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7 factors for a successful employee campaign

The difficulty in finding and securing donors might have some organizations’ fundraising teams looking inward.

During “The A, B, C, D, and E’s of Employee Giving” at the recent Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Conference, Sandy Ogletree, executive director of the UMC Foundation in Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Love Henderson, principal at Henderson Mallory Partners in Austin, Texas, provided seven elements of an effective employee campaign.

* The appeal. Think about theme and timing. Consider what will motivate donors, whether it is hospital priorities, community benefit or something else.

* Leadership. Have a steering committee and involve organizational administrators.

* A tiered approach to solicitation. Have personal and departmental solicitations. Consider ancillary events involving drawings and prizes.

* Look at different ways of giving. Giving can include outright gifts, pledges, payroll deductions and paid time off.

* Practice good stewardship. Provide donors with gratitude and recognition and report how their money is being spent.

* Consider your campaign infrastructure including staffing, timeline and budget for materials, incentives and gifts.

* Evaluate. Analyze response rate, average gift size, net proceeds and average cost per gift. Judge what went well and what didn’t. Explore new ideas.