Workplace Giving Campaign Coordinator`s Handbook

Workplace Giving Campaign
Coordinator’s Handbook
Thank you for serving as the employee giving Campaign Coordinator for
MaineShare’s workplace giving campaign. This important role helps employees learn
about and support the work of the important charities offered through the campaign.
Workplace Giving produces nearly three fourths of the money we raise for our member
groups each year. Your work as the Campaign Coordinator and the money raised
helps to fund groups working that are working for a clean, healthy, and prosperous
Maine!
Your role as the Campaign Coordinator can be very rewarding. It is a chance to
strengthen your leadership skills and communicate with all employees. Your work has
a direct positive impact on the lives and environment of the people of Maine!
The booklet will assist you in planning a successful employee giving campaign. Our
goal is to make the campaign as easy as possible for you!
Many thanks from MaineShare and our Member Organizations!
What does a Campaign Coordinator Do?

Works closely with MaineShare staff to develop an efficient campaign plan that fits
with your workplace.

Provides information to employees about MaineShare so they can make informed
decisions.

Organizes campaign presentations.

Publicizes the campaign via posters, e-mails or letters.

Coordinates the distribution and collection of pledge forms.

Prepares and returns the final reports and pledge forms.

Thanks volunteers and donors.

As an organization, MaineShare values integrity/ethics/fairness/truth, compassion,
justice, inclusiveness, commitment, community, stewardship, respect, diversity, and
fostering tolerance. These values correspond to how we do our work everyday, and
how our members do their work.

MaineShare’s workplace giving campaign is
"donor driven" - donors may designate all or part
of their contributions to specific member organizations. Staff and board make no decisions about
how the donor’s money is distributed. Donors
choose how to distribute their gift on the pledge
form.

Member groups work on prevention. They work to
provide solutions to environmental and human
problems facing Maine.

MaineShare is efficient. Our member groups help
keep our administrative costs low through contributing volunteer work hours. Each member group
contributes to the running of MaineShare, helping with volunteer tasks, serving on
committees, or providing needed office help.
This system enables us to have a small staff and keep our costs down.
Payroll giving has a reputation for being
one of the highest-yield and lowest-cost
methods of fundraising for nonprofit
organizations.
O R G A N I Z A T I O N S
M E M B E R
M A I N E S H A R E
Causes you care about! Your gifts support...
THE ENVIRONMENT
Chewonki ● Friends of Casco Bay ● Maine Audubon ● Maine Organic Farmers and
Gardeners Association ● Maine Resource Recovery Association ● Natural
Resources Council of Maine ● Sierra Club Foundation, Maine Chapter Fund ●
Viles Arboretum
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND PEACE
American Civil Liberties Union of ME Foundation ● Disability Rights Maine
EqualityMaine ● Maine Animal Coalition ● Maine Citizens for Clean Elections
Maine Council of Churches ● Maine Equal Justice ● Maine Federation of Humane
Societies ● Maine Peace Fund ● Maine People’s Resource Center ● Maine
Veterans for Peace ● Resources for Organizing and Social Change ● Southern
Maine Workers’ Center
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Coastal Enterprises Inc. ● Community Financial Literacy ● Genesis Community
Loan Fund ● Maine Farmland Trust ● Maine Center for Economic Policy ● Maine
Initiatives ● Maine Women’s Fund ● Maine Women’s Policy Center ● Women,
Work and Community
SAFETY AND HEALTH
Bicycle Coalition of Maine ● Consumers for Affordable Health Care
Environmental Health Strategy Center ● Maine Access Immigrant Network ●
Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault ● Maine Coalition to End Domestic
Violence ● Maine Hospice Council ● Maine Labor Group on Health
EDUCATION, CULTURAL
DIVERSITY, AND THE ARTS
GLSEN ● Hardy Girls Healthy Women ● Holocaust and Human Rights Center of
Maine ● Maine Alliance for Arts and Education ● Mano en Mano—Hand in Hand ●
Maine Public Broadcasting Network ● WERU
Pre-Campaign:

Set your campaign dates and post them where staff can see.

Update and send in your Workplace Enrollment Form.

Take a few minutes to visit our website to learn more
about MaineShare at www.maineshare.org.
The number one reason
people don’t give is
because they weren’t
asked.

Review your previous campaigns to see what has
worked and what needs improvement.

Meet with your CEO or Senior Management to obtain
their support for the campaign.

Ask management to:
Offer a matching gift program.
Endorse the campaign with a personal e-mail or letter to all employees.
Make a significant first contribution.

Contact MaineShare if you would like to schedule a presentation or if you would like
assistance with planning your campaign.

Notify employees about the campaign. Send out an e-newsletter along with a letter
from the appropriate person about the importance of the campaign. Display
MaineShare posters. Publish an article in the company newsletter if you have one.
During Campaign:

Distribute MaineShare’s pledge form and/or brochure simultaneously with other
appeals to all employees sometime between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
Donors will need to fill out a new pledge form each year, even if they ask to
continue their pledge from the previous year.

Gather interested employees for a 10-minute briefing from MaineShare. We will
plan this at time convenient for you. This may be done jointly with other workplace
charities. Though not required, a personal appeal gives employees a better understanding of their charitable options and a chance to ask questions. Invite the CEO
to attend this meeting.

Post & e-mail weekly progress updates. Send out a friendly reminder to turn in
pledge forms.

Hold fundraisers that may include auctions, jeans day, or raffles.

At the close of your campaign period, please collect all completed pledge forms.
Make sure pledge forms are properly completed and signed.

Return the white copies to MaineShare with any check or cash donations. The
yellow copy goes to your payroll department and the donor keeps the pink copy.
Post campaign:

Saying Thank You is an important part of the campaign! Thank donors and staff
that helped with the campaign. Send a personal note or e-mail to each donor or
arrange a small party announcing the campaign results.

Transmit payroll deduction contributions to MaineShare on a monthly, bi-monthly
or quarterly basis. We track all designations and distribute funds to our member
groups accordingly.
You can find all of the following on the MaineShare website:

About MaineShare

MaineShare Member Groups

Board of Directors
On the Workplace Giving page
you will find:

FAQ’s about MaineShare

MaineShare’s Logo

Pledge Form

Campaign Check List

Campaign Report Form

Employer Enrollment Form
Workplace giving means that employees
give to charitable organizations of their
choice, primarily through payroll
contributions.
"MaineShare is appealing, quick and
easy- giving employees choices that cover a
broad spectrum of statewide issues."
-Ann Michaud, Campaign Coordinator
for Bowdoin College, one of 150
workplaces where MaineShare is offered.
You and your workplace will be asking your peers to support organizations working for
a clean, healthy and prosperous Maine.
Successful Campaign Coordinators know that it takes more effort than just distributing
pledge forms.
Know your facts.




Familiarize yourself with the information in this brochure.
Go to MaineShare’s website and learn about the organizations MaineShare
supports. Find out if any of your employees are involved in any of these groups.
Set a goal for your campaign.
Ask top managers or administrators in your organization to make increased gifts
to start the campaign.
Ask in practical terms




Ask for contributions in terms potential donors can relate to: $1 per pay period,
the price of a cup of coffee each week, or the amount the donor might spend
on movies and dinner.
Say thank you!! Regardless of amount given.
Acknowledge every donation promptly.
Regardless of the outcome, thank each employee for his or her time.
Sample Letter
Dear Colleagues,
Monday, September 23, marks the start of (Your company’s name) Workplace
Campaign on behalf of MaineShare. Campaign packets will be in your mailboxes on
Monday – please take a moment to read through the materials. This annual campaign
is an important and very effective way for all employees at (Your company’s name)
along with other Mainers to support groups working to make Maine a better place to
live.
(Your company’s name) own employees benefit from the work that MaineShare’s
member groups provide. I hope that as many of you as possible will participate so that
we may show the community, through our high participation rate, that (Your company’s name) cares.
Where does your money go? You decide. The enclosed pledge form lets you support
each group equally or select your favorites. I thank you for being as generous as you
can be. If you choose not to give this year, I would still ask that you read through the
materials to familiarize or update yourself on the work that MaineShare’s member
groups conduct each year.
MaineShare is an integral part of our community. Giving through our Workplace Campaign, through payroll contributions, to these organizations is truly the simplest and
most effective way to support the people and environment of Maine.
Sincerely,
(Closing)
Pre Campaign e-mail. (This is the time to send MaineShare’s e-newsletter to staff.)
Subject Line: It’s almost time!
It’s almost time for [INSERT COMPANY NAME]’s Charitable Giving Campaign, which
kicks off [DATE]!
During this campaign, all employees will have an opportunity to learn about MaineShare and what its member groups are doing to help keep people and environment of
Maine healthy.
We encourage everyone to attend an informational meeting during the campaign.
These meetings will give you more information about how you can, through a simple
payroll deduction, donate to MaineShare or any of its member groups. It’s a great way
to budget your charitable donations, and it means less effort for you!
Watch for more details in the days to come! To learn more about MaineShare visit their
website at www.maineshare.org
Sample Company Newsletter Article
Contribute to MaineShare: It’s so easy!
For thousands of Mainers, the advent of fall means the
changing of the leaves — and the arrival of charitable
fundraising campaigns in the workplace. [COMPANY
NAME]’s campaign begins on [DATE]. With the help of
donors like you, MaineShare raised over $350,000 for
statewide non-profits last year. These funds support
the work of groups working every day for clean air, safe
food and water, arts, education, fairness, and livable
communities for the people of Maine.
Through [COMPANY]’s employee giving campaign, you and your co-workers can
choose to have contributions sent automatically to your favorite Maine groups. Or, you
can make a general gift to MaineShare that will benefit all groups. Since your contribution is spread out over the course of a year, the amount deducted from each paycheck
is minimal, and all gifts are fully tax-deductible. You can make a difference!
For more information, please contact [INSERT COORDINATOR’S NAME
MaineShare Staff:
Cate Cronin, Executive Director
[email protected]
Sarah Fagg, Associate Director
[email protected]
MaineShare
PO Box 2095
Augusta, Maine 04338
207-622-0105
maineshare.org