Doing Things a Different Way
Doing Things a Different Way
Jan. 31, 2006
By Abny Santicola, associate editor, FundRaising Success
Unlike many large national nonprofit organizations, the United Way is driven from the bottom up, with its more than 1,300 community-based member organizations running their own independent campaigns. Also unusual is the fact that the bulk of donations to these local offshoots of the national organization come via workplace giving, in which employees agree to have regular donations automatically deducted from their paychecks.
According to Steve Sanderson, vice president for major markets in the investor relations team for the United Way, there are three important variables when conducting your annual campaign in the workplace: reach, relationship and differentiation.
1) Reach. Having access to a workplace is a start but, Sanderson says, "Once we have the opportunity to go on site and be part of their campaigns, we still have to reach all of the employees within the structure that the organization has."
2) Relationship. It's important to develop relationships with people so they "know and understand where their money is going, how it's working and what difference those funds are making," Sanderson says.
3) Differentiation. This involves "demonstrating to individuals, potential contributors, exactly who we are, what we're doing and what's different about what we're doing that's making a real impact in our community," he adds.
Cooperation and commitment from companies is a must in order to solicit in the workplace, but Sanderson says there also needs to be a commitment on the part of the nonprofit organization to make the process as seamless as possible.
"Workplaces are businesses, and they're businesses of operation," Sanderson says. "So United Way works with them within their operational structure so that not only will it be a quality experience when we communicate the good work of the community that we're in when we're sharing this message, but it's also an efficient use of the employees' time."
Steve Sanderson can be reached via http://www.unitedway.org
