The Season of Giving
Tis the season of giving!
When you read this, perhaps your thoughts jump to the upcoming Christmas holiday and the need to finish your last-minute shopping for family and friends.
Unfortunately for many United Way staff, the season of giving is that stressful time of year when you agonize about how to get people to give to their workplace campaigns to make your campaign goal. Like a Christmas carol playing on repeat, the seasonal refrains I hear from United Way staff over and over this time of year are “I am too busy” and “Things are crazy.”
What a wonderful life it would be if everyone gave to a workplace campaign! Since Santa is unlikely to grant that Christmas wish anytime soon, it begs the question “Why aren’t people giving to workplace campaigns?”
One of the most interesting statistics we have discovered from years of research for local United Ways is this: over half of the people who did not give to United Way last year have given to United Way at some point in their lives. We have found this to be the case in every community we have surveyed, urban and rural, large and small, throughout the United States since 2008.
It will come as no surprise why people no longer give to United Way – they were not asked. At some point in their careers, many people have been exposed to a workplace campaign. Due to retirement, job changes, or companies discontinuing workplace campaigns, these people are no longer being asked to give to their local United Way at their workplace.
It is encouraging to know that our research has also found that most people who once gave to United Way would do so again if they were asked. So, the solution is easy: United Ways must ask people to give – outside of the workplace.
I can hear you muttering, “All we do is ask people to give.” But, are United Ways really asking people to give? In most cases, workplace campaigns include someone asking people to give, whether that is someone from your United Way, a partner agency representative, or an employee campaign coordinator. However, with so many people no longer exposed to workplace campaigns, the challenge for United Ways is finding other methods to ask people to give.
Most United Ways offer an online giving option. This is great, but in nearly every case, donors must find the online giving option. If someone takes the effort to go to your website and finds the “donate” button, then they could give online. I commonly refer to this as the challenge of ask versus find.
It is easy for your United Way to put a “donate” button on your website, but the problem is potential donors that are not exposed to a workplace campaigns are going to be challenged to find it. It can be difficult for United Way to ask people to give, but donors will find it easier to give when they are asked. It is obvious that United Ways need to do everything in their power to ask people to give – making it easier for donors, even if it is a challenge for United Ways to do so.
We would suggest that the solution is not holding more workplace campaigns. Check out Sarah’s recent blog post “Is Your Workplace Campaign a Dead Horse” for some thoughts about workplace campaigns. We council United Ways to ask people to give through affinity groups, special events, sponsorships, and grants. Just looking at the recent Giving Tuesday results, the most successful United Ways were out in their communities asking people to give, not just waiting for people to find them just because it was Giving Tuesday. No matter what method you choose, your United Way must make the effort to reach out to people and ask them to give.
One last thought about the season of giving – is it truly a season anymore? Most United Ways have realized that raising money is no longer something that is done between campaign kickoff and the celebration. The season of giving is now year-round. United Ways should be asking people to give year-round as well.
From all of us at Perspectives, we wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a bountiful season of giving!