’s ongoing support through its employee matching gift program. Your commitment to philanthropy has undoubtedly made a positive difference for [mission or program], and our generous donors love having the ability to double their impact on the cause.
As we continue to work towards our shared goals, I would like to present an exciting opportunity to enhance the impact of [company]’s giving. We would love to introduce a special one-off matching gift program in partnership with your company. Specifically, we are proposing a designated campaign that offers [increased donation maximums, matching gift ratios, types of eligible employees, etc.] as a way to grow your corporate giving and bring our fundraising to new heights.
I would be delighted to discuss this proposal further and explore how we can tailor the upgraded one-off matching gift program to align seamlessly with [company]’s objectives and abilities.
Template #3: Responding to a Company’s One-Off Matching Gift Program Interest
Once you launch a custom matching gift program interest page on your nonprofit’s website, you’ll likely receive submissions from interested corporate prospects. This template can help guide your responses as you enter important partnership conversations.
Subject: Thank you for your interest in supporting [nonprofit] with a one-off match program!
Dear [company] Team OR [point of contact specified in contact form],
I hope this message finds you well. On behalf of [nonprofit], I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your inquiry to support our cause through a one-off matching gift program. As you may know, our mission at [nonprofit] is to [mission or vision] by [project or program], [project or program], and [project or program].
As we embark on this journey together, it’s important to first clarify what the partnership would entail for each of our teams. Simply put, a one-off matching gift program is an employee giving initiative that benefits a specific nonprofit organization—in this case, ours! Through this program, your company agrees to match donations made by your staff members to our organization, effectively doubling the impact of their contributions on our cause.
To help kickstart the process of setting up a matching gift program, here are some recommended next steps to get our partnership off the ground:
▶ Specify the types of employees that qualify to participate in the matching gift initiative.
▶ Define the minimum and maximum matchable gifts per employee.
▶ Establish your matching gift ratio.
▶ Determine the program’s start and end dates.
▶ Develop a clear submission process for employees to follow. (We recommend Double the Donation’s auto-submission process, which we can implement from our end)
We’re also pleased to provide you with templates and other helpful resources that may aid in the development and promotion of the program to your employees. Once again, thank you for considering this partnership, and please reach out if you have any additional questions or are ready to move forward with the next steps.
Template #4: Empowering a Donor to Facilitate an Introduction to their Employer
A warm introduction from a donor who works for a prospective corporate partner goes a long way. It can help get your team’s foot in the door for one-off matching gift conversations and demonstrate value in terms of shared audiences for the company in question.
Use this sample message to initiate outreach with a supporter and encourage them to connect your team with their HR or CSR department!
Subject: Double your donation impact by connecting us with [company]!
[Donor],
On behalf of the [nonprofit] team, we wanted to express our sincere gratitude for your continuous support and the invaluable contributions you’ve made towards [mission or cause]. Recently, an avenue that has shown great potential is one-off matching gift programs, designed to amplify the impact of charitable donations by employees of forward-thinking companies.
We believe that your employer, [company], could play a pivotal role in strengthening our impact through such a one-off matching gift partnership. In order to aid us in our outreach, we kindly request your assistance in making a warm introduction to the appropriate contacts at the business. Your endorsement and personal connection would undoubtedly add weight to our proposal and highlight the positive social impact that can be achieved through corporate philanthropy.
We understand that your time is valuable, and any support you can provide in facilitating this introduction would be immensely appreciated. If you have any questions or if there’s additional information you may need, please feel free to reach out.
Template #5: Advocating for a One-Off Matching Gift Program [For Donors]
Your donors may be willing to champion your cause even further by pitching a matching gift program to their employers themselves. But your team can play a crucial role in encouraging such advocates in their endeavors! Share this helpful template to empower individual donors to advocate for matching gifts on your behalf.
Subject: Request for a corporate matching gift program
Hi [manager or HR representative name],
I am writing to request the addition of a “one-off” corporate matching gift program at [company] on behalf of [nonprofit].
If you weren’t aware, thousands of companies match employee donations as a way to support their staff and the nonprofit causes they contribute to. However, I understand the limitations in budget and resources that could hinder a company from participating. That’s why, in this case, I am requesting that [company] implement a specific program in which it matches donations to [nonprofit] for a limited time.
Companies that match gifts tend to see substantial advantages in terms of employee engagement and retention, opportunities to attract competitive candidates, improved brand image, and even increased sales. And on the employee’s end, team members love knowing that their employer is willing to contribute to their favorite causes.
If you’d like to take steps to establish a matching gift program for the company, Double the Donation has provided a detailed guide that walks corporate leaders through the process.
Thank you for your consideration,
[Your name]
[Job position]
[Contact information]
Looking for more templates and other resources? 360MatchPro users can locate additional materials under Settings → Manage Programs.
Not a 360MatchPro client yet? Click here to get a demo and see how our complete matching gift automation platform can
transform your fundraising efforts.
Bonus | “The Power of a One-Off Match” Case Study: LLS & Danaher
If you’re wondering what kind of impact a one-off matching gift program can have for your organization, check out this example of a successful partnership that resulted in a unique initiative engaging employee donors at new heights.
As you read, consider which elements of this strategy you can implement in your own team’s efforts.
“Danaher Corporation’s long-standing partnership with LLS enables the team to support active research projects and help patients afford treatments.”
—Danaher Corporation Annual Report
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (also known as LLS) is a key player in the fight against blood cancers, dedicating its mission to medical research, education, advocacy, and more. As one of the world’s largest peer-to-peer fundraising organizations, the LLS team has always been at the forefront of innovation to further its cause—including with a particularly well-established approach to corporate matching gifts. Ergo, LLS was also one of the first nonprofits to build a strategy targeting custom matching gift programs.
Armed with 360MatchPro’s automation tools since 2017, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has continued to develop its one-off matching gifts plan, providing corporate partners with customized resources to aid in program facilitation.
Meanwhile, Danaher Corporation, which comprises some of the world’s most groundbreaking science and technology companies, expresses a forward-looking mission of “making things better for our customers, our company, and the world.” Its focus on diagnostics, life sciences, and biotechnology—in addition to its desire to support organizations working to advance healthcare innovation—makes its decades-long partnership with LLS a natural fit.
According to a 2023 sustainability report, commitment to continuous improvement is at the heart of everything Danaher Corporation does. That’s why, in 2022 alone, the company invested more than $1.7 billion into research that funded breakthrough cancer diagnostics, innovative bioprocessing, gene sequencing, and more.
When the Danaher Corporation team sought new and innovative ways to give back to its community and increasingly engage its workforce in philanthropy, the company settled on a one-off matching gift initiative. After establishing the program, Danaher employees were invited to support LLS through an upcoming fundraising event, Light the Night. With an employee count of over 70,000, the company got on board to give back to their communities in a substantial way.
The result? In offering a one-off matching gift program in partnership with LLS, Danaher Corporation was able to increase its total giving by more than 150%, surpassing its initial fundraising goal and elevating its impact greatly.
And in the end, the company continued to grow its matching gift initiatives! Facilitated through the company-sponsored Danaher Foundation, the team continues to demonstrate a holistic and ongoing approach to corporate giving. In addition to taking its matching gift program global, Danaher also reports plans to venture into skills-based volunteerism, nonprofit board service support, and Volunteer Time Off (VTO).
Sourcing a one-off matching gift program may be one of the best ways to set your organization apart. In addition to the matching gifts ultimately paid out through the program, a one-off match will enable you to grow mutually advantageous corporate relationships that last long beyond the matching gift period itself.
And you don’t want to overlook the benefits to individual supporter engagement, either. An employer-sponsored one-off match program empowers existing donors to stretch their support even further for your cause. Not to mention, it funnels new, first-time donors to your cause in the first place!
Luckily, with the right tips, tricks, and tools, getting started has never been easier.
Interested in learning more about matching gift programs and best practices for elevating corporate fundraising at your organization? Check out our recommended resources:
How to Identify Corporate Partners
Matching gifts aren’t the only type of corporate giving program available! Find out how to identify top corporate sponsorships and potential one-off matching gift companies with this guide.
New auto-submission streamlines the matching gift process for one-off and general corporate programming. Dive deep into this innovative functionality and the providers that support it.
Thousands of companies match employee donations, but these programs stand out. Browse this list of particularly impactful matching gift companies from Double the Donation.
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/What-to-Know-About-One-Off-Matching-Gift-Programs.png7201920Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2024-01-19 05:00:532024-05-08 16:04:25One-Off Matching Gift Programs | What to Know For Your Org
CSR (or corporate social responsibility) platforms are the software companies use to manage their end of the matching gift process. When an employee wants to request a match from their employer, they are often directed to an online portal from a corporate giving platform, where they are encouraged to provide information about their charitable gift and request a corporate match.
The giving platform screens employee donations to ensure gifts meet the company’s specified matching criteria then approves the donation match and disburses the funds to the receiving organization.
Some of the largest CSR software providers include Benevity, YourCause, and CyberGrants, and these three manage a portion of the top matching gift companies. However, many other effective platforms exist as well, often working with small and medium-sized businesses—and you don’t want to neglect those providers, either. For this, consider names such as Millie, POINT, Selflessly, Givinga, America’s Charities, and Bright Funds.
In order to maximize matching gift revenue, each nonprofit should register its organization with as many CSR software platforms as possible.
And we’re here to help! In this resource, we’ll cover:
Ready to learn more about setting your organization up for continued corporate giving success? Let’s dive in with the key reasons why this is a priority.
3 Reasons to Register Your Nonprofit with CSR Platforms
There is a multitude of benefits as to why this is a corporate fundraising best practice, and our team dives into three of the most significant reasons in this guide. These include:
1. Increased Visibility as a Verified Cause
Picture this: a company just announced its new corporate giving initiatives, including matching gift and volunteer grant programs. One employee within the company is so excited to participate and make a positive difference on a worthwhile cause but doesn’t have a specific charity in mind.
The employee decides to leverage the provided CSR portal their company is partnering with to locate an organization to support. They conduct a quick search of the associated nonprofits, filtering by a favorite type of mission or location. For example, let’s say they search for the terms “animal shelter” and “Atlanta.” And your pet rescue shows up! The employee is drawn to your organization, decides to make a matchable donation to the rescue, and even reaches out to explore available volunteer roles.
If you hadn’t previously registered with the platform the employee’s company utilizes, your cause likely would not have shown up during the prospective donor’s search. And you might have missed out on powerful opportunities to reach new donors and volunteers!
But because you had previously taken a few minutes to register your organization with the corporate giving management company, you were able to increase visibility for your cause. And since you had already gone through the verification process, individuals being exposed to your nonprofit can trust in the legitimacy of your organization.
2. Higher Likelihood of Matching Gift Eligibility
When your donors participate in their employers’ matching gift programs, they’ll need to follow instructions provided by the employing company on how to submit their matching gift request. This often means completing and processing the request through a dedicated matching gift software portal. And while each company chooses its own criteria regarding matching gift-eligible nonprofits, some dictate that in order to be eligible for a match, the organization must be registered with their CSR management platform of choice.
In other words, when your nonprofit is registered with a CSR software platform, you’ll be eligible to receive matches from more companies. As a result, a higher percentage of your donors’ generous contributions will qualify to receive a matching donation on your behalf.
More companies equal more eligible donors equal more matching gift revenue overall.
And when your organization registers with as many giving management platforms as possible, your likely match-eligibility will only continue to grow!
3. Simplified Donor Request Processes
According to matching gift research, only 1.31% of donations are matched at an average nonprofit organization—despite more than 26 million individuals working for companies with matching gift programs. Two of the biggest obstacles to participation include a lack of awareness of these programs, along with the assumption of a complicated match request process.
Donors love participating in matching gift programs, but not even the most dedicated supporters are likely to jump through a thousand hoops to secure a match on your behalf. The more steps involved and the longer it takes to complete the process, the higher the chance is that donors will abandon their potential match altogether.
For this reason and more, it’s always a good idea to simplify and streamline the matching gift process for your donors whenever possible. And preregistering your organization with the CSR platforms used to manage their employers’ giving programs is one of the best ways to do so.
This way, donors can simply search your organization in the platform’s nonprofit database and provide information about the donation they made. On the other hand, if they don’t find your cause in the organization lookup tool, the submission process can be significantly delayed, and some donors might not come back to complete their request.
Even once the donor submitted the match request, not being registered with the CSR platform can cause additional delays in the match disbursement process, meaning it will be even longer before you receive your funding.
The simple solution? Register your organization with these CSR software platforms now!
P.S. If you’re looking to register your organization with the most intuitive and innovative platforms, specifically those that prioritize a seamless user experience, we recommend getting started with CLMA-certified tools. Select CSR vendors like Givinga, Millie, POINT, and Selflessly have been awarded for their devotion to seamless giving and matching, ensuring organizations’ corporate engagement efforts are effective and impactful.
CSR Platform Registration: Our Checklist of Key Steps To Get Started
By now, you should understand the critical importance of registering your organization with the top CSR platforms. But the next big question concerns how you do so—and how you can ensure you make the most of each platform you use.
We recommend following each of these essential steps to create and optimize your registration with top CSR portals:
1. Locate the application for each CSR platform.
Most CSR software providers aim to make this step as simple as possible for the nonprofits looking to verify their causes. For example, a quick online search for “registering a nonprofit with [CSR vendor name—e.g., Benevity, YourCause, CyberGrants, etc.]” should pull up relevant web pages pertaining to the platform in question.
You can also locate the links to common nonprofit portal registrations below:
Depending on the company, this will likely include an online application, step-by-step instructions, or a combination of both. If you have a hard time locating the process for a particular platform, click around their website or consider reaching out to the team to find out more.
2. Provide requested information about your nonprofit.
To register for any platform, you’ll need to provide details about your organization and its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This may include your address, EIN, and/or copy of your Tax-Exempt Status Letter from the IRS.
Next, the CSR software company will review the included information to verify its accuracy. Upon approval, the company will provide your team with access to an online portal from which you will manage your nonprofit account.
3. Have a strategy for username and password management.
More than likely, you’ll have multiple team members managing accounts on multiple CSR platforms. Make sure you have a plan in place to grant easy access to anyone who should be utilizing the platforms on your behalf without compromising the security of your account.
For many organizations, this involves leveraging a secure password management and sharing system with intuitive access controls. Or, you may provision individual login access to individuals within the CSR platform itself. In this case, your organization will have a single account with multiple users (although not all providers have this functionality).
Alternatively, you might choose to establish a universal set of login credentials that you use across each portal you register for. Going this route can help avoid too many “forgot my username” and “reset my password” attempts. However, the practice also introduces a number of security risks that you might rather avoid, such as former employees retaining access to your nonprofit’s portal.
4. Establish a dedicated point of contact for matching gifts + volunteer grant management.
Matching gifts and volunteer grants are two nonprofit funding sources that are most likely to slip through the cracks. At smaller nonprofits, it can seem as if no one has the time or resources to devote to workplace giving opportunities, and at larger organizations, it often falls into a game of “I thought so-and-so was going to do that,” when so-and-so thought it was someone else’s responsibility altogether.
In order to avoid the resulting pitfalls, we recommend selecting a dedicated POC to be in charge of all things matching gifts and volunteer grants—including manually verifying donations and volunteer hours, managing the organization’s corporate giving portals (and understanding the nuances between platforms, as seen below), and more. And if your nonprofit is particularly large, you may even benefit from having a separate person responsible for volunteer grants than your same matching gift contact.
It’s critically important that your matching gift coordinator or team is thoroughly trained in all things matching gifts. But it’s a good idea to provide an overview of the basics for all team members, including paid staff and volunteers alike.
Portal-Specific Tips and Checklist Items for Top CSR Platforms
Each CSR platform is designed differently, which means each solution offers its own unique set of pain points for nonprofits looking to utilize the portal to manage their corporate fundraising.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of tips and best practices for nonprofit team members looking to get set up with each of the top three corporate giving vendors and overcome common roadblocks.
Designate a universal notification email for ALL correspondences (this should be something like matchinggifts@xyz.org rather than a personal email address).
Utilize Gift IDs and Access Codes when trying to locate an account.
Leverage the “Donation” tab in Project Front Door for a streamlined verification process.
Be prepared to manually verify donations with CyberGrants for matching gift requests in order for match funding to be approved.
Use the “Need Support?” link at the bottom of every company page for a more timely response.
Interested in even more CyberGrants management tips? Check out our more in-depth guide to the topic here.
YourCause Portal Management Tips
Register your organization with YourCause’s NPOconnect.
When checking for notifications, ensure you are under the Head Quarters account rather than a chapter or affiliate account.
Utilize the “MY WORKSPACE” tab, as all match requests and notifications will populate here.
Employ the “GIVING” and “ALL TRANSACTIONS” tabs to locate any gifts, grants, or donations.
Create your own “admin” account first, then add your organization account.
Don’t forget your EIN (or tax-exempt number. Hint: You can find this on the IRS website here).
Choose a few causes your organization supports and add a few sentences about your mission.
Use automatically generated reports on POINT to tell a story about your organization to potential donors and supporters.
Registering with CSR platforms is one of the best ways to ensure your organization receives as many matching gifts as possible while simultaneously streamlining the processes involved for your donors and your fundraising team. And this shouldn’t be an overly complicated task, either—so we suggest getting on it as soon as possible.
Interested in learning more about how to maximize your nonprofit’s matching gifts and corporate giving? Check out these other educational resources:
Top 30 Matching Gift Companies: Find Your Match. Tens of thousands of companies offer matching gift programs for their employees—but these 30 are some of the most generous and noteworthy. See what names to keep an eye out for!
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/DTD_Registering-Your-Org-with-CSR-Platforms-Key-Steps-For-Each_Feature.png7502000Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2024-01-07 19:30:012024-07-29 18:21:19Registering Your Org with CSR Platforms + Key Steps For Each
Picture two imaginary employees who are both employed by the same company.
Employee A is an enthusiastic, hard worker who loves driving results in their role. They make an effort to contribute in meetings, bring creative ideas to the table, encourage their coworkers, attend company events, and more.
Employee B is also a hard worker and typically performs at a high level, but they seem to have lost some of their enthusiasm for their role. Over time, they’ve become less invested in the company’s goals and stopped actively participating in its internal culture.
The difference between Employee A and Employee B is that Employee A is fully engaged at work. This means Employee A is finding personal fulfillment and happiness in their job and feels good about what their company does and how it contributes to its community.
(Note: This doesn’t mean that Employee B is a “bad” worker by any means, just that their work experience could be improved, leading to better results for both them and the company.)
So, if Employee B was your employee, how could you encourage them to be more engaged at work? Or, thinking more broadly, how can your company hone its approach to employee engagement?
Here’s your answer: By tapping into the right employee engagement ideas!
There are dozens of ways to promote employee engagement in your workplace, all of which can help you take your productivity, profitability, and retention efforts to the next level. It’s a lot to sort through, which is why we’ve created this guide to help you explore your options. Here’s what we’ll cover:
As you learn more about employee engagement and the many ideas and programs you can launch to improve it at your company, remember to take into consideration your company’s specific needs and culture. This way, you’ll implement the engagement initiatives that will most resonate with your current and future employees and drive real results for your organization. Let’s begin!
Employee Engagement: A Quick Overview
Before we get into the specifics of effective employee engagement ideas your company can try, let’s go over some fundamentals.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement refers to the commitment employees show to their work, their team, and their employer. In practice, employee engagement looks a little different at every organization, depending on your company culture and the unique personalities on your team. In general, you can expect that an engaged employee will be:
Passionate and enthusiastic about their day-to-day tasks and how they contribute to the organization’s overall success
Loyal to the company
Consistently taking on additional responsibilities and strengthening their skills
Productive and delivering high-quality work
Adept at communicating
Resilient in the face of changes and challenges
Note that when an employee is fully engaged in their work, they are not sacrificing their mental, emotional, or physical health or their personal lives for your company. Engaged employees take a healthy approach to work-life balance and set clear boundaries so they can give their best efforts while at work.
Why is employee engagement so important?
Employee engagement is important for companies to pay attention to, as it can affect all facets of your business operations, not just individual employees’ experiences working for your company. Specifically, high levels of employee engagement can help your company in the following areas:
Retention. When your team members are satisfied with their jobs and feel loyal to your organization, you’ll be able to retain them for longer periods of time, saving your company time and money. Plus, when you need to recruit new employees, you’ll be better prepared to welcome them into a positive and productive culture backed by strong engagement strategies.
Productivity. As your organization takes steps to proactively engage its team members, you’ll find that your employees will be more committed to your company’s goals, enthusiastic about their roles, and more focused on not just their day-to-day responsibilities but also how they can drive the most value for your company. As a result, engaged employees will be more likely to go above and beyond and do their best work, resulting in higher productivity levels, better deliverables, and more efficiency.
Profitability. When your company isn’t worried about hemorrhaging talent and everyone feels empowered to do their best work, you’ll see higher revenue and decreased expenses all around. Plus, you’ll have the time and talent available to pursue new initiatives and offerings.
Any organization that employs people has a responsibility to its employees (and even its stakeholders) to ensure that it’s providing the best employment experience possible, as boosted retention, productivity, and profitability are wins for everyone involved.
The Current State of Employee Engagement
In recent years, employee engagement has been trending downward, according to Gallup. Engagement levels were at 36% in 2020 but dipped to 34% in 2021 and then 32% in 2022. Gallup notes employees’ reports of the following engagement elements declined during this period:
Clarity of expectations
Connection to the mission/purpose of the company
Opportunities to learn and grow
Opportunities to do what employees do best
Feeling cared about at work
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, employee expectations have shifted. For instance, Forbes reports that employees now expect more trust, more flexibility, and more work-life balance. And if the Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022 is any indication, employees are willing to leave their current employers to have these expectations fulfilled at other organizations.
In order to see some positive trends in employee engagement numbers, employers everywhere have to be willing to be open-minded and communicative, and those efforts will include implementing winning employee engagement initiatives.
The Special Role of Corporate Philanthropy in Employee Engagement Initiatives
One of the best ways to effectively engage your employees is to involve them in your organization’s corporate philanthropy efforts. Because corporate philanthropy is how your organization gives back to its community and works to leave a positive impact on the world, it can benefit your employees by:
Giving them a heightened sense of purpose. Though your company’s goals and mission likely already inspire your employees, furthering a charitable cause will give them a stronger sense of purpose in their day-to-day duties. Plus, they’ll feel good about what your company is doing to make a positive difference for others, strengthening their relationship with your organization as an employer.
Connecting with their personal values. Many of your employees likely have an affinity for a charitable cause, whether it’s animal welfare or protecting the environment. By showing them your organization also cares about charitable causes and can empower them to give to causes they support, you’ll connect with their personal values and interests, further strengthening your relationship with them.
Empowering them to connect with others. Many companies facilitate volunteer opportunities for their employees as part of their corporate philanthropy and employee engagement work. Volunteering allows employees to get to know their coworkers in different ways as they work together and provides them the chance to meet other people who are connected to your nonprofit partners.
Giving them the chance to develop new skills. Similarly, volunteering can help your employees strengthen their existing skills or develop entirely new skill sets. For example, a graphic designer may find they have a knack for helping plan nonprofit events, or a customer service representative may find they enjoy tutoring young children in reading.
Improving their health and wellbeing. According to the Cleveland Clinic, charitable giving can lower your blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, boost self-esteem, combat depression, and even help increase your lifespan.
If you’re looking for a way to help your employees make a positive difference in the world while simultaneously increasing their job satisfaction, involving them in corporate philanthropy is the answer!
In the spirit of getting your employees involved in your philanthropic efforts, let’s kick off our exploration of employee engagement ideas by exploring some of our favorite philanthropy-centered initiatives!
1. Matching Gift Programs
71% of employees think it’s important to work for companies that give back through philanthropy, making corporate giving a pivotal engagement tactic. One of the easiest and most impactful ways to involve your employees in corporate philanthropy is to start a matching gift program.
Corporate matching gift programs are a type of philanthropy in which companies financially match donations their employees make to nonprofits. Many companies match at a 1:1 ratio (dollar for dollar), but these ratios range anywhere from .5:1 to 3:1. That means employees have the opportunity to increase the impact of their charitable donations!
Why are matching gift programs a great employee engagement idea?
Matching gift programs are essential for employee engagement because they communicate that your company cares about the same causes your employees do. These programs amplify the charitable contributions of employees, making them feel their donations have a greater impact, which enhances their connection to your company.
Enhance workplace culture by giving employees a stronger sense of purpose through philanthropic giving.
Demonstrate your company’s values to the public by aligning corporate objectives with employee interests.
Attract talented employees who prioritize social responsibility, further enriching your company’s culture.
While most matching gift companies organize unrestricted programs (where the employer matches donations to almost any nonprofit), a “one-off” match initiative is a great way to ease into this engagement opportunity. In this case, your company would select one nonprofit to which you’d match donations, thus rallying your staff around a particular cause!
Although matching gifts are common workplace giving programs, many employees don’t know their companies even offer a program. That’s why your company should take the initiative to promote these programs. Whether that’s through onboarding or regular communications, alerting employees that they can double their donations to their favorite charities can inspire participation.
*While Double the Donation’s tool, 360MatchPro, offers custom matching gift program management functionality, this feature is designed specifically for fundraisers looking to manage custom matching gift initiatives. 360MatchPro does not work directly with corporations. If you’re a company interested in creating a matching gift program, contact us, and we’ll share information about our corporate vendor partners.
2. Corporate Volunteerism
Just as matching gifts are one of the most common types of corporate philanthropy programs out there, another common corporate philanthropy initiative is corporate volunteerism.
Through corporate volunteerism, companies encourage their employees to volunteer their time with local nonprofits.
Companies incentivize volunteerism in a number of ways, one of which is through offering paid time off during the year to volunteer (also known as volunteer time off or VTO). This is an extra incentive for employees because they get to support a charitable cause while still getting paid.
Many companies also offer volunteer days, such as a day of service, to promote team-building and give back to the community. This opportunity encourages coworkers to get to know one another and work as a team to help an organization.
Corporate volunteerism also benefits nonprofits because of the skills corporate employees bring to the table—which are often skills and expertise that the nonprofits may not otherwise be able to afford. Plus, employees may pick up new skills from their time volunteering with a nonprofit!
Why is corporate volunteerism a great employee engagement idea?
Companies that promote volunteer opportunities and actively encourage their employees to participate show that they care about giving back to the community, and some are even willing to offer paid time off to do so, demonstrating that they see volunteering as a priority. This initiative reflects well on companies and even encourages consumers to continue purchasing products and services from them.
When employees see the good their companies are doing in their communities, they are more likely to participate, think positively about their roles in the company, and be happier as a result.
3. Volunteer Grants
Corporate volunteerism doesn’t end with the time and effort that your employees offer nonprofits. There’s another type of workplace giving program directly related to volunteerism that can benefit nonprofits, reflect well on your company, and boost employee engagement.
Corporate volunteer grants turn volunteer hours into revenue for nonprofits. When employees at a company devote a specific number of hours to volunteering with a nonprofit, participating companies provide a set dollar amount for those hours to the nonprofit.
For example, this could look like:
$25 for every hour an employee volunteers
$15 per hour an employee volunteers, with a minimum of 20 hours
$500 after volunteering 20 hours with a nonprofit
Corporate volunteer grants essentially help nonprofits meet their fundraising and volunteer needs at the same time. Meanwhile, your employees can increase their impact on causes they care about.
Why are volunteer grants a great employee engagement idea?
Nearly 3 out of every 4 employees say it’s important to work where company culture supports volunteering. The more you encourage volunteerism and promote volunteer grant opportunities, the more employees will feel engaged with your company and its values. Plus, volunteer grants are a great way for an employee to secure a donation for a nonprofit they care about without spending a dime.
Here’s a rundown of how this type of program can transform your workplace:
Communicate your commitment to community involvement and social responsibility by financially supporting employees’ volunteer efforts.
Underscore the importance of giving back, enhancing employees’ sense of purpose and connection to the workplace.
Foster a positive work environment and strengthen team bonds through shared experiences in community service.
Improve your company’s image and resonate with employees’ desires to work for organizations that reflect their values.
Ultimately, volunteer grant programs not only contribute to societal well-being but also promote a more engaged, motivated, and satisfied workforce. Like with matching gifts, volunteers are often unaware that their employer even offers a volunteer grant program. That’s why it’s essential to actively promote these opportunities to employees and streamline facilitation with dedicated CSR software.
4. Employee Wellness Programs
Wellness programs are comprehensive initiatives designed to promote holistic health and well-being among your workforce. These programs encompass a wide range of activities and resources aimed at supporting physical, mental, emotional, and sometimes financial health.
Key components often include fitness challenges, mental health support, nutritional advice, and stress management workshops. While these programs can take many forms, the overarching goal is to create a healthier, more productive workplace by reducing health-related absences and enhancing job satisfaction.
Why are employee wellness programs a great employee engagement idea?
In essence, prioritizing employees’ health and happiness will contribute to a supportive work environment that reduces turnover. Better yet, you can leverage an app to run your entire program.
Designed to streamline program administration and boost employee participation, Givhero can significantly enhance your wellness program by integrating workplace giving into health and wellness challenges. This unique approach motivates employees to engage in healthy behaviors by linking their actions to a broader social impact.
Here’s an overview of how the app works:
Create challenges. Your team chooses from Givhero’s library of health and wellness challenges, whether you want to challenge people to walk 10,000 steps a day or sleep 8 hours each night.
Employees join the challenge. They’ll need to download the Givhero app and choose a nonprofit to support from Givehero’s Partner Network of over 2.3 million charitable causes.
Employees participate in the challenge you choose. As they achieve their goals, they’ll be rewarded with donations to their chosen charity.
It’s that simple! Employees can engage in activities that boost their mental and physical health while supporting causes they care about.
Overall, Givhero serves as a powerful tool for companies looking to deepen employee engagement through wellness initiatives that also support social responsibility goals.
5. Automatic Payroll Deductions
Another form of workplace giving that can lead to high employee engagement is automatic payroll deductions.
An automatic payroll deduction allows employees to set aside a small portion of each paycheck to donate to a charity.
Automatic payroll deductions are great options for employees because they can give to nonprofits in smaller increments—especially if they’re unable to donate a large sum at once. If their employer also offers a matching gift program, those donations can even be doubled.
Companies typically vet charitable organizations beforehand to ensure their employees’ automatic payroll contributions are going to reputable nonprofits. This measure will reassure employees that their donations are going to a good cause.
Why are automatic payroll deductions a great employee engagement idea?
By making it easy for employees to give to reputable organizations, your company accomplishes a few things:
Employees get to make a difference for the causes they care about.
The donations have no extra fees for the nonprofits (like credit card processing fees) and are still tax deductible for employees.
Employees will continue to participate in automatic payroll deductions long-term because of the ease and security associated with these programs.
The more options you offer as part of your workplace giving programs, the more likely employees will be to engage with and participate in those programs. Automatic payroll deductions are an excellent option to consider as a company.
6. Annual Giving Campaigns
The year-end giving season (generally October through December) is the most popular time for nonprofit donations. During this time, donation numbers are higher than all year round as people lean into the generosity they feel around the holidays and wrap up their charitable giving that will be deducted from their taxes in the spring.
Companies can use this time to encourage their employees to donate to important causes, either through monetary or time donations. When paired with matching gifts and corporate volunteer grants, the impact goes even further.
Many nonprofits run annual giving campaigns around this time of year to raise a large portion of the funds they need to continue serving their missions, especially on GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Encouraging your employees to give during these campaigns is especially important for the nonprofits they support but also for your company’s image.
Why are annual giving campaigns a great employee engagement idea?
If your company wants to boost engagement among its employees, be sure to encourage them to participate in annual giving. Promote specific opportunities to donate to nonprofits whose missions align with your company values. This practice reflects well on your company in the public eye, while also showing your employees that giving to worthy causes is an important component of your business practices.
7. Cause Marketing Campaigns
As a big part of corporate philanthropy, companies will often launch a cause marketing campaign in conjunction with a nonprofit cause. During a cause marketing campaign, a company increases its own profitability while also doing good in the communities in which it operates.
Here are some examples of cause marketing:
Businesses encourage customers to round up their purchases to donate to a specific charity or cause.
Businesses donate a portion of their profits to a specific charity or cause.
Businesses accept donated goods to provide to specific charities.
Both the for-profit and nonprofit sides benefit from cause marketing. For-profit businesses can see an increase in sales and exposure, while nonprofits receive more funding and goods that help them serve their constituents.
Why are cause marketing campaigns a great employee engagement idea?
Cause marketing is a great employee engagement idea because it actively encourages employee participation in promoting a nonprofit’s cause to the customers or clients they interact with. Remember that cause marketing works best if your company is helping a cause that your employees believe in. If your staff supports the idea, they’ll work harder and be more invested in helping drive results for both you and your nonprofit partner!
The Key to Making These Engagement Ideas Work: Corporate Giving Software
For all of these philanthropy-centered employee engagement ideas, you’ll want to have an organized system in place to facilitate your initiatives. With so many moving parts and workplace giving options, it can be challenging to consolidate donations, volunteer opportunities and hours, and matching gift requests in one place.
Track and review employee donations, including automatic payroll deductions.
View and approve employee matching gift requests.
Allow employees to log their volunteer hours.
View and approve volunteer grant requests.
Post and coordinate volunteer opportunities for your employees.
Organize team volunteer events.
These are just some of the ways corporate giving software can help keep your company on track.
A Must-Have Feature in Corporate Giving Software: Matching Gift Auto-Submission
The best corporate giving software will offer matching gift auto-submission that allows you to streamline the matching gift process for your employees and ensure that your matched donations get to nonprofits quickly.
Check out how our auto-submission feature works by watching the video below:
As explained in the video, when your company uses a corporate giving tool that offers auto-submission, donors can simply enter their corporate email address and have their match request submitted for them, with no extra steps required on their end.
Be sure to invest in the right software that will allow your company to benefit the most from the workplace giving programs you’ve already put so much effort into, and make sure your platform offers auto-submission capabilities.
Examples of These Employee Engagement Initiatives in Action
As you build out your own corporate philanthropy-centered engagement program, it will be helpful to get inspired by other companies’ programs so that you can ensure yours is poised to be as effective as possible. Here are two examples of companies that are doing good in their communities and getting their employees involved in their efforts!
Google: Matching Gifts
Google offers a matching gift program that its full-time and part-time employees, as well as its board members, are eligible for. It matches gifts up to $10,000 per year per employee at a 1:1 ratio.
In addition, Google also offers donation matching for any funds contributed for disaster or international relief and matches funds that employees personally raise for charitable events (such as walk-a-thons).
Walmart: Volunteer Grants
Walmart offers a volunteer grants program called Volunteerism Always Pays (VAP) that individuals or groups can participate in.
For the individual VAP grants initiative, Walmart gives $10 per hour to the nonprofit an employee volunteers with, up to $1,000.
For the group VAP grants initiative, Walmart offers groups that volunteer together or participate in fundraising runs or walks together grants for $500-$5,000 dollars, depending on the number of employees in the group.
Remember, your company’s own program will likely look a little different than any example you’re inspired by because you have your own values, priorities, and budget to keep in mind. Still, it’s handy to get an idea of what these programs look like at successful companies!
Want to dive into more examples of real-world corporate philanthropy-centered engagement programs?
Other Top Employee Engagement Ideas
Although corporate philanthropy initiatives are an excellent way to engage your employees, there are lots of other employee engagement ideas you can tap into, as well. Let’s explore some other options, all of which we’ve sorted into a few different categories:
You may decide to choose one or even several ideas from this list. Whatever you choose, remember to customize these ideas to fit your specific employees’ needs and expectations!
Employee Engagement Ideas for Recognition and Awards
Many employers make the mistake of assuming their gratitude for their employees is simply implied. However, the truth is that employees need consistent and genuine recognition to feel motivated and encouraged to perform to the best of their abilities.
In fact, according to Nectar HR, nearly 84% feel that recognition impacts their motivation to succeed in their jobs. In this section, we’ll look closely at some employee engagement ideas that involve recognition and awards.
1. eCards
Your employees’ contributions are valuable and deserve more recognition than an occasional pat on the back. Fold recognition into your everyday routine with custom eCards.
eCards are greeting cards’ virtual counterparts, making them easy to send and even easier to create. Plus, when you work with the right eCard site, you can customize your eCards to reflect your organization’s branding or the achievement you’re calling an employee out for reaching. Take this eCard for example:
Digital greeting cards have emerged as a versatile tool for employee recognition, enabling managers and employees alike to show appreciation for their coworkers. They offer several benefits to companies, like:
Immediate Recognition: Managers and peers can quickly acknowledge achievements, milestones, or contributions without the delays associated with traditional recognition methods. This ensures that recognition is timely, reinforcing positive behaviors and accomplishments as they happen.
Personalization: eCards can be customized to reflect the recipient’s personality, the specific achievement, or the company’s culture, adding a personal touch to the gesture. Send a personal message with each eCard to enhance the emotional impact of the recognition and make employees feel genuinely appreciated.
Accessibility and Convenience: Given the digital nature of eCards, they can be sent and received from anywhere, at any time. That makes it easy to fold recognition into everyday work routines, whether you’re working in person or remotely.
Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to traditional recognition gifts, eCards don’t require physical materials or postage to send. That means you can cut down on costs.
If you’re more of a visual learner, check out this video that highlights our recommended eCard software, eCardWidget:
By integrating eCards into your recognition strategies, your company can foster a culture of appreciation that is continuous, inclusive, and aligned with modern work practices. This ongoing recognition can play a crucial role in enhancing employee engagement and motivation, ultimately contributing to a positive work environment.
2. Incentive Bonuses
Depending on the nature of your organization, giving an incentive bonus might be a natural extension of your employees’ work. For example, if your organization is a store that sells musical instruments, you might offer a commission system that incentivizes salespeople to work toward ambitious sales goals.
In other contexts, you may have to get creative with how you offer incentive bonuses. One popular way is to offer an annual holiday bonus, given at the end of the calendar year before the winter holidays, or as a retention award during performance reviews.
However you decide to offer bonuses, make sure you’re clear with your employees about who is eligible to receive a bonus, how much the bonus is worth, and how and when that bonus is paid out.
3. Employee of the Month Program
An employee of the month program is a popular way to thank your top performers for all of their hard work and show them just how much your organization benefits from their efforts. To set up a fair and sustainable program, follow these steps:
Define the criteria for becoming Employee of the Month.
Create a nomination process that managers or peers can use to nominate employees for the award.
Form a committee to choose the winner of the award.
Select rewards the Employee of the Month will receive, such as bonuses, gift cards, special parking privileges, etc.
Promote the program to your employees.
The key to a successful employee of the month program is consistency. Be consistent in how you administer the program and in how you incorporate it into your internal culture. If your employees are excited about the program, it will be a great motivator for solid performance!
4. Pass a Post-It
This recognition idea is a simple one but goes a long way. Simply hand out some Post-its and pens to your employees, and encourage them to write words of encouragement or kind messages to their coworkers, sticking the Post-its on their desks or cubicle walls.
This is a quick and easy way to foster a spirit of appreciation within your organization and to get employees involved in recognizing each others’ contributions.
5. Workaversary Celebrations
Work anniversaries (also known as “workaversaries”) are exciting professional milestones and represent an employee’s loyalty and dedication to your organization. Consider celebrating individuals’ workaversaries in small and meaningful ways. For example, you might post about an employee’s achievements in the last year on LinkedIn, or write them a thoughtful card.
You can also celebrate large lengths of tenure, like a 5-year or 10-year anniversary at your organization. Consider making these celebrations a bit bigger, like a catered lunch or an after-hours work party. This can be an excellent way to demonstrate to all of your employees just how important retention is to your organization and its goals.
6. Personal Milestone Celebrations
In addition to workaversaries, there are plenty of personal milestones that your employees might experience, including:
Getting married
Buying a house
Having a baby
Adopting a new pet
Educational achievements
Show your employees that you care about their personal achievements by celebrating these memorable milestones. For instance, if an employee adopts a dog, you might gift them a bag of dog treats. Or, if they have a baby, you might send them a custom baby blanket featuring their child’s name.
Team-Building Employee Engagement Ideas
For your employees to enjoy their work experience at your organization, they need to feel connected to the people they’re working with. It’s great if your organization can facilitate healthy working relationships between coworkers, but employees will also benefit from building genuine friendships. In fact, Gallup has found that employees who have a best friend at work are more likely to get more done in less time, innovate and share ideas, and have fun while working. These team-building ideas can help you create an environment where strong relationships can grow between team members.
1. Group Activities or Outings
Try hosting activities during or outside of work hours that allow your team members to get to know each other. These might include:
Sporting events
Museum, art gallery, or theater outings
Cooking classes
Art or craft workshops
Picnics, barbecues, or potlucks
To engage your employees in these activities even more, hand the brainstorming and planning over to them. Create an “extracurriculars” budget (i.e., $20-$30 per participant) and allow employees to plan company- or team-wide outings of their choice once per quarter or once per year. This way, you’ll get many activities on the calendar quickly as well as a variety of different activities for employees to choose from to attend.
2. Team-Building Exercises
Team-building exercises are fun activities that groups of employees participate in to strengthen their collaboration and communication skills and to build trust with each other. You’re likely familiar with some popular team building exercises, like The Human Knot or trust falls.
However, there are a number of other exercises to consider, such as playing Two Truths and a Lie, working through an escape room together, completing a ropes course, creating a collaborative art piece, or playing the Blind Obstacle course game, where everyone helps blindfolded team members navigate obstacles and make it to the finish line.
Each of these exercises encourages your employees to unite, talk to each other, and work through problems and challenges together, strengthening their connections to one another.
3. Company Retreat
A company retreat is more of a large-scale employee engagement idea that will require some planning. A retreat gives you the opportunity to get your team together all in one place to enjoy work- and non-work-related activities alike. The best thing about a company retreat is that it sets aside some time for all of your team members to focus on their work relationships and create a collective memory together.
You don’t even have to go far to have a successful company retreat—even a day-long retreat at a local park or events center can give you plenty of time to ensure all of your employees are forming strong connections with each other.
4. Office Competitions
An office competition allows you to tap into your employees’ competitive spirits and encourage them to work toward a common goal. Here’s how to set one up:
Divide your employees into groups. For example, you might make each department its own team or create groups at random to encourage employees to interact with coworkers they don’t usually work with on a daily basis.
Choose the type of competition. There are many different types of competitions you could run, from a desk decorating contest to a trivia contest. One of the most popular types of office competition is a fitness challenge, where team members work toward a goal related to fitness or exercise. For instance, you might challenge your employees to see which team can walk the most steps in a month.
Select a reward. Motivate your employees to participate in the challenge by offering some sort of reward or prize to the winning team, like a trophy, an extra vacation day, or a catered lunch at the office.
Once you’ve set up your competition, you’ll need to get your employees on board. Don’t forget to continue encouraging participation and spreading enthusiasm for the competition even after it starts so they stay engaged for the duration of the competition.
5. Office-Wide One-Off Projects
No matter what your company does, whether you’re a consulting firm or a retailer (or something else entirely!), you and your employees are used to working together toward a common goal. But there are likely projects or initiatives you wish you could get to that are frequently put on the back burner for the sake of day-to-day priorities.
Why not put your team’s regular synergy to good use on a one-off project to try to accomplish something out of the ordinary? For instance, you could choose one project or initiative each quarter that team members will contribute to outside of their usual tasks.
Not only does a one-off project change things up for your team, but it also allows them to work more closely with team members they don’t usually collaborate with.
6. Team Member Spotlights
It’s important to consistently build a strong internal community at your company. However, this is especially tricky at large organizations, where team members might not always have the opportunity to interact with each other often or get to know new hires right away.
Help your employees get to know each other by creating and sending out team member spotlights. A spotlight should walk through some simple get-to-know-you information for each employee, like their name, background, hobbies or personal interests, and a fun fact about them. It will also be helpful to include their professional headshot and a link to their LinkedIn profile.
You can easily incorporate employee spotlights into company-wide meetings or emails.
7. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives
How diverse is your team, and is your organization welcoming to all different types of people with a variety of backgrounds and experiences?
You can prioritize DEI in several ways, from adopting diverse hiring practices and establishing policies on gender- or race-based discrimination to conducting regular pay audits to ensure pay equity or making your office space more accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Each organization will have different DEI needs, so take into consideration where your own organization is starting from and how you can improve your efforts.
8. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Many employees may benefit from joining an ERG, which are groups employees form over a shared characteristic, whether that is gender, lifestyle, ethnicity, or something else. For instance, employees at your organization might be interested in creating a working mothers ERG, or a group for veterans.
ERGs allow employees to come together and support each other in workplace. They may also advocate for the development of new policies related to their ERG’s needs, help each other develop professionally, or host social outings for individuals in the group to get to know each other better.
9. Sports and Recreation Clubs
Many of your employees may enjoy getting together to participate in a sports or recreation activity, whether it’s soccer or rock climbing. Encourage employees to start clubs that meet outside of work hours where they can pursue these interests.
These types of clubs also ensure employees stay active, which is especially important if their jobs require them to remain stationary or sit at a desk for most of the day.
10. Book and Film Clubs
Similarly, employees may enjoy getting together to discuss literature or film. These are also activities that can be held after work or during a lunch break.
The important thing with clubs is to make sure that you let your employees know that you fully support them in getting to know each other over shared interests. You can even go the extra mile by joining or creating a club yourself!
11. International Day Celebrations
International Days like International Women’s Day or Human Rights Day can be great opportunities to recognize and celebrate people within your organization. On international days you choose to recognize, send out an educational email, and incorporate some sort of related activity into your workday.
For instance, on International Women’s Day, you might start your morning meeting by highlighting a few women who have made a big impact on your field or industry.
In some cases, you might also celebrate important holidays from a variety of cultures. For instance, you might recognize both Hanukkah and Christmas in December by putting up a variety of holiday decor around your office.
12. Birthday Celebrations
It’s important to celebrate individuals, too. In addition to celebrating workaversaries or personal milestones, don’t forget that celebrating birthdays can be a great way to help individual employees feel valued and seen.
Keep these celebrations simple by providing the employee’s favorite treat during lunch and giving them a birthday card signed by their peers.
Skill Development Employee Engagement Ideas
Some employee engagement programs can simultaneously increase your employees’ job satisfaction and help them further develop their professional skill sets.
It’s critical for your company to offer opportunities like these because most employees want to learn and grow at their jobs. According to Zippia, 49% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development, and 68% of employees say that training and development are the most important company policy.
Let’s look at some employee engagement ideas that will promote professional growth and skill development.
1. Strong Onboarding Process
You might be thinking, “Onboarding is already something we do. In fact, we have to do it every time we hire someone.”
That may be true, but that doesn’t mean you can’t think of onboarding as an opportunity to engage your employees, both old and new.
As you train new team members, involve long-time team members where you can. For instance, you might have current team members give presentations about their roles or departments to help orient the new team member.
This way, not only is the new team member learning from their manager, but they’re also getting the chance to interact with individuals from other areas of the company, growing their network and giving them a more expansive understanding of how the company works as a whole.
2. Job Shadowing
Job shadowing offers an opportunity for an employee to observe an employee in a different role and get an understanding of their responsibilities and daily tasks. This is a great way for a team member to explore different roles and consider their own options for their progression at your company.
For example, say an employee decides to shadow a manager on another team. They could observe the manager balancing their regular duties with management responsibilities, see how they communicate with their direct reports, and ask questions about why they decided to take a management path. With that information in their hands, the employee could then make informed decisions about the trajectory of their own career.
3. Mentorship Program
Try starting a mentorship program at your company, where senior team members mentor team members who are early on in their careers or new to your organization.
Through mentoring, your employees can learn new skills, get advice about their career paths, build friendships, and receive feedback on their performance. A mentoring relationship can also be a safe space for employees to voice ideas, concerns, and needs.
To identify team members who can serve as mentors in your program, look for individuals who:
Have substantial experience at your organization and in their field
Have the availability for regular meetings with their mentees
Are effective communicators
Are committed to your organization and its values
Though not every mentor needs to have management aspirations, it can be a great plus for those seeking management opportunities to be able to mentor other employees.
4. Skill or Knowledge Sharing
There’s likely a wealth of knowledge and skills in your company already. So, why not facilitate opportunities for employees to share their knowledge and skills?
Skill- or knowledge-sharing opportunities are presentations where an employee shares a skill they’ve learned in their role with the rest of your team. This is a great chance for employees to see what their coworkers’ roles are like and swap useful skills that make their work experience better.
For example, one employee might present their strategy for managing their email inbox. Another employee might discuss the sales process. No matter what your employees have to share, your entire team can learn something new.
These presentations are great to host as informal Lunch and Learn meetings.
5. Personal Training Budget
Every employee is different and will have unique professional development and training wants and needs. Empower your employees to pursue the professional development opportunities they’re most interested in by designating a personal training budget for each employee. For instance, you might cover $100 worth of training materials, conference registration fees, or online course costs for each employee each year.
As employees can choose which training opportunities they want to take advantage of, they’ll not only sharpen their skill sets but also learn skills that provide more value for your company. Don’t forget to encourage employees to share what they learn with the rest of your team.
6. Resource Library
Building and maintaining a resource library is an effective strategy for not only helping employees develop professionally but also preserving all the knowledge and skills that your team brings to the table.
Your resource library can include things like your employee handbook, online training courses, ebooks, podcasts, videos and webinars, training and safety manuals, and more.
To make sure your resource library is useful to your company, consistently direct your employees toward it when they have questions or when they express interest in professional development.
7. Personal Career Development Plans
Encourage your employees to work with their managers to develop a personal career development plan. These plans help employees visualize their professional futures and the steps they’ll need to take to achieve their long-term goals at your organization.
For instance, an employee may set a goal to become a manager, outlining the skills and attributes they’ll need to develop over a set amount of time to be eligible for a management position when the opportunity arises. Or, another employee may be interested in becoming a subject matter expert (SME) in a certain area, and, working with their manager, identify the online courses they need to take or conferences they need to attend to learn about a certain topic and become your organization’s go-to person for that subject.
8. Educational Assistance Programs (EAPs)
Some employers pay for employees’ education expenses through educational assistance programs. For instance, companies like McDonald’s and Walmart offer tuition assistance for eligible employees who want to pursue a college degree.
In addition to covering educational expenses like tuition, books, or online learning subscriptions, you can also provide flexible scheduling that allows employees to attend classes or study without sacrificing their work hours.
9. Leadership Training
Your employees may have aspirations to become managers or leaders themselves one day. Share your knowledge by hosting optional leadership training meetings consistently. You can cover topics like:
Delegation
Active listening
Problem-solving
Playing to your strengths
Strategic thinking
Influence and persuasion
You can also invite leaders from across the company to present on these and other topics. Make sure to provide plenty of personal experiences and anecdotes as you share how you’ve developed these skills over the years.
Health and Wellbeing Employee Engagement Ideas
Are your employees happy and healthy? Your employees’ physical, mental, and emotional health can all impact how they feel about their jobs and also affect other aspects of their lives (such as their relationships).
This next set of employee engagement ideas focuses on ways you can engage your team members through health and wellbeing initiatives and stresses the importance of the connection between employees feeling cared for at work and how engaged they are.
1. Stress Management Workshop
According to the American Institute of Stress, 83% of U.S. workers are stressed out by work, with 25% saying that their job is their number one stressor in life.
Even the best jobs and workplace situations can still leave employees feeling stressed out. This fact is important for you to acknowledge as an employer, and you can mitigate its negative impact by hosting a stress management workshop.
To host a workshop that will be useful to your employees, consider inviting someone with stress management experience (such as a therapist or psychologist) to lead the discussion. You’ll likely want your expert to cover the different types of stress, potential workplace stressors, how to gauge personal stress levels, and useful coping techniques.
Drive home the importance of stress management by following up with your employees after the workshop. For example, a few weeks after the workshop, you might invite people to report back on how their stress management efforts are playing out. Or, you might share a coping mechanism that recently worked for you.
2. Yoga or Meditation Sessions
Yoga and meditation are effective ways for people to focus on their mind and body connection and practice mindfulness.
Try hosting monthly, weekly, or even daily meditation or yoga sessions at your office. Thanks to technology like YouTube or mindfulness apps like Calm or Headspace, you don’t need to be a yoga or meditation expert to lead an effective session.
These sessions can be quick, giving you and your team just enough time to take a deep breath and center yourselves before diving back into your daily tasks.
3. Mental Health Support
A recent study by One Medical found that 64% of workers struggle with mental health issues. There are many ways your company can offer mental health support as part of its employee engagement efforts.
These include:
Launching an employee assistance program (EAP) focused on mental health
Providing mental health awareness training to managers
Offering a mental health stipend to help employees cover mental health costs like counseling
Developing policies that address mental health, such as a mental health day policy
Providing access to mental health resources like online self-help tools
Creating an inclusive, supportive culture and encouraging a healthy work-life balance
Though these methods can make a big difference to your employees, remember to emphasize the importance of working with a licensed mental health professional as needed.
4. Healthy Break Room Snacks
Who doesn’t enjoy a good snack during their workday?
Encourage your employees to stay on top of their physical health and eat a balanced diet by stocking your break room with healthy snacks. Granola bars, nuts, fruit and vegetable trays, and protein packs are all great options.
5. Field Day
A field day is a fun event where you and your employees can participate in fun field games and enjoy a day outside. You can host a field day at a local park, featuring activities like:
Three-legged races
Sack races
Egg and spoon races
Tug-of-War
Volleyball
Kickball
Your employees will enjoy spending time outdoors and working together to win each field game. Don’t forget to motivate your participants by offering fun prizes!
6. Stretching Sessions
Stretching relieves tension and stress built up throughout the work day.
Try scheduling a regular stretching session in the morning or afternoon and encourage employees to get up and stretch their arms and legs. This is also a great opportunity for employees to give their eyes, necks, and wrists a break from using a computer!
Work-Life Balance Employee Engagement Ideas
As an employer, it’s important to acknowledge that employees need balance in all areas of their life, especially when it comes to work and everything outside of work. You can do your part as an employer to encourage healthy boundaries between your employees and their jobs by employing the following engagement ideas.
1. Flexible Work Arrangements
Though a majority of workers still work in an office, 12.7% work from home and 28.2% work a hybrid model, according to Forbes. It’s clear that remote and hybrid work aren’t going anywhere, and there’s good reason for that.
Forbes also points out that a whopping 98% of employees want to work from home at least part of the time. Working from home offers a level of autonomy and flexibility that in-office workers just don’t experience.
Consider making your current work arrangements more flexible by offering more work-from-home time to your employees. However, remember that there is still value in having employees gather in an office.
You might help your employees get the best of both worlds by letting them choose which days of the week they’d like to work from home or requiring employees to come to the office on meeting-heavy days. This way, they can still socialize with their coworkers and work together face-to-face while also getting plenty of independent work time in at home on the other days of the week.
2. Paid Time Off (PTO)
PTO is likely a benefit you offer to your full-time employees, but what is your company’s culture like when it comes to actually using that PTO?
Make sure your employees feel comfortable taking advantage of their PTO and vacation days. Lead by example by using your own vacation time well, and make sure to discuss how time away from work can benefit employees both personally and professionally.
3. Family-Friendly or Plus-One Activities
If you choose to schedule fun activities for your employees to participate in outside of work hours, consider making some of those activities family-friendly or encourage employees to bring a plus one. This will encourage more people to attend, whether they feel more comfortable attending with a friend or partner, or aren’t able to attend regular activities due to childcare constraints.
Outdoor activities like field days or big events like your company’s holiday parties are great options for taking a family-friendly or plus-one approach.
4. Compressed Work Week
You’ve probably heard about the new trend in work scheduling, the four-day work week. This approach can look different depending on a company’s needs, whether employers choose to give employees one day off a week or just ask that employees work an average of 32 hours per week instead of 40.
A four-day work week trial in the U.K. resulted in increased revenue for participating companies and boosted employee well-being. If you’ve considered a compressed work week in the past, now may be the time to give it a try!
5. Encourage Breaks
We’ve all been there—feeling so busy at work that you opt to avoid conversations around the coffee pot, skip lunch, and hurry home just to work more after dinner. After all, it seems logical that more time spent on a task equals better results, but that’s not really the case.
In fact, working long hours on tasks without any breaks can leave employees feeling burnt out and frustrated with their jobs. Instead, research shows that planning and taking full advantage of breaks can help employees feel more energized and even boost their performance.
Make sure to encourage breaks in your workplace. You can do this in a number of different ways, from leading by example to encouraging employees to schedule regular breaks on their calendars. You can even ask managers to check in with their direct reports on a frequent basis to ensure they’re taking the breaks they need to do their best work.
6. Encourage Disconnecting After Work Hours
Especially in the day and age of smartphones, work can easily follow your employees home, making some feel like they have to respond to emails, calls, and text messages even when they’re not on the clock.
Boost engagement and encourage a healthy work-life balance by creating a workplace policy that encourages employees to disconnect after the work day. This practice can allow your employees to focus more fully on their friends, family, and hobbies outside of work.
Even if you expect your employees to keep up with their inboxes or answer the occasional call when on vacation, make it clear that you don’t expect them to be constantly available.
Communication and Feedback Employee Engagement Ideas
For your employees to feel truly involved and invested in your organization’s goals and overall success, you need to prioritize effective communication and feedback. The right strategies can help your team be more efficient and encourage individuals to grow and develop their skill sets. Check out the following employee engagement ideas related to communication and feedback.
1. Open-Door Communication Policy
When your employees know that you’re open to hearing their questions, suggestions, comments, and more, you’ll experience benefits like:
Better employee morale
Faster problem-solving and decision-making
More effective collaboration
Enhanced trust in leadership
To make your open-door policy efficient, let employees know when you’re available for discussions. You might even consider holding “office hours” once a week and encouraging team members to hold comments or questions until that time.
2. Frequent Surveys
Surveys are a great way to gauge how your employees are feeling about certain topics or to source new ideas for your organization to run with. For example, you might send out a quarterly survey that asks your employees to identify any inefficiencies they see in their workflow or ideas they have for increasing revenue or decreasing costs.
Surveys work well because they allow everyone the time and space to communicate their ideas in writing. Plus, if you make some of your surveys anonymous, you’ll get more candid responses that will give you an accurate view of what’s going on in your workplace.
3. Suggestion Box Program
Suggestion boxes encourage team members to share any time they have a great idea for improving a process or making your organization a better place to work.
Depending on the nature of your workplace, your suggestion box may be a physical box or an online spreadsheet where people can leave their ideas. Either way, make sure to check the “box” regularly.
It will also be important to respond to each idea so that individual contributors feel heard. Even if your organization won’t be running with an idea, it can be helpful to provide feedback on the idea and thank them for the suggestion.
4. Regular One-on-One Meetings
One-on-one meetings between managers and their direct reports can be an effective way to encourage consistent communication between employees and company leadership.
Harvard Business Review recommends managers have one-on-one meetings with each employee for 30 minutes each week and that managers prioritize listening over speaking. This meeting is an employee’s opportunity to talk about what is going well in their role and seek guidance about how to improve or overcome challenges, so letting them lead the charge on what they want to talk about is crucial.
5. Performance Reviews
Chances are, your organization already holds regular performance reviews at least once each fiscal year. However, your performance review process is worth revisiting if you’re looking for ways to improve employee engagement. Follow these tips from RealHR Solutions to improve how you conduct reviews:
Identify what you want to accomplish by holding performance reviews.
Have managers share self-assessments with employees, as well as instructions for completing them.
Have employees complete and share their self-assessments.
Ask managers to gather feedback on each individual’s performance from their peers, clients, and others who work with them.
Have managers review employees’ self-assessments and complete performance review forms.
Hold performance reviews to cover key accomplishments and improvement opportunities, as well as any compensation changes.
Have managers and their direct reports consistently revisit goals set in the most recent round of reviews.
Remember, you can always improve your performance review process down the road. You might even ask your employees what they see as the most valuable parts of the process and what needs to be optimized further.
6. Internal Newsletters
Keep your employees in the loop by sending out a monthly internal newsletter. This is a great place to provide company-wide updates and celebrate things like birthdays, workaversaries, and more.
To ensure that your newsletters don’t go straight to your employees’ email trash bins, make them interesting to read. Include visuals like photos from your last company party or links to a recent TedTalk your organization’s leadership highly recommends.
Wrapping Up: Inspire Your Employees With a Solid Engagement Strategy
Fully engaging your employees is key to long-term organizational success, and there are dozens of ways to do so, from engaging in corporate philanthropy to starting a company book club or implementing an open-door communication policy.
In this guide, we’ve covered the ins and outs of employee engagement, as well as some of our favorite ideas for your organization to try. Consider your own organization’s engagement levels and culture, and pick a few ideas that you want to implement.
Don’t worry if there’s a bit of a learning curve as you get started—the best employee engagement strategies will take some tweaking to get right! However, your efforts will pay off down the road as you strengthen your workplace and retain your employees for the long term. You’ve got this!
Ready to keep learning about employee engagement opportunities? We recommend these resources:
The Ultimate Guide to Employee Engagement. Take a deep dive into employee engagement and its importance, as well as how you can measure employee engagement at your organization.
Top 20+ Matching Gift Companies: Leaders in Corporate Giving. If you’re interested in starting a matching gift program as part of your engagement efforts, it may be helpful to get inspired by other companies and their programs. Explore this list of 20+ leaders in corporate giving!
List of Top Volunteer Grant Companies. Similarly, you may want to model a volunteer grant program after an existing program. Check out our list of companies with great volunteer grant programs!
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/employee-engagement-ideas_Feature.png7562000Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2024-01-04 17:14:342024-03-08 21:41:0352+ Employee Engagement Ideas for Productivity and Retention
Tons of companies offer workplace giving programs as a way to incentivize employees to give back to their communities. To make the most of these philanthropic initiatives, qualifying nonprofits are taking increasingly proactive steps to drive supporter participation. But with a need for engaging multigenerational donors in the workforce, promoting the opportunities is not a one-size-fits-all task.
Instead, we recommend exploring effective strategies as you tailor your approach to each age group. And you’ve come to the right place to do so! In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about engaging varying generations of supporters, including:
Remember: the more you adjust your fundraising approach to your intended audience, the more likely the segment is to actively engage with your efforts.
Ready to create impactful and inclusive workplace giving programs that resonate with every generation in your supporter base? Let’s dive in.
The Unmatched Value of Multigenerational Donor Engagement
Your organization is likely backed by a wide range of donors of all ages, races, genders, backgrounds, and more. But do you take a universal approach to engagement? How exactly does a person’s stage in life factor into their relationship with your organization? Where do employee giving opportunities come into play for any age group?
These are the questions you should be asking yourself if you’re looking to develop a multigenerational engagement strategy.
And doing so is essential. After all, facilitating long-lasting connections with supporters of all age ranges empowers your organization to build a sustainable donor network.
As of findings from 2022 annual giving, the estimated generational giving breakdown is as follows:
Matures — 20.2%
Baby Boomers — 40.8%
Generation X — 22.9%
Millennials — 13.9%
Gen Z — 2.2%
Meanwhile, the makeup of the current workforce looks like this:
Matures — 1.3%
Baby Boomers — 25.6%
Generation X — 33.1%
Millennials — 35%
Gen Z — 5%
All in all, workplace giving programs continue to go significantly underutilized, with an estimated $4 to $7 billion in corporate funds going unclaimed from matching gifts each year—with volunteer grants and other employee giving initiatives falling short as well.
Ultimately, a strategy that focuses too narrowly on the older generations is likely to miss out on the immense opportunities made available by the up-and-coming (and, in many cases, already here) younger donors in your network. Conversely, centering too much on younger donors can cause missed potential from older generations who remain and still possess invaluable experience, deep connections, and a strong commitment to philanthropic support.
The answer? A well-balanced, multigenerational fundraising and workplace giving strategy that prioritizes the strengths of each group to maximize overall success.
Top Fundraising + Workplace Giving Strategies by Generation
With different characteristics defining each segment, effective workplace giving efforts can vary accordingly. Here, we’ll provide an overview of the five generations currently in the workforce—and partaking in philanthropy—and our recommended practices for engaging with the group.
Key Characteristics: Dependable, straightforward, and reliable
Influenced by: Tradition, loyalty, recognition, and authority
Preferred Communication Channels: Direct mail, phone calls
Preferred Giving Methods: Direct mail, check/cash donations
Born prior to 1946, the Matures (also known as the Traditionalists or the Silent Generation) exhibit strong values of loyalty, discipline, and respect for authority. They have a powerful sense of duty and often prioritize stability and tradition. Though the causes they support are widespread, the Matures tend to be drawn to established institutions with long-standing, positive reputations.
Though the vast majority of the Mature generation is now retired, the group continues to give generously to the organizations they care about. In fact, retirees contribute an estimated 42% of all charitable dollars in the U.S. each year.
Our Top Tip: Familiarize yourself (and your team) with matching gift and volunteer grant programs that are inclusive of retirees!
Luckily, a lot of companies include retired employees in their workplace giving programs—such as the Coca-Cola Company, Johnson and Johnson, Chevron, Gap (and its subsidiaries), and many more.
However, there’s a good chance that eligible retirees (or even those still working for the companies) remain unaware of these programs. Thus, it’s a good idea for your organization to research available programs and communicate the opportunity to your audience.
Baby Boomers
Age in 2023: 59 to 77 years old
Key Characteristics: Optimistic, driven, and value personal growth
Influenced by: Social change, civil rights, and economic prosperity
Preferred Communication Channels: Meetings, phone calls, Facebook
Born between 1946 and 1964, Baby Boomers are a generation known for their strong work ethic and dedication to social causes. This group believes in making a tangible impact on specific communities or individuals through their charitable contributions. Plus, they often seek opportunities to actively engage with causes they care about.
When engaging Baby Boomers in workplace giving, it is crucial to emphasize the outcomes and measurable results of their doubled donations. Recognizing their long-standing commitment to making a difference and providing volunteer opportunities can also resonate well with this generation.
Our Top Tip: Highlight the opportunity for Baby Boomers to leave a lasting (and multiplied) legacy through workplace giving.
As this group approaches or enters retirement age, Boomers often take the time to reflect on their life’s accomplishments—and the impact they want to have made. By emphasizing how their contributions, combined with corporate funding, can create a meaningful and enduring impact on the causes they care about, nonprofits can tap into their desire to leave a positive mark on the world.
Be sure to provide tangible examples and motivational stories that demonstrate how matching gifts and volunteer grants have made a difference for your organization!
Generation X
Age in 2023: 43 to 58 years old
Key Characteristics: Independent, adaptable, and familiar with significant changes
Influenced by: Authentic storytelling and tangible giving outcomes
Preferred Communication Channels: Email, social media
Born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X is known for their independent, resourceful, and self-reliant nature. Gen Xers often seek causes that align with their personal beliefs, and they appreciate efficiency in communications. Plus, this group values flexibility and giving experiences that provide a sense of meaning.
When engaging Generation X donors in workplace giving, it’s a great idea to offer options that cater to their individual wants and needs. Providing customizable and streamlined ways to get involved with matching gifts, volunteer grants, and more, highlighting tangible outcomes, and offering opportunities for skills-based volunteering that align with their professional expertise can be effective ways to engage with this generation.
Our Top Tip: Harness Gen X’s desire for financial efficiency by promoting the potential to double their donation impact through matching gifts.
Generation Xers, who are often at the peak of their earning potential, appreciate maximizing the value of their giving. Highlight the fact that their donations can be matched by their employers, effectively doubling the impact they make on the causes they care about. And it’s all without reaching back into their own wallets at all!
Millennials
Age in 2023: 27 to 42 years old
Key Characteristics: Tech-savvy, socially conscious, and outcome focused
Influenced by: Peer-to-peer communication, transparency, and impact
Preferred Communication Channels: Email, text messaging
Born between 1981 and 1996, Millennials are a generation characterized by their tech-savviness, passion for social justice, and desire for meaningful experiences. They grew up in the age of technological advancements and are often highly connected through social media and other digital platforms.
Overall, this group values transparency and tangible impact and is typically more motivated to give to causes rather than specific institutions. Millennials saw a 40% increase in average annual household giving from 2016 to 2022—the only generation with a positive change in the period. Providing opportunities for hands-on involvement, peer-to-peer fundraising, and highlighting the collective impact of their contributions can further engage this segment.
Plus, the group is already highly involved in workplace giving, with more than 86% of Millennial employees donating to nonprofit causes. Not to mention, a 2020 study reported that 58% of young professionals had given through an employee giving program, compared to only 37% overall.
Millennials also volunteer at a higher rate than any other generation, which means that volunteer grants are an excellent opportunity to pursue.
Our Top Tip: Mention workplace giving opportunities in your Millennial-focused donation appeals to incentivize giving in the first place!
A recent study indicated that while 64% of donors say that the presence of a matching gift is likely to motivate them to give, Millennials are more likely to be impacted by a match (over 78%) than any other generation.
Not to mention, younger generations of donors are increasingly likely to work for socially conscious companies that offer matching gift and volunteer grant programs, thus elevating their chances of eligibility.
Gen Z
Age in 2023: 11 to 26 years old
Key Characteristics: Tech-native, prioritizes diversity, and values social justice
Influenced by: Desire to create social change
Preferred Communication Channels: Messaging, texts
Gen Z represents the youngest group entering the workforce and, subsequently, becoming potential donors. Born between 1996 and 2012, Gen Z is often overlooked for its relatively limited capacity to give. However, this group currently has the “fastest growing economic power across all generational cohorts.”
With an estimated $360 billion in disposable income in 2021, Gen Z is expected to grow its aggregate income to over $33 trillion by 2030. As their disposable income grows, organizations can expect donation amounts to follow. And securing them as supporters now can go a long way in the end!
Also worth noting is that Generation Z is the most likely to opt for monthly giving (62%), which is often attributed to their familiarity with paying for subscription-based services. They favor regular communications as well, typically preferring monthly updates from the organizations they support.
Our Top Tip: Communicate the potential of workplace giving initiatives to further amplify recurring donations.
A common misunderstanding surrounding matching gift programs is that recurring donations do not qualify for employer matching. But in most cases, that’s generally not true! Make an effort to research your monthly donors’ corporate giving guidelines and communicate relevant information to your supporters.
By participating in their employers’ philanthropic initiatives, recurring donors can make an even greater impact on the causes they care about. You just need to break down the myths that are holding your match potential back and take a proactive approach to marketing workplace giving opportunities to your youngest donors.
Collecting Donor Data to Segment Your Engagement Strategy
As with any effective segmentation strategy, you’ll need the right information to inform your organization’s efforts. As you aim to elevate your workplace giving initiatives with generational data, you’ll need two key types of details.
Demographic Information
What is it? Defined as “quantifiable attributes of a population, group, or individual,” demographic information includes details such as age, gender, income, education level, marital status, location, and more. Regarding multigenerational engagement, the most essential metric you’ll need is your donors’ (as well as volunteers’ and other supporters’) age groups.
Why does it matter? Having this information will allow you to target your workplace giving strategies accordingly! For example, you might determine that a top matching gift opportunity falls into the “Mature Generation” category. In that case, you may decide to send a direct mailing that highlights the opportunity and shares the information they need to participate rather than rely solely on digital outreach.
How can I get it? The easiest way is just to ask. But you don’t have to come right out and ask for their exact age. Instead, add an optional donation form field that prompts donors to enter their date of birth (hint: you can also send a birthday card!).
Or, ask supporters to check a box for the age range they fall into (ex: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+).
Employment Data
What is it? The other key information you’ll need to market workplace giving strategies effectively has to do with your supporters’ employment data. Though the companies your audience works (or worked) for is the most essential piece, it can also help to know their working status—such as full-time, part-time, or retired.
Why does it matter? This information will help your team (or your software) identify available opportunities for workplace giving programs. When you see that your donors work for companies that match gifts or your volunteers work for companies that provide volunteer grants, you’ll want to follow up with information about how they can get involved.
How can I get it?Add another field to your donation form that prompts supporters to enter the name of their company, or embed our employer search tool directly into your giving page or confirmation screen. With Double the Donation, you can even enlist follow-up messaging to provide another opportunity for donors to share the information with ease. Jump to the next section to learn more about how automation helps drive results!
Top tip: When you provide context for the ask (e.g., “See if your company will match your gift! Select your employer here.”), donors typically respond particularly well. On the other hand, a data appending service can help fill in the blanks for those who don’t provide it themselves.
Our #1 Recommendation for Engaging All Generations: Automating Workplace Giving
When it comes to engaging multigenerational donors in workplace giving, there is one strategy that stands out above the rest… And that is automating the process.
Workplace giving automation not only streamlines the process for your team behind the scenes but also enhances convenience, accessibility, and engagement for donors across all age groups.
Here’s how automation elevates matching gifts and volunteer grants:
Increases awareness of the opportunity for all supporters.
There’s a significant knowledge gap regarding workplace giving programs among every generation. In fact, an estimated 78% of eligible donors have no idea that their employer matches. Luckily, workplace giving technology automates marketing and promotions around the opportunity, ensuring that every donor receives information regarding the programs. When supporters are aware of their chance to stretch their impact further with matching gifts and volunteer grants, they’re often eager to participate!
Facilitates easy personalization.
Individuals of all generations appreciate personalized outreach. From seeing their name in an email subject line to being provided with insights for their employer’s giving program, tailored messaging strengthens relationships—and produces results. With a matching gift tool, the software fills in the blanks in customizable templates, providing highly specific communications with no added effort.
Appeals to all levels of tech savviness.
In today’s digital age, younger generations, such as Millennials and Gen Z often prefer digital engagement. After all, they tend to have ample experience with online transactions. And while older generations may not be as familiar with the technology, an automated tool can go a long way in helping guide them through the process with detailed assistance and step-by-step instructions. Now, they won’t need to go searching in their company’s intranet for a matching gift form to complete—because they were provided with a direct link to the submission portal in their email.
Tracks and drives more matches to completion.
Ultimately amplifying giving with more matches making it across the finish line, automation allows for seamless matching gift tracking and follow-ups. The end result is fewer matches left unclaimed and more corporate funds available to your organization. And when supporters of all ages see the impact of their contributions being multiplied, they’ll become increasingly engaged with your cause.
Final Thoughts
Engaging multigenerational donors is a dynamic and multifaceted process that requires careful consideration of your audience. After all, each segment plays a key role in your overall fundraising and workplace giving success. Thus, you’ll want to account for the diverse needs and preferences of every generation.
The better you understand the primary characteristics, values, and motivations that describe each group, the more effectively your organization can tailor its giving programs. Plus, there are a few key strategies that can lend themselves to powerful workplace giving results across all generations—such as investing in dedicated matching gift and volunteer grant technology—that you certainly don’t want to miss.
In the end, your nonprofit will be better funded, your donors feel strengthened connections to your cause, and the communities you serve experience greater programming made available through workplace giving revenue.
Corporate philanthropy programs like matching gifts, volunteer grants, employee giving campaigns, and corporate sponsorships evolve constantly to meet the needs of companies, nonprofits, and supporters. But external factors are at play that impact trends in corporate philanthropy, too.
For instance, when the economy seems rocky, many worry that corporate matching gifts will be negatively impacted. But luckily, that’s not been the case this year. Instead, many corporations have historically expanded their giving programs in the face of economic downturns to help combat the negative effects on nonprofits.
In this guide, we’ll dive into this year’s CSR trends—particularly those pertaining to workplace giving. We’ll take a close look at what we’re currently seeing and what we expect to continue into the future. Specifically, we’ll cover:
If you’re looking for the Too Long; Didn’t Read version, it’s this: corporate philanthropy programs like matching gifts are thriving, and we don’t expect them to go away anytime soon. For a more in-depth look, however, keep reading to find the latest industry developments and what they mean for your nonprofit.
8 Trends in Corporate Philanthropy To Pay Attention To
With the explosive growth of giving initiatives comes a number of new patterns and trends in corporate philanthropy worth exploring. Here’s what’s currently shaping the corporate philanthropy landscape:
1. More small and mid-sized companies are participating.
Historically, primarily enterprise-level corporations have offered programs like matching gifts. Companies needed a big budget to get started, not to mention the time and energy required to run the program.
Today, our analysis shows that over 65% of Fortune 500 companies still provide matching gifts, but the number of small and mid-sized businesses following suit is also growing rapidly. The introduction of a number of dedicated corporate giving platforms designed for smaller teams has made this change possible for organizations with limited budgets.
Now, just about any employer can hop in on this corporate giving trend, get started with matching gifts, and see a substantial return on their investment! All in all, that means organizations are seeing more match-eligible donors, with 26+ million individuals working for companies that match employee gifts thanks to this CSR trend.
2. Year-round giving programs are becoming mainstream.
In the last few years, an increasing number of companies have expanded their corporate philanthropy programs—going from one-off annual giving campaigns to year-round employee-matching programs.
This is due in part to an increased focus on corporate social responsibility from both employees and consumers. U.S.-based consumers have realized the need for philanthropy and want the companies the work for and buy from to take part. Additionally, businesses realize that the benefits of year-round corporate philanthropy on their bottom line are significant!
That said, we can expect to see continued growth in year-round and recurring corporate giving. In fact, according to studies, 94% of major U.S. corporations plan to heighten or maintain their current level of philanthropy in the next few years. With the workplace giving trends we’re seeing, we estimate that a notable portion of that increased giving will be contributed through employee-driven initiatives, like matching gifts. This means your donors will be in the driver’s seat—so keep up your outreach!
3. Nonprofits are proactively seeking matching gifts.
Even with an increasing number of companies offering matching gifts, eligible employees being unaware of the programs available to them remains a significant roadblock. Research even shows that less than 19% of companies include adequate information on matching gift programs in easily accessible employee-facing materials.
The result? 78% of donors do not know whether their company matches gifts. Thus, available matches are going unclaimed—so nonprofits are taking it upon themselves to promote matching gifts to their audiences proactively. That way, they can grow awareness and be on the positive side of this workplace giving trend. Education can take many forms but often consists of:
Using matching gift software to uncover available opportunities
Sending personalized follow-ups post-donation
With these efforts and other strategic matching gift outreach, nonprofits can increase the number of donors who are aware of their employers’ corporate philanthropy programs—therefore boosting the amount of matched donations they receive.
4. Companies are being more generous with matching gifts.
Today’s businesses recognize that matching gift programs incentivize employees to be charitable, and being as generous as possible can inspire greater participation in workplace philanthropy. That’s why generosity in matching gifts has gradually become a corporate philanthropy trend.
We’ve noticed that more companies are experimenting with these strategies:
Matching donations at higher ratios
Lowering minimum donation amounts
Increasing maximum donation amounts
By simply promising to match donations at higher rates, companies can grow employees’ impact and make it more worthwhile for employees to submit a match request. Currently, our CSR research shows that around 93% of companies have a minimum match requirement of less than or equal to $50. Having fairly cheap match requirements lowers barriers to participation since even modest donations will be eligible for matching.
The same goes for increasing maximum donation amounts. Our corporate giving statistics page explains that when companies match larger employee donations, more employees will engage. In fact, programs with $1,000 maximums see a 12% employee engagement rate, those with maximums between $1,001 and $10,000 have an 18% engagement rate, and any maximum beyond $10,000 sees an engagement rate of up to 40%.
5. Companies are prioritizing disaster relief and crisis response.
With this year’s increase in climate-related emergencies like hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts, there’s clearly a need for this kind of philanthropy. Companies and their employees alike are making an effort to provide relief by participating in crowdfunding, volunteering, and matching gift initiatives.
6. More companies and nonprofits are forming partnerships.
Corporate philanthropy initiatives like matching gifts involve a few key stakeholders—namely, the companies offering the programs and the nonprofits receiving associated funds. To make the process as simple and direct as possible, the two parties are forming tighter partnerships.
One example of this corporate philanthropy trend is our innovative matching gift auto-submission functionality. Auto-submission within 360MatchPro enables employees at forward-thinking companies like Checkr, Innovative Discovery, and more to submit their matching gift requests right from their favorite organizations’ giving pages. Check out this overview of how this feature works for nonprofits:
It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s all handled behind the scenes. Thus, it minimizes complications for nonprofits, companies, and donors alike, driving more matching gifts to completion and contributing to this workplace giving trend.
7. Employees want greater value, flexibility, and transparency in workplace giving.
Flexibility and support are emerging as essential for employee engagement in workplace giving. An employee giving study from Fidelity Charitable uncovered this trend in workplace giving. Employees who are active in workplace giving programs enjoy participating but cited the following as ways to improve these programs:
40% want an increase in the value of the benefit (e.g., higher corporate match)
39% prefer their employers to offer a wider variety of programs
39% wish companies would allow greater flexibility in when employees can participate
36% want greater flexibility in the causes they can support
34% wish employers would provide more information about their programs and how to get involved
30% want greater transparency about how donations are used
Employees want more than a paycheck from their employers. They want to feel like they’re making a difference. Meanwhile, employees are also balancing a lot, both in and out of the workplace. To inspire participation in workplace giving, companies need to be flexible with the opportunities they offer, ensure those workplace giving options are valuable, and regularly report on impact. That way, they can hop in on this trend in workplace giving expectations among employees.
8. Businesses are using volunteering to grow employee skills and satisfaction.
Corporate volunteering is a wonderful way to grow workplace satisfaction and lower turnover rates for companies. In fact, 87% of employees who engage in corporate volunteering reported an improved perception of their employer. And this isn’t all for nothing! According to that same resource, 92% of HR executives encourage volunteering since it can improve employees’ professional skills.
For this CSR trend, let’s take a look at a real-world example. Bombas is a comfort-focused premium basics brand and a wonderful example of a socially responsible company. Their company is so committed to using workplace philanthropy as a way to increase employee satisfaction that it was actually named one of the best places to work in the U.S.
100% of its employees reported feeling good about how the company contributes to the community. One of the top ways the company gives back is by organizing 10 to 15 volunteering opportunities for employees each month.
For companies, follow in Bombas’ footsteps if you want to get in on this trend in corporate philanthropy. Nonprofits can tap in by looking for companies like this and forming partnerships when their missions align with the business’s CSR initiatives.
Recent Industry Developments in Matching Gifts
Tons of companies contribute to these corporate philanthropy trends by matching employee gifts. Our matching gift database contains records of over 24,000 companies’ program guidelines.
We work to provide the most comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date source of information on the topic, and recently, we can attest that programs’ potential is continuously trending upward. Specifically, new, reinstated, and expanding matching gift initiatives are driving growth. Let’s take a closer look at these developments.
New programs
New companies are rolling out matching gift programs every day! Check out these examples of businesses that have recently incorporated matching gifts into their ongoing corporate giving strategies:
Russell Reynolds Associates: In 2022, Russell Reynolds Associates established RRA Gives Back, a philanthropic program that encourages RRA colleagues to support charitable causes and get their contributions matched by the company.
Kraft Group: The Kraft Group and its subsidiaries have long participated in various philanthropic activities. One of their newest initiatives is matching employee donations, doubling employees’ impact when they donate.
Another trend in corporate philanthropy we’re seeing more and more of is employees advocating for matching gift programs to their employers. So if a number of your donors are not eligible for matching gifts, don’t fret! Instead, provide resources that can help them champion gift-matching on your behalf.
Knowing their employees want a matching gift program can be a significant motivator for rolling out such an initiative. In exchange, companies can look forward to increased employee engagement, productivity, and retention.
Reinstated programs
Thanks to the significant value that companies see in their corporate social responsibility efforts, many businesses have recently reinstated their matching gift programs. Companies recognize philanthropy as an integral aspect of their businesses.
For example, here are a few companies that are matching gifts again after a brief intermission in their programming:
Booz Allen Hamilton: Previously suspended in 2021, Booz Allen Hamilton’s matching gift program is once again live as of 2023. Both full-time and part-time team members are encouraged to join the company in supporting their favorite charitable causes.
Kimray Inc.: Kimray Inc. resumed matching donations of up to $2,000 per team member per year to eligible nonprofit causes. Though they’ll match many organizations and educational institutions, Kimray places a special emphasis on missions related to youth programming, culture, and their local communities.
International Business Machines (IBM): IBM paused match operations while switching to a new system. However, the program is now live, and IBM employees are able to request matching gifts of up to $10,000 per year!
United Parcel Service (UPS): Though it stopped matching employee gifts for a period, UPS has been back and matching since late 2022. Facilitated through the UPS Foundation, UPS’s matching gift program is designed to empower team members to make a difference through workplace giving.
These companies may have reinstated their programs because they’re in a better place financially, but it’s also likely that they recognized that matching gifts are a long-term investment in their communities. Regardless of the reasoning, we’re glad these companies are back!
Expanding programs
Companies with existing matching gift programs are also expanding their efforts by increasing their matching gift ratio and/or upping their maximum match amount per year. Here are a few examples of companies recently making these changes:
American Eagle Outfitters: Quadrupling their maximum match amount (from $500 to $2,000 per team member per year), American Eagle continues to offer a best-in-class matching gift program! They also upgraded from a paper request form to an online submission portal, making it simpler than ever for employees to get involved.
The Hartford: With an increasing match ratio from 0.5:1 to matching on a dollar-for-dollar basis, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. empowers employees to give by doubling individual donations.
Chicago Community Trust: Not only did the Chicago Community Trust increase its matching gift ratio from 2:1 to 3:1 (effectively quadrupling individual donations), but it also heightened the maximum gift amount to $7,500.
Not to mention, the number of matching gift programs that will match to any nonprofit continues to grow, while programs that only match to a particular mission type have severely declined. This CSR trend continues to reflect a broader shift toward more inclusive corporate philanthropy as companies empower their employees to support causes that matter to them.
How Nonprofits Can Tap Into These Corporate Philanthropy Trends
Now that you’re up to date on all the latest trends, let’s dive deeper into what they mean for your nonprofit. Ultimately, these workplace giving trends are positive and mean that your nonprofit can continue to see the benefits of corporate philanthropy. But there’s more you can do to tap in!
Our number one piece of advice for leveraging these trends in corporate philanthropy is to take a proactive approach in marketing matching gifts to your audience.
Remember, your donors may not be aware of their companies’ matching initiatives. To maximize funding and engagement from these programs, it’s crucial to spread the word across your marketing channels. Let donors know how to check their eligibility, why they should submit match requests, and how much impact they can make with matching gifts. Check out this video for more tips on how to promote matching gifts to your donors:
On top of increasing your matching gift marketing, use these additional tips to tap into corporate philanthropy trends:
Invest in matching gift software. With software like 360MatchPro, you can greatly simplify the matching gift request process for donors. When you employ functionalities like matching gift auto-submission, your team can sit back and enjoy matching gift revenue trending upward.
Expand your promotion of disaster relief campaigns. If your nonprofit participates in crisis response or disaster relief efforts, promote these campaigns directly to corporate audiences. Reach out to businesses and let your donors know their employers can magnify their impact on aiding disasters.
Seek out corporate partnerships. Companies want to partner with organizations like yours! Take advantage of this corporate philanthropy trend by continuing to develop relationships with specific businesses, seeking out sponsorship opportunities, and tracking companies that frequently match your donors’ gifts.
Taking these steps will help your organization get the most out of corporate philanthropy and raise more funds for your mission.
What These CSR Trends Mean For Companies
Staying on top of trends in workplace giving isn’t only essential for nonprofits. Companies should also monitor the landscape and pay special attention to their employees’ engagement with their programs. That way, they can stay connected with increased expectations from their employees, prospective workers, investors, and customers.
Based on the corporate giving trends we’re currently seeing, this is what we suggest companies do to make a genuine impact:
Be generous with workplace giving programs. It’s not enough to simply engage in corporate giving. Instead, businesses should provide a wide variety employee giving opportunities, including everything from matching gifts to volunteer opportunities to charitable giving stipends.
Form partnerships with nonprofits. Consistently supporting one nonprofit can help grow impact while also indicating the company’s values. Companies should select reputable nonprofit partners that align with their missions.
Put special emphasis on matching gifts. Corporate matches are one of the most convenient yet powerful ways to give back. Companies should develop a generous program with low minimum donation requirements, high maximum donation requirements, and generous ratios. Then, they should make sure employees know about the opportunity.
Being serious about corporate giving is a great way for businesses to show they recognize their duty to give back to the communities that support them. While these tips reflect current CSR trends, we don’t expect these standards to change anytime soon.
Trending Onward & Upward
Corporate philanthropy continues to be a priority for businesses and employees everywhere. Thus, we encourage nonprofits to make the most of the opportunities at hand.
Interested in learning more about corporate philanthropy trends to be aware of? Check out these additional Double the Donation resources:
Corporate Giving and Matching Gift Statistics. Dive deeper into the research behind the current matching gift industry. Browse successful match totals, unclaimed funding, donor awareness statistics, and more.
Interested in learning more about how to continue fundraising through difficult times? Check out our immersive webinar on the topic!
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Trends-in-Corporate-Philanthropy_Feature.png3751000Adam Weingerhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgAdam Weinger2023-12-13 08:00:132024-02-13 17:20:528 Trends in Corporate Philanthropy for 2024: How to Tap In
As companies like yours strive to meet their sustainability goals, track their environmental impact, and demonstrate their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), the need for efficient and effective reporting software has never been more crucial. That’s where CSR reporting software comes in.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about CSR reporting software, including:
Whether you’re a small business looking to get started with CSR reporting or a multinational corporation seeking to enhance transparency and accountability for your existing programs, these insights will help you maximize the value of your chosen software.
Understanding CSR Reporting Software: 3 FAQs
Before we dive into the specifics of CSR reporting software, explore these frequently asked questions to ensure you have all the foundational knowledge you need:
What is CSR reporting software, and why do companies use it?
CSR reporting software refers to a set of specialized tools designed to help organizations track, manage, and report on their philanthropic initiatives.
Companies of all sizes use CSR software and reporting features to streamline the process of collecting and analyzing data related to these efforts. It enables them to generate comprehensive reports that showcase their commitment to responsible business practices, transparency, and accountability.
Is CSR reporting mandatory?
In most countries, companies are not legally obligated to produce reports related to their philanthropic, ethical, and environmental initiatives. However, many organizations still choose to engage in CSR reporting to demonstrate their commitment to becoming a more socially conscious organization.
Keep in mind that regulatory landscapes can change over time, so it’s important for companies to stay informed on CSR standards in their jurisdictions and industries.
How can CSR reporting software benefit my organization?
CSR reporting software offers several benefits, including:
Enhanced efficiency: These tools streamline data tracking, management, and analysis, reducing manual effort and the risk of errors.
Data-driven insights: The software provides valuable insights into CSR performance, helping your business identify areas for improvement.
Stakeholder engagement: CSR reports can be shared with stakeholders, including investors, customers, and employees, to demonstrate responsible business practices and build trust.
While implementing new software requires an investment of time and resources on your company’s part, the benefits far outweigh the costs.
4 Features to Look for in CSR Reporting Software
Prioritize these four features in your search for the best CSR reporting software:
1. Customization
Every organization’s CSR initiatives, objectives, and data requirements are unique. Customizability allows your company to tailor the software to align with your specific sustainability goals, industry standards, and regulatory compliance needs.
Work with developers to ensure that the software can accommodate your operational nuances. For example, if your organization decides to focus on environmental sustainability, you might require custom fields to track greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and water usage to assess and reduce your environmental impact.
2. Integration
Integration allows for a seamless exchange of data between CSR reporting software and other systems. Combining financial, operational, and sustainability data can provide a more complete picture of your CSR performance and facilitate improved decision-making.
Prioritize integrations that are relevant to your CSR-related goals. For instance, businesses that have robust matching gift programs should ensure that their CSR software integrates with a nonprofit-facing matching gift platform with auto-submission capabilities, such as 360MatchPro. Auto-submission streamlines the process of requesting, submitting, and reporting on matching gifts. As a result, you can increase your company’s philanthropic impact in less time.
For more information on matching gift auto-submission, watch this video:
3. Automation
Prioritize automation in your search for CSR reporting software, as it can significantly streamline the reporting process, enhance data accuracy, and save valuable time and resources. This makes it easier to meet reporting deadlines and focus on strategic sustainability initiatives.
Consider investing in software that has AI-driven analytics and reporting tools that can identify trends and insights automatically, reducing the need for manual data analysis. It’s also important to seek references or testimonials from current users who can attest to the software’s automation capabilities and its effectiveness in simplifying their CSR reporting processes.
4. Scalability
As your business evolves and expands, your CSR reporting needs may increase. Scalable software can handle large data volumes, accommodate additional users, and adapt to changing reporting requirements without compromising performance or data integrity.
Start by clearly defining your current and future reporting needs. Consider factors like the number of data sources, the volume of data, the complexity of reporting, and any potential growth projections.
Then, review the software’s architecture. Scalable software should be designed to handle increased loads by distributing resources efficiently. Prioritize cloud-based solutions as they can often handle large amounts of data without significant performance degradation.
How to Make the Most of CSR Reporting Software
If CSR reporting software seems like it would be a positive investment for your organization, follow these tips to ensure that its implemented correctly.
Define Clear Objectives and Metrics
Before using CSR reporting software, define clear objectives for your reporting efforts. Determine what you want to achieve through CSR reporting, whether it’s improved transparency, compliance with reporting standards, or better stakeholder engagement.
Then, identify key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that are relevant to your organization’s CSR goals. These may include:
Number of volunteer hours: Track the total number of hours volunteered by employees to understand their level of commitment to your corporate volunteerism initiatives.
Donations raised: Determine how much money has been raised through your CSR initiatives, whether that be through fundraising events, donation drives, or employee matching gifts.
Organizations or causes supported: Keep track of the number of organizations or causes supported through volunteering efforts to demonstrate the full extent of your impact.
Employee engagement: Measure employee satisfaction with and participation in CSR initiatives to understand how these initiatives have affected your work environment and morale.
When measuring the impact of CSR initiatives, a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics can provide a comprehensive understanding of your programs’ outcomes.
Leverage Data Visualization Tools
Most CSR reporting solutions come with data visualization tools that allow you to create visually appealing charts, graphs, and dashboards. These visuals can help stakeholders understand your performance at a glance.
Keep these tips in mind as you visualize data:
Choose the right visualization type. Selecting the appropriate visualization type is crucial for effectively conveying information. Consider the nature of the data and the story you want to tell. Common visualization types for CSR reporting include bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, maps, and infographics. Each type has its strengths and is suitable for different types of data.
Keep it simple and clear. Avoid cluttering the visualizations with excessive information or unnecessary design elements in your reports. Keep the visuals clean, uncluttered, and easy to understand.
Add context and storytelling. Use visualizations to tell a compelling story about your CSR initiatives. Incorporate narratives or descriptions to provide additional context and explanations for the data being presented. Use annotations, titles, and captions to guide the viewer’s attention and highlight key insights.
Remember that your choice of visualization techniques should align with the specific data and objectives of your CSR reporting.
Provide Comprehensive Training
Take these steps to ensure that your company’s staff members are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively use your CSR reporting software:
Provide comprehensive training materials. Develop training materials that cover all aspects of using the CSR reporting software. Consider providing both written and visual resources to accommodate diverse learning preferences, such as user manuals, video tutorials, step-by-step guides, and FAQs.
Hands-on training and practice. Offer hands-on training sessions where employees can actively engage with your CSR reporting software. Provide opportunities to practice inputting data, generating reports, and navigating different features. Address any questions or challenges that arise during the training sessions.
Ongoing support and resources. Establish a support system to assist employees after the initial training. This can include a dedicated help desk or support team that they can reach out to for assistance or troubleshooting.
Effective training is a continuous process. Regularly assess staff needs, gather feedback, and refine training materials and sessions accordingly.
A Final Note About CSR Reporting Software
As you embark on your journey toward effective CSR reporting, remember that the right software is not just a tool—it’s a strategic asset that can drive positive change and elevate your organization’s reputation in an increasingly socially conscious world. Use this foundational knowledge to guide your search and invest in the right solution for your organization.
For more information on CSR, check out these additional resources:
https://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CSR-reporting-software_Feature.png6001600shannon.moranhttps://doublethedonation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/logo-dtd.svgshannon.moran2023-11-28 17:04:252023-11-28 17:04:25CSR Reporting Software: An Introductory Guide for Businesses
When the Danaher Corporation team sought new and innovative ways to give back to its community and increasingly engage its workforce in philanthropy, the company settled on a one-off matching gift initiative. After establishing the program, Danaher employees were invited to support LLS through an upcoming fundraising event, Light the Night. With an employee count of over 70,000, the company got on board to give back to their communities in a substantial way.
