Vision
 Enhancing the quality of life in Southeast Texas

Mission
To provide visionary leadership in uniting the community's resources of donors, volunteers, and organizations. This is expressed through:

• A single community campaign for member agencies.

• Volunteer needs assessment and allocations to agencies for year-round operations and programs.

• Consultation services to member agencies.

• Community planning.

• Volunteer recruitment and training.

     Photos© scottrobinsonphoto.com

How to run a successful campaign

1. Set objectives
Take a close look at prior campaign results and talk with the previous campaign coordinator. Consider:
What are your areas of improvement?

• How can you get more people to give, or encourage those who give to increase their gift?

• What departments or areas of your organization usually give the most and why?

• What opportunities exist in the areas of increased giving, publicity, etc.?

• Are you reaching all possible givers?

2. Get the Boss's Support
Enlist your senior management's visible and personal support to ensure your campaign is a success.
This can include:

• Providing time and resources for planning meetings, agency tours, and employee rallies, supporting employee solicitation by encouraging payroll deduction and speaking at your Kickoff Rally.

• Making a personal contribution and helping to solicit top management.

• Involvement in setting the company goal.

• Writing a personal letter to employees.

• Encouraging new employees to sign up by payroll deduction when they are hired.

3. Recruit your campaign team
Your campaign team can help spread enthusiasm and information about United Way and your company campaign. Get help in soliciting pledges and calculating results. Include the leaders of your organization who have the respect and admiration of co-workers and who will be influential when it counts.
You may want to include:

• Respected employees who believe in United Way.

• Editor of the employee newsletter.

• A member of your payroll or human resources staff.

• Employees who have benefited from agencies supported by the United Way.

• Labor leaders (if appropriate).

• Employees who have volunteer experiences at United Way agencies.

4. Set Your Goal
Your goal helps you to maximize the amount of money you collect. Set a goal that is slightly more than you think you can raise. This causes you to stretch and improve your employee campaign. Once you have a goal that you, your senior management, and your campaign team agree on, be sure you communicate it to your organization's employees.

5. Promote your Campaign

• General Campaign Kick-off

• Special Events (Raffle drawings, contests, and department competitions.)

• Employee Publications
  Include an article about an agency tour, or an endorsement message from your senior management or a labor union official.

• Additional Promotional Formats
  Use public address, company email or CRT message systems, banners, company video, interdepartmental memos, large goal posters in lobbies or employee entrances, and United Way flags.

6. Use United Way Resources

• Campaign Materials
  United Way will provide you with pledge cards and brochures for each employee. Banners, contributor pins or stick-ons, and support materials are available upon request.

• Agency Tours
  Visit a member agency with your planning team or employees to build knowledge and enthusiasm. Share this memorable experience at your rally. Call 835-4575 to set up your tours.

• Speakers
  Invite a fellow employee who has used a United Way service or who has volunteered at a United Way agency to speak at your rally. If you would rather have a speaker from a United Way agency, call 835-4575. Please schedule at least two weeks in advance of your meeting.

7. Hold an Employee Rally

• Should be brief, informative, positive and upbeat.

• Invite senior management and/or union leadership. Ask them to speak briefly in support of the United Way. Have a guest speaker from United Way or one of its member agencies.
  Show the United Way video. (Call 835-4575 to reserve a video)

• Have a question and answer session.

• Solicit every employee:

• Group Solicitation
  As employees enter the rally, distribute personalized pledge cards with a copy of the United Way brochure. Emphasize the importance of the contributor's signature on the pledge, which should be turned in before the end of the rally. All employees not responding to the group solicitation should be individually solicited. (See below.) This gives all employees the opportunity to participate.

• Individual Solicitation
  Following your rally, have your campaign team visit fellow employees one to one to secure a pledge card from each person.

8. Report Results Promptly

The wrap-up of the campaign is extremely important. After you have collected the pledge cards, you will need to tabulate results. Begin by calculating the annual gift from each employee. Next, separate the cards into two categories:
1. Payroll deduction
2. Fully paid gifts (cash or checks)
Finally, count and total the cards in each category and complete the supplied report envelope. Give a copy of the payroll deduction pledge cards to your payroll or human resources department. They will set up the payroll deductions and keep the cards as their authorization to withhold pay from employee's checks.

Copies of all pledge cards, (payroll deductionl and fully paid) should be returned to United Way in your report envelope. It is very important that you account for all pledge cards.
Follow the instructions on the report envelope. Call your volunteer contact or the United Way office at 835-4575 and arrangements will be made to pick up your envelope.
Designations (minimum of $25) may be made to specific Local United Way member agencies.  To make sure designations are properly recorded, please write specific information on the pledge form, or make a list with the following information: employee's name, designated agency (if more than one, include all agencies), and the amount of the designation, and the address to be used for acknowledgment.
Example:
Bill Smith
700 North Street
Beaumont, TX 77701
Boy Scouts - $75.00, Family Services - $25.00

9. Say "Thank You"
Let your fellow employees know how much was raised and how much good it will do. Ask your employee newsletter editor to do a wrap-up story. Thank your campaign team and contributing employees and report the final results to your senior management.