When you think of employee engagement, what comes to mind? It could mean having happy employees, employees who are invested in the work they’re doing for your company, or employees who feel good about what your company does as a whole.
In reality, all of those traits define employee engagement. And having high employee engagement levels comes with a lot of value.
Why is employee engagement important?
Employee engagement is important because it boosts productivity, profitability, and retention rates at your company. When employees are engaged at their company, it means they have an emotional investment in the work they’re doing and the work your business does overall.
But employee engagement takes many forms, and it takes effort from your company to foster an environment that encourages engagement. One of the most effective ways you can boost engagement at your company is through corporate philanthropy.
When companies take part in corporate philanthropy efforts, it reflects well on them as a whole and encourages employees to get involved. In this article, we’ll outline seven employee engagement ideas centered around philanthropy. Using these ideas, your company will be in a better position to increase engagement among your employees.
We’ll discuss:
- Matching Gift Programs
- Corporate Volunteerism
- Corporate Volunteer Grants
- Automatic Payroll Deductions
- Annual Giving Campaigns
- Cause Marketing Campaigns
- Employee Engagement Software
Centering your efforts around corporate philanthropy is a great way to boost morale among your employees and keep them invested in the work you do. Let’s get started.
1. Matching Gift Programs
With the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR), many companies are taking the initiative to do good in their communities. One of the most common ways companies do this is by implementing matching gift programs.
Corporate matching gift programs are a type of philanthropy in which companies financially match donations that 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 4:1. That means nonprofits have the opportunity to receive at least double the amount of an initial gift.
How do matching gifts tie into employee engagement?
Matching gift programs are essential for employee engagement because those programs demonstrate to employees that your company cares about the same organizations and causes they do.
Even though matching gifts are common in terms of 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 to your employees. Whether it’s done through onboarding or regular employee communications, alerting employees to the fact that they can double their donations to their favorite charities can go a long way in terms of engagement.
Taking this initiative is also great for the nonprofits your matching gift program benefits, because the more you encourage employees to participate in these programs, the more nonprofits will raise for their causes. It’s a win-win!
2. Corporate Volunteerism
Just as matching gifts are one of the most common types of CSR programs out there, another common CSR initiative is corporate volunteerism.
Through corporate volunteerism, employees are encouraged to volunteer their time at local nonprofits they want to support.
Companies encourage volunteerism in a number of ways, one of which is through offering paid time off during the year to volunteer. 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 encourages coworkers to get together, 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.
How does corporate volunteerism tie into employee engagement?
Companies that promote volunteer opportunities and actively encourage their employees to participate show that they care about giving back to the community, and are even willing to offer paid time off to do so. This 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 role in the company, and be happier as a result.
3. Corporate 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 non-monetary contributions—volunteer hours—into revenue for your nonprofit. 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 goals at the same time.
How do corporate volunteer grants tie into employee engagement?
Many volunteers and nonprofits are unaware that the volunteer’s employer even offers a volunteer grant program. That’s why it’s essential to actively promote these opportunities to employees—especially those who volunteer with nonprofits on a regular basis.
The more you encourage volunteerism and promote volunteer grant opportunities, the more employees will feel engaged with your company and its values.
Additionally, the easier you make it to participate in your volunteer grant program, the more you’ll get out of the program you’ve invested in. One way to make participation easier and more streamlined is by investing in employee engagement software. If you’re interested in the kinds of solutions available to you, jump to that section now!
4. 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 deduct 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.
Most organizations are generally vetted by companies to ensure their employees’ automatic payroll contributions are going to reputable nonprofits. This will reassure employees that their donations are going to a good cause.
How do automatic payroll deductions tie into employee engagement?
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 the donation is still tax deductible for employees.
- Employees will continue to participate in automatic payroll deductions long term because of the ease and security associated with the program.
The more options you offer as part of your workplace giving programs, the more likely employees will be to engage and participate in those programs. Automatic payroll deductions are an excellent option to consider as a company.
5. 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.
Companies can use this time to encourage their employees to donate to important causes. This can be done via monetary donations or donations of time. 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. Encouraging your employees to give during these campaigns is especially important for the nonprofits they support, but also for your company’s image.
How do annual giving campaigns tie into employee engagement?
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 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 practice.
6. Cause Marketing Campaigns
As a big part of CSR, 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 they operate.
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 can help them serve their constituents.
How do cause marketing campaigns tie into employee engagement?
Cause marketing is a great employee engagement idea because it actively encourages employee participation. After all, 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.
7. Employee Engagement Software
For all of these employee engagement ideas, you’ll want to have an organized system in place to run it. 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.
Employee engagement software is a must when it comes to organizing your workplace giving programs.
Using an employee engagement platform, you can:
- 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 employee engagement software can help keep your company on track.
Be sure to invest in the right employee engagement software that will allow your company to benefit the most from the workplace giving programs you’ve already invested so much into.
Additional Resources
Looking for even more information about employee engagement ideas that can benefit your company? Start with the resources below:
7 Employee Engagement Ideas to Promote Philanthropy
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerWhen you think of employee engagement, what comes to mind? It could mean having happy employees, employees who are invested in the work they’re doing for your company, or employees who feel good about what your company does as a whole.
In reality, all of those traits define employee engagement. And having high employee engagement levels comes with a lot of value.
Why is employee engagement important?
Employee engagement is important because it boosts productivity, profitability, and retention rates at your company. When employees are engaged at their company, it means they have an emotional investment in the work they’re doing and the work your business does overall.
But employee engagement takes many forms, and it takes effort from your company to foster an environment that encourages engagement. One of the most effective ways you can boost engagement at your company is through corporate philanthropy.
When companies take part in corporate philanthropy efforts, it reflects well on them as a whole and encourages employees to get involved. In this article, we’ll outline seven employee engagement ideas centered around philanthropy. Using these ideas, your company will be in a better position to increase engagement among your employees.
We’ll discuss:
Centering your efforts around corporate philanthropy is a great way to boost morale among your employees and keep them invested in the work you do. Let’s get started.
1. Matching Gift Programs
With the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR), many companies are taking the initiative to do good in their communities. One of the most common ways companies do this is by implementing matching gift programs.
Corporate matching gift programs are a type of philanthropy in which companies financially match donations that 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 4:1. That means nonprofits have the opportunity to receive at least double the amount of an initial gift.
How do matching gifts tie into employee engagement?
Matching gift programs are essential for employee engagement because those programs demonstrate to employees that your company cares about the same organizations and causes they do.
Even though matching gifts are common in terms of 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 to your employees. Whether it’s done through onboarding or regular employee communications, alerting employees to the fact that they can double their donations to their favorite charities can go a long way in terms of engagement.
Taking this initiative is also great for the nonprofits your matching gift program benefits, because the more you encourage employees to participate in these programs, the more nonprofits will raise for their causes. It’s a win-win!
2. Corporate Volunteerism
Just as matching gifts are one of the most common types of CSR programs out there, another common CSR initiative is corporate volunteerism.
Through corporate volunteerism, employees are encouraged to volunteer their time at local nonprofits they want to support.
Companies encourage volunteerism in a number of ways, one of which is through offering paid time off during the year to volunteer. 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 encourages coworkers to get together, 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.
How does corporate volunteerism tie into employee engagement?
Companies that promote volunteer opportunities and actively encourage their employees to participate show that they care about giving back to the community, and are even willing to offer paid time off to do so. This 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 role in the company, and be happier as a result.
3. Corporate 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 non-monetary contributions—volunteer hours—into revenue for your nonprofit. 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:
Corporate volunteer grants essentially help nonprofits meet their fundraising and volunteer goals at the same time.
How do corporate volunteer grants tie into employee engagement?
Many volunteers and nonprofits are unaware that the volunteer’s employer even offers a volunteer grant program. That’s why it’s essential to actively promote these opportunities to employees—especially those who volunteer with nonprofits on a regular basis.
The more you encourage volunteerism and promote volunteer grant opportunities, the more employees will feel engaged with your company and its values.
Additionally, the easier you make it to participate in your volunteer grant program, the more you’ll get out of the program you’ve invested in. One way to make participation easier and more streamlined is by investing in employee engagement software. If you’re interested in the kinds of solutions available to you, jump to that section now!
4. 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 deduct 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.
Most organizations are generally vetted by companies to ensure their employees’ automatic payroll contributions are going to reputable nonprofits. This will reassure employees that their donations are going to a good cause.
How do automatic payroll deductions tie into employee engagement?
By making it easy for employees to give to reputable organizations, your company accomplishes a few things:
The more options you offer as part of your workplace giving programs, the more likely employees will be to engage and participate in those programs. Automatic payroll deductions are an excellent option to consider as a company.
5. 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.
Companies can use this time to encourage their employees to donate to important causes. This can be done via monetary donations or donations of time. 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. Encouraging your employees to give during these campaigns is especially important for the nonprofits they support, but also for your company’s image.
How do annual giving campaigns tie into employee engagement?
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 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 practice.
6. Cause Marketing Campaigns
As a big part of CSR, 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 they operate.
Here are some examples of cause marketing:
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 can help them serve their constituents.
How do cause marketing campaigns tie into employee engagement?
Cause marketing is a great employee engagement idea because it actively encourages employee participation. After all, 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.
7. Employee Engagement Software
For all of these employee engagement ideas, you’ll want to have an organized system in place to run it. 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.
Employee engagement software is a must when it comes to organizing your workplace giving programs.
Using an employee engagement platform, you can:
These are just some of the ways employee engagement software can help keep your company on track.
Be sure to invest in the right employee engagement software that will allow your company to benefit the most from the workplace giving programs you’ve already invested so much into.
Additional Resources
Looking for even more information about employee engagement ideas that can benefit your company? Start with the resources below:
Classy Integrations: Recommendations for Smart Nonprofits
/in Learning Center, Lists and Rankings /by Adam WeingerEngaging Networks and Double the Donation Announce Advanced Matching Gifts Automation with 360MatchPro
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation is proud to announce a new integration between Engaging Networks and 360MatchPro, providing nonprofits with the most advanced matching gift technology from the leading provider of matching gifts and volunteer grant software to nonprofits and educational institutions.
360MatchPro identifies match eligible donors, reaches out to those donors with matching gift info, and guides donors directly to those next steps so nonprofits can see contributions double or triple in value.
“Nonprofit teams don’t always have the time to manually reach out to donors about matching gift opportunities,” said Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “With our new integration with Engaging Networks, nonprofits can reap the benefits of matching gifts outreach without sacrificing their team’s valuable time.”
This seamless integration will help nonprofits take advantage of the $4-7 billion in matching gift revenue that goes unclaimed each year.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
With the turnkey integrated solution between Engaging Networks and 360MatchPro, you can get set up and configured in a few simple steps. Just enter your API keys from your 360MatchPro account to link your integration, then plug 360MatchPro’s tools wherever you want them on your donation forms. It’s that easy!
Enter your API keys for a seamless activation process.
Once fully integrated into your Engaging Networks forms, 360MatchPro will go straight to work collecting employer information, identifying match eligible donors, and driving matches to completion with built-in donor facing tools and automated email follow ups.
Allow donors to discover their eligibility for a matching gift from their employer.
With 360MatchPro, you can educate donors about their eligibility and lead them to their next steps with every transaction–all without sacrificing precious time and effort from your team!
Drive More Matches to Completion with 360MatchPro!
The Engaging Networks and 360MatchPro integration is designed to make the process of raising more from matching gifts easier for everyone, and that includes your organization. Check out some of these additional features:
Ready to get started on your matching gifts journey? Request a demo today.
About Engaging Networks: Engaging Networks is a flexible, completely customizable and innovative software platform for nonprofits. Today, they have two offices in Washington, D.C. and London, and serve more than 400 nonprofits in more than 50 countries around the world.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.
AlumnIQ and Double the Donation Launch Advanced Matching Gift Integration
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerAlumnnIQ, a powerful and innovative fundraising platform, has partnered with Double the Donation to bring automated matching gift technology to its clients. This partnership will allow universities using AlumnIQ to access 360MatchPro, the industry leading matching gift solution.
360MatchPro and AlumnIQ integrate seamlessly, allowing users to activate this solution with just a couple of clicks. Then, universities can begin identifying match-eligible donors during the donation process, taking the guesswork out of matching gift campaigns.
360MatchPro then automates matching gift messaging post-transaction, guiding donors directly to their specific matching gift submission form. These combined solutions can help universities everywhere double or even triple their matching gift revenue.
“Double the Donation is proud to launch this partnership and add valuable matching gift technology to the AlumnIQ platform.” says Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “This integration will empower universities to tap into the billions of dollars in matching gift revenue that goes unclaimed each year.”
This robust integration provides advanced matching gift fundraising automation without any extra effort from fundraisers. With this technology, universities can target the 18 million individuals who qualify for matching gift programs through their employers.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
AlumnIQ and 360MatchPro integrate seamlessly so that you can start driving donations in no time. Simply navigate to the “Employer Match” section of your AlumnIQ giving settings. From there, you can enter your 360MatchPro credentials to activate the integration.
Once you’re all set up, your donation forms will be equipped with the 360MatchPro search field where donors can search for the name of the employer. This streamlined search bar then gets to work, suggesting companies as the donor types for a simple selection process. This field even takes spelling errors, parent companies and subsidiaries into account, making it simple for donors to be accurately identified as match-eligible. You can even customize the text surrounding this search bar, so that you can choose how to ask donors for their employer information.
After the donation process, donors will be presented with a direct link to their matching gift submission form – meaning they can start the gift matching process with just one click. This link is accompanied by matching gift guidelines including program eligibility, offered match ratio and more.
360MatchPro also automates matching gift messaging through branded, customizable emails. These messages also contain a direct link to donors’ specific matching gift submission forms, providing another touchpoint for donors to double their donations through employer gift matching.
With 360MatchPro and AlumnIQ, your organization can easily fuel your fundraising through employer matching gifts!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
AlumnIQ and 360MatchPro provide advanced fundraising features.
With this solution, your institution can:
Ready to learn more? Request a personalized demo with Double the Donation.
About AlumnIQ: AlumnIQ is designed for today’s engagement environment: mobile, integrated, personalized, and measured in every imaginable regard. Their system delivers information – not simply data – that you can use to effectively implement programs and services your constituents want and need to be a part of. The AlumnIQ goal is to make data management easier and more efficient so your staff can maximize their efforts on constituent engagement. To learn more, visit: https://www.alumniq.com/
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more visit https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/
Employee Engagement: The Essential Guide for 2021
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerAs a company, managing employees and productivity can be a challenge. You want to keep your employees happy and feeling fulfilled in their work, and a lot of the time, their level of engagement with their job informs all of that.
That’s why keeping your employees engaged is so important.
High employee engagement is one of the top reasons employees stay at their jobs long term, are more productive, and feel fulfilled. In order to explore these ideas, we’re going to define employee engagement and dig deeper into why it makes a difference for your company.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement refers to the level at which employees are excited about and committed to their jobs. When employees are engaged, they are more likely to produce higher quality work and feel invested in what they do.
Employee engagement is different from employee satisfaction, but these terms are interconnected. Satisfaction simply means an employee enjoys their job, but isn’t necessarily engaged with it. Employee engagement, on the other hand, means employees are emotionally invested in the work they’re doing.
Consider the following questions as you look into ways your company can boost your employee engagement levels:
There are many benefits of employee engagement and ways to enhance it at your company. Let’s jump in.
1. Why is employee engagement important?
According to recent statistics, 85% of employees are not engaged in the workplace—which means a large number of employees might leave their current jobs for another.
On the other hand, studies indicate that companies whose employees are engaged are 22% more profitable.
Put simply, employee engagement is important because it leads to higher retention rates and productivity. As is implied, a higher retention rate also means your company doesn’t have to deal with as much turnover, hiring, and training, which saves you a lot of money down the road.
The takeaway? Employee engagement leads to happy employees, longer tenures with your company, and higher productivity levels.
So, how can your company build up its employee engagement rate? There are many ways to do this, but we’re going to focus specifically on one avenue that has a huge impact: corporate social responsibility programs. Read on to learn more!
2. What are effective employee engagement ideas?
If you’re looking for effective employee engagement ideas, consider corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a term used to describe a company’s efforts to improve society. And with CSR comes many different initiatives companies take on to do just that.
Offering generous and inclusive CSR programs is one of the top drivers of employee engagement because employees are more likely to be happy working for a company that contributes to social good.
Employee Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR is an umbrella term that covers everything from corporate philanthropy to positive economic and environmental efforts a company takes upon itself.
For the purpose of this article, we’re going to focus on some of the top philanthropic efforts a company can put forth that in turn boost employee engagement. These include:
Matching Gifts
One of the best ways to foster employee engagement is through corporate matching gift programs. Corporate matching gifts are a type of CSR initiative in which companies financially match donations their employees make to nonprofits.
When it comes to workplace giving and CSR, matching gifts are a common offering, and it’s important for companies to actively promote these opportunities to their employees.
Employees who understand how to request a matching gift for their donation will be more likely to go through the process and feel good that their company made their gift go twice as far.
That said, it can be challenging to inform employees of your matching gift program. That’s why you should also make a point to promote matching gift opportunities throughout the year in a variety of ways, including:
When you encourage employees to participate in your matching gift program, it not only benefits your company and helps you make the most of the giving program you’ve invested in, but also benefits the nonprofits those dollars go toward.
Volunteering
Now is the time to implement or enhance your employee volunteer program. That’s because offering volunteer opportunities within your company is a fantastic way to keep employees happy and fulfilled.
Whether you offer paid time off to volunteer, team-building volunteer opportunities, or a simple way for employees to access volunteer positions in your community, employees will be excited to step up and help the causes they care about.
When it comes to corporate volunteering and building up employee engagement, volunteering takes on a few manifestations:
Companies also tend to use employee engagement platforms to organize their volunteer activity, as well as manage matching gifts and employee donations. This type of platform helps companies track volunteer opportunities in the greater community around their business, get employees signed up, and keep them engaged in the company’s culture of giving.
Looking to learn more about employee engagement software? Jump to that section now!
Other CSR Initiatives
Beyond matching gifts and corporate volunteerism, there are several other types of CSR initiatives that encourage employee engagement and participation.
Among the most common are workplace giving programs like automatic payroll deductions, annual giving campaigns, and other opportunities to donate to good causes.
Through these company-sponsored programs, nonprofits are vetted and can build solid relationships with companies and their employees. Employees can rest assured that they’re donating to a worthy cause, and nonprofits get the support they deserve. Meanwhile, companies can get the most out of the giving programs they invested in.
Out of all the employee engagement ideas out there, focusing on corporate philanthropy and workplace giving, as well as other corporate social responsibility programs, will help your employees feel fulfilled and happy working for your company. Knowing that your company cares about the same causes they care about will keep them engaged and invested in the work they do for you.
3. How does employee engagement software help companies?
Having highly engaged employees is great, right? When you offer opportunities for employees to get involved in helping important causes, everyone will benefit.
But how can you effectively keep track of and manage all of these programs?
Tracking workplace giving programs and volunteer opportunities might sound like spreadsheets upon spreadsheets and lots of data entry. But there’s another way your company can manage your employees’ activity, as well as the programs you’re promoting: employee engagement software.
Employee engagement software helps you keep track of employee donations, volunteering opportunities, automatic payroll deductions, grant requests, and more.
Let’s turn back to those employee engagement ideas we discussed earlier:
Matching Gift Programs and Employee Engagement Software
When you invest in software that helps you regulate your matching gift program, you’ll make it easier for employees to get their donations matched for any eligible nonprofit. This makes them more likely to participate and feel engaged with your company as a result.
Employee engagement software helps manage your matching gift program by:
All of these features give your company a bigger picture of the impact you can make.
Corporate Volunteerism and Employee Engagement Software
Employee engagement software can also regulate your volunteer opportunities. The easier it is for employees to provide you with their volunteer activity information, the more likely they will be to participate in your volunteer program.
For example, employee engagement software helps manage your volunteer program by:
Volunteering consists of many juggling tasks, but when you use software to streamline the tracking and approval process, you’ll save your team and your company a lot of headache.
4. What are some additional employee engagement resources?
Your employee engagement efforts shouldn’t stop here! Now that you have a basic understanding of how employee engagement works, check out these additional resources:
Giveffect Chooses 360MatchPro by Double the Donation as Integrated Matching Gift Solution
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and Giveffect are proud to announce their new technical partnership integration. This collaboration will allow more nonprofit fundraisers to take advantage of the powerful automated matching gift solution, 360MatchPro.
Using 360MatchPro and Giveffect, fundraisers will be able to identify match-eligible donors during the donation process, and then immediately target them with personalized, actionable outreach post-contribution. This ensures that no match-eligible donor goes unacknowledged, leading to increased matching gift revenue.
“We are thrilled to add 360MatchPro to the robust Giveffect platform,” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “Nonprofits are consistently missing out on matching gift revenue and many struggle to capture these funds without an automated system. Now, organizations that use Giveffect can help their matching gift revenue soar.”
360MatchPro works alongside Giveffect’s fundraising features to deliver greater matching gift results. This can help nonprofits everywhere double eligible donations and take advantage of the $4-7 billion in matching gift revenue that goes unclaimed each year.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
Giveffect and 360MatchPro integrate seamlessly so that you can activate the integration with just a few clicks. To get started, simply navigate to your integration settings from within the Giveffect platform. Then, enter your 360MatchPro API keys to activate the integration. This process allows you to activate 360MatchPro on General Donation forms, and you can even navigate to campaign settings to enable the integration for campaign-specific forms.
Once your integration is activated, you can start identifying match-eligible donors from your donation form. Donors can simply search for the name of their employer using the 360MatchPro streamlined search tool. This tool takes spelling errors, parent companies and subsidiaries into account. Once the donor enters their employer name, the 360MatchPro gets to work, scanning its extensive database to determine if the donor has a matching gift program.
After the donation process, 360MatchPro provides donors with actionable matching gift next steps. From the confirmation page, donors can easily access their matching gift request form so that they can start the gift matching process with just one click – making it simple to double donations! Nonprofits can also use 360MatchPro to automate matching gift emails after the donation process. This provides another easy touch point for donors to access their matching gift request forms and drive matching gift revenue.
Integrating 360MatchPro with Giveffect can help your organization harness matching gift funds without taking up staff time or effort!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro and Giveffect work to provide valuable fundraising solutions to help advance your mission.
Using these powerful features, your nonprofit can:
Ready to learn more? Request a personalized demo with Double the Donation. Make sure to mention that you use Giveffect!
About Giveffect: Giveffect is an all-in-one nonprofit software solution that powers nonprofits in fundraising, events, online donations, offline gift tracking, volunteer management, donor management, constituent relationship management software and more! This innovative platform helps nonprofits boost their revenue and save time with cutting-edge technology and smart automation. You should check it out at https://www.giveffect.com/
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more about Double the Donation, visit https://doublethedonation.com and request a demo at https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/
Workplace Giving: The Guide for Nonprofits and Companies
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerIn this day and age, companies are diving deeper into social good. This is largely due to the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which reflects a company’s efforts toward improving society.
It’s through these efforts that corporate social responsibility programs are created. And one of the biggest programs to come from CSR is workplace giving.
The impact of workplace giving isn’t limited to companies, however. Nonprofit organizations all over the world benefit from CSR initiatives, with workplace giving at the forefront. So if you’re part of a nonprofit organization and you’re wondering why you should care about workplace giving strategies, this guide is a great place to start. Likewise, if you work for a company trying to implement or enhance its workplace giving program, this article will be a great resource for you, too.
Both companies and nonprofits should be focusing on workplace giving—it’s a key driver of success from both ends. That’s why we’re going to cover the following topics:
Workplace giving can have a huge impact on society as a whole, benefiting nonprofits all over the globe. But there’s more to it than that. Let’s get started.
1. What is workplace giving?
Workplace giving is a company-sponsored program that provides its employees with the opportunity to financially support nonprofit organizations.
Through workplace giving, employees can make charitable donations to the nonprofits they care about.
Workplace giving is an umbrella term, which means it takes many forms when it comes to supporting organizations. One of the most common types of workplace giving programs is payroll deductions, through which employees automatically deduct a portion of their paycheck to a charity of their choice.
Payroll deductions and other similar workplace giving programs can result in a larger number of donations to nonprofits. For example, when multiple employees across several companies choose to give part of their paycheck to the same nonprofit, that nonprofit will amass a large amount of funds and support.
But workplace giving extends beyond this. In fact, diversifying workplace giving is one of the best ways a company can get their employees to participate. When you don’t limit them to one or two giving options, employees have the freedom to choose how they want to give and actively take part in the process as a result.
As part of workplace giving, companies can choose to:
Corporate matching gifts are arguably the most effective and important giving channel to focus on as both a company and nonprofit. Most companies match at a 1:1 ratio (a dollar for a dollar), but ratios can range from .5:1 to 4:1. Many companies also match donations to a wide range of organizations, with few restrictions.
So when nonprofits tap into workplace giving, corporate matching gifts should be something they actively pursue. And when employees give through their employers, matching gifts can maximize their impact.
Workplace giving can be enhanced by any of the programs we’ve already mentioned. But the most important thing to remember is when companies offer multiple ways to give to charities, employees will be more likely to participate in the first place.
2. What are the benefits of workplace giving for companies?
Beyond the social good workplace giving promotes all around, there are specific benefits for companies. When it comes to employee engagement, a company’s employees tend to be happier working for companies that support generous giving initiatives. Employees have a longer tenure with those companies, which then benefits the company because of its higher retention rates and money saved from low employee turnover.
Apart from internal benefits, companies also maintain a positive public image in the communities in which they operate. Consumers are more likely to buy products and services from companies that encourage workplace giving.
Your company has spent a lot of time and energy setting up its workplace giving program, and it’s obvious that many benefits come with this. But beyond having an effective workplace giving program, it should also be easy for your employees to participate. After all, the more your employees take part in workplace giving, the happier they’ll be.
For that reason, finding software that makes participating in workplace giving easy can help you get the most out of your program. Read more about workplace giving software solutions below!
3. What are the benefits of workplace giving for nonprofits?
It’s obvious that workplace giving campaigns help nonprofits financially. But the benefits go deeper than that.
When companies emphasize corporate matching gifts and other workplace giving programs, nonprofits benefit tremendously. This is because:
Nonprofits also save time and resources by participating in workplace giving programs. They can receive gifts in a cost-efficient way without spending more time soliciting donations. Instead, that time can go to doing good.
When companies do everything they can to encourage employees to participate in workplace giving programs, nonprofits will get more than just monetary support. They’ll become part of a larger community that helps them reach their goals and keeps their organization running.
4. What are the benefits of workplace giving for employees?
Workplace giving doesn’t just benefit companies and nonprofits. As previously mentioned, companies that participate in workplace giving maintain a higher employee engagement rate and lower turnover. So let’s look specifically at how workplace giving programs can further benefit employees:
There are many reasons why workplace giving matters, and for employees, being able to donate effectively to worthy causes is a big one.
5. How can companies implement and maintain workplace giving programs?
For companies, implementing and keeping up with their workplace giving programs is crucial to their success. If a company doesn’t have a set process in place for tracking matching gifts, volunteer grant requests, payroll deduction options, and other components of their giving programs, those tasks can quickly become tedious and disorganized.
That’s why many companies invest in workplace giving solutions to effectively track each task, their CSR initiatives, their goals, and any pending requests. There are many types of workplace giving platforms, so be sure to look for tools that meet your company’s needs.
More specifically, if you’re running a matching gift, volunteer grant, or payroll deduction program, below are some key features to look for in your workplace giving solution:
When you choose workplace giving software that offers the tools you need to manage each component of your giving program, it’ll be much easier for your employees to get involved and for your company to track your overall CSR initiatives and progress.
How can companies actively promote workplace giving programs?
The best thing a company can do to promote workplace giving—and to help nonprofits in the process—is to educate their employees.
Feature your workplace giving programs in employee onboarding materials. More specifically, you should highlight:
Educating your employees from the start and offering reminders throughout the year (or even through a year-end giving campaign) will keep your CSR initiatives at the forefront of your company culture.
Of course, it’s always a good practice to get feedback on your workplace giving programs, especially from employees. This will help you determine whether your program is accessible and effective for those who work within your company. Send out surveys and even allow employees to vote on the types of nonprofits or causes they want to support (or the types of workplace giving programs they want to see).
When companies take charge and contribute to the greater good, nonprofits can benefit immensely. But the effectiveness of a workplace giving program depends on how the company implements it, how they promote it, and how they maintain it at all times.
6. What are some additional workplace giving resources?
Hopefully this guide has served as a helpful start to learning more about workplace giving. Whether you’re part of a company or nonprofit, the benefits of taking part in workplace giving programs are endless.
If you want to do some further reading, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite resources below:
Kindest and Double the Donation Announce Advanced Matching Gifts Integration
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerKindest and Double the Donation are proud to announce a new matching gifts integration between Kindest’s online fundraising platform and 360MatchPro, the most powerful matching gift automation tool by Double the Donation.
The new integration gets to work identifying eligible donors, guiding donors to their company matching gift request forms, and following up with donors even after they’ve left their giving screens.
“Nonprofits are leaving $4-7 million in matching gift revenue on the table every year, and it’s our goal to help nonprofits claim more and more of that each year,” says Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “360MatchPro and Kindest are able to help nonprofits close the donor awareness gap and raise more, donation after donation.”
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
Activating your integration takes no time at all—all you have to do is copy and paste your public and private API keys from your 360MatchPro account and plug them into your Kindest backend to get started. From here, you’ll have the 360MatchPro autocomplete search field and confirmation page plugin appear on all your Kindest giving forms.
Now you can let Kindest and 360MatchPro do the matching gifts work for you! Donors will be able to check their eligibility by searching their company name during the giving process. After identifying their employer, 360Matchpro can immediately notify donors of their eligibility and lead them to their next steps directly on the confirmation page.
If donors can’t submit their matching gift request immediately, 360MatchPro’s automated email streams will follow up later with personalized next steps. The best part? With a one-time configuration and full onboarding support from the Double the Donation Client Success Team, your team won’t have to worry about complicated IT work or time-consuming manual outreach.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
The simple, effective, and powerful integration between Kindest and 360MatchPro by Double the Donation makes life easy for both nonprofits and their donors. Some other key features nonprofits can take advantage of:
Ready to get started today? Request a personalized demo with the Double the Donation team, and make sure you mention you use Kindest!
About Kindest: Kindest brings modern marketing methods to the online fundraising world with simple and easy to use tools. Our platform combines email campaigns, scheduling and SMS marketing with powerful CRM, donor engagement and integrated analytics. This sophisticated yet simple combination takes all important fundraising use cases under one roof.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more about Double the Donation, visit https://doublethedonation.com and request a demo at https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/.
Nonprofit Mission Statements: 5 Reasons to Care
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerSquare One.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to state your mission.
Yes, you read that right.
It’s often tempting just to jump straight into the streets of your community and start helping people. That heart of service is why you’re in the nonprofit world in the first place.
But before you can effectively do good in the world, land the funding or entice the volunteers, you must know unequivocally who you are.
The cart is the mission, the horse is the mission statement. And as they say, never put the cart before the horse.
Below are five things your mission statement should provide, both internally and externally, before you take on the world.
The Horse.
Purpose
Brand Voice
Values
Inspiration
Unity
The Cart.
Once you craft your mission statement, you are freer than ever before to unleash your nonprofit’s full potential. You now have a voice that will stand out from the rest, and a road map to stay on course.
So, saddle up and ride on!
This post was contributed by the team at Click & Pledge. Click & Pledge helps nonprofits generate more impact with an all-in-one digital fundraising platform. Since 2000, Click & Pledge’s innovative technology has helped over 20,000 fundraisers with their campaigns.
Our Favorite Fundraising Platforms for GoFundMe Charity Users
/in Crowdfunding, Lists and Rankings /by GabrielleAs GoFundMe moves to officially sunset its nonprofit-specific fundraising solution, you may be on the lookout to transition to a new platform. If you’re having a hard time deciding where to start, we’re here to help with this list of our favorite GoFundMe Charity alternatives.
But wait! If you’re looking to stay with the GoFundMe platform, they’ve rolled out a new solution for nonprofit fundraisers. This new charity fundraising experience can help organizations better connect with supporters, build and share their campaigns, and collect more for their philanthropic fundraising needs.
If you’re in the mood to try something new, however, we recommend looking for software that equips fundraisers with the tools they need to match gifts. For example, all of the following platforms have a native integration with Double the Donation’s most powerful gift matching automation tool, 360MatchPro!
See below for a sneak peek of what each alternate platform has to offer.
Don’t have 360MatchPro yet? Talk to the double the Donation team to take advantage of matching gifts with these awesome platform integrations.
ACD Direct
ACD Direct is a full-service, omnichannel contact solution that has helped over 170 charities raise over $1.3 billion in donations from tens of millions of donors since 2003. This platform can help leverage your successful campaign by engaging with your donors and cultivating their investment in your mission for years to come.
Some key features:
Arreva
Arreva has been serving the nonprofit industry for more than three decades and is prepared to help you transition right now from GoFundMe Charity. Further your mission, attract new donors, cultivate and engage existing donors, and raise more money with Arreva’s wide range of fundraising solutions.
Some key features:
BetterUnite
BetterUnite is one of the most comprehensive fundraising software available – all with no monthly payments, no setup fees, and zero commitment. Their innovative fundraising software modules allow you to raise money for your organization in branded and customizable events and virtual events, auctions, walk/run races, crowdfunding campaigns, giving pages, and much more.
Further, BetterUnite fundraising modules are all supported by a robust donor management tool working on the backend to empower you to capitalize on data-driven fundraising.
Some key features:
CharityEngine
CharityEngine gives you more of the benefit of your most passionate supporters fundraising on your behalf. After all, personal (or DIY) fundraising is an enormous part of your donors’ journeys. When supporters fundraise outside of your tools, you lose valuable information and control of your brand.
CharityEngine ensures it’s easy to build peer-to-peer fundraising sites and personal fundraising pages for individuals and teams that automatically integrate with all of your other data and operations. That means no more imports/exports for your staff – just seamless operations and reporting for you and your most passionate supporters.
Some key features:
Classy
Classy is a B Corp Certified social enterprise that helps nonprofits maximize their impact through a suite of world-class online fundraising tools. Nonprofits of every size and cause – from human rights to disaster relief – use Classy to raise money, engage their communities, and advance their missions. From events to donations, to crowdfunding and peer-to-peer campaigns, you can create a consistent online presence across all of your fundraising.
Some key features:
Donately
Donately provides incredible value in online fundraising. With customizable donation forms, peer-to-peer fundraising, donor management, recurring donations, text messaging, and more, your organization will get all of the top features available for a fraction of the cost of traditional platforms.
Some key features:
DonorDrive
Drive more revenue for your cause with the enterprise-level fundraising platform that has a proven track record of driving growth for nonprofits. DonorDrive provides a better all-around experience for nonprofit staff, fundraisers, and donors. With over 20 years of innovation, DonorDrive has helped hundreds of nonprofits grow and become industry leaders.
Some key features:
Fundraise Up
Fundraise Up leverages AI, machine learning, and data science to reduce friction in the online donation experience and double your donation revenue. This unique platform analyzes user behaviors to determine the best suggested donation sizes and ensure more targeted donation processes.
Some key features:
Funraise
Funraise is fundraising software that was developed by nonprofits for nonprofits. As an all-in-one, user-friendly solution, Funraise provides fundraisers with the tools they need to empower donors and further their mission. This platform provides donation forms, fundraising websites, and a donor CRM to help you raise more money, tame donor management, and customize online donation collection.
Some key features:
Givebutter
Givebutter was founded in 2016 out of a college dorm room in Washington, DC as one of the first crowdfunding platforms geared specifically towards students. Today, Givebutter offers a full suite of online fundraising technology for payments, campaigns, and events of all kinds, powering more than $100 million in donations per year for over 35,000 organizations and causes.
Some key features:
GiveForms
GiveForms is a powerful online donation platform that lets you seamlessly embed a form on your website, allowing visitors to donate using a credit or debit card, PayPal, Google Pay, or bank transfers. With a focus on intuitive, human-centered design, the GiveForms goal is to help you increase your online donations.
Some key features:
GiveGab
GiveGab is one of the top Giving Day and year-round fundraising solutions trusted by community foundations, nonprofit networks, public media outlets, hospitals, and educational institutions of all sizes. With a mission to make it incredibly easy for fundraising professionals to be great at their jobs, GiveGab can help you experience the joy of fundraising.
Some key features:
GiveSignUp | RunSignUp
GiveSignup | RunSignup is a leading all-in-one Support Engagement platform for endurance events and fundraising. More than 22,000 events, including over 9,000 nonprofits, use the GiveSignup | RunSignup free and integrated registration, nonprofit ticketing & fundraising solutions to save time, grow events, and raise more money for their organizations.
Some key features:
GivingFuel
GivingFuel helps people and organizations fundraise to change the world. GivingFuel offers the ability to create beautiful donation pages plus other fundraising tools like peer-to-peer, event registration, and text-to-give. Already one of the most affordable platforms, GivingFuel is currently offering six months free on their Pro and Enterprise plans.
Some key features:
Hopsie
Hopsie is a fundraising application that provides custom, white-label, and responsive giving pages to nonprofits at an affordable price. The core features include donation forms, crowdfunding projects, peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, and transactional emails for post-gift automated communications.
Some key features:
Kindest
Kindest brings modern marketing methods to the online fundraising world with simple and easy-to-use tools. Their platform combines email campaigns, scheduling, and SMS marketing with powerful CRM, donor engagement, and integrated analytics. This sophisticated yet simple combination takes all important fundraising use cases under one roof.
Some key features:
OneCause
OneCause is a leader in the fundraising tech space, specializing in virtual events and all forms of online giving (especially peer-to-peer fundraising). This complete set of fundraising tools can help you acquire, motivate, and empower more supporters to take part and spread the word about your cause. A highly flexible solution, OneCause supports all types of peer-to-peer activities, including DIY fundraising, runs and walks, virtual campaigns, awareness days, and ambassador fundraising.
Some key features:
RaiseDonors
Complicated, clunky software is costing you donors. RaiseDonors helps nonprofit teams get it right with an intuitive, flexible platform designed to build better donor relationships and increase impact with confidence.
Inefficient software derails your day, wastes your time, and stalls your growth. But technology should remove barriers. It should be intuitive. And it should help you do more. RaiseDonors helps scale your team’s impact without the stress by focusing on these key pillars of technological growth.
Some key features:
Raklet
Raklet is an all-in-one nonprofit management software designed with both donors and volunteers in mind. With Raklet, your organization can fundraise, create events and so much more – all with easy-to-use technology. Their robust solution delivers a wide variety of features so that you can power donor engagements and fuel your mission.
Some key features:
Soapbox Engage
Soapbox Engage is a powerful set of online apps for changemakers. With their donations app, you can easily create an unlimited number of engaging, mobile-friendly donation forms. Your transactions are processed on your website and saved directly to Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics, radically reducing overhead so you can spend more time on your mission.
Some key features:
With all these options to choose from, you’re bound to find the fundraising platform that’s right for you for this season and for years to come. And don’t forget, when you find a solution that helps with matching gifts, you’ll raise even more. Good luck!
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.