As a coordinator, your ideal role will be to educate co-workers about their giving options through the Charitable Fund Drive. Events and activities listed below can raise the visibility of the Fund Drive as well as raise awareness of participating nonprofits.
Executive or Management Involvement
In addition to many of the fun events that your executive team can be part of to encourage participation, there are two other ways in which they can help promote involvement:
- Match the first $5 of every employee’s gift made online or through a paper form. The manager may want to specify payroll gifts or gifts of a certain dollar amount.
- Make a gift of a set dollar amount for every employee that makes a gift online or submits a paper form. The dollar amount will depend on how many employees are in your department and the manager’s personal donation budget.
Community Awareness Event Ideas
Lunch & Learns - One of the best ways to raise awareness of the Charitable Fund Drive’s work within the community and how participating organizations are benefiting Oregonians is to host a (or a series of) Lunch and Learns for staff. The programs can be specific to the Fund Drive or blend the Fund Drive with diversity committee, sustainability committee, or other organizational goals. The CMO Team can help set these presentations up for you.
Agency Tours & Speakers – Have one or more Fund Drive agencies speak via Zoom or other online platform at your kickoff events, other campaign activities, or at a staff meeting. It is a great way to showcase the work being done and the breadth of organizations to support. Some organizations have videos they can share with you to distribute to your staff.
Create an “I Give” wall – have staff members use an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper to write why they give to the community through the CFD, take a "selfie", and send the images to you. Build a wall of support for the community.
Stories at a staff meeting - Share your own story and encourage co-workers to share their stories about how they have benefited from organizations that are part of the Charitable Fund Drive and/or why they give.
Fun Virtual Events for Kickoffs and Fundraisers
Agencies around Oregon have had a lot of fun kicking off the Charitable Fund Drive with events to raise awareness about the campaign. Put your own spin on these suggestions from your fellow Charitable Fund Drive coordinators. Do something that suits your agency’s culture and style.
Lunch Box or Dessert Auction – Employees provide lunches, picnic baskets, cakes or other desserts to be auctioned to their co-workers with socially distant deliveries. Prizes are given for the most creative or elegant submissions.
Virtual Concert – Have you got a talented musician, comic or poet on your team? Set up a Friday night virtual concert, sell tickets enjoy from anywhere.
Virtual Classes – Maybe someone will teach how to make their Grandmother's Apple Pie, or share the secrets of their famous potato salad! Or, maybe people would love to know how to paint using watercolors. Whatever skill you can share, create a class online! Team members pay to attend, and it can be either pre-record or live.
Happy / Social / Lunch Hour with a Funder or Foundation – Invite the Funder of your choosing to have a formal or informal presentation with online forum.
Virtual 5K – Using a fitness tracker, create a competition for who reaches the most steps by the end of the week. Submissions can be posted nightly to keep a tally by taking photos of the tracker and sending it to the coordinator. Prizes for the highest number.
Virtual Movie Night – Set up a virtual movie night with
Netflix Party! Encourage people to grab their favorite snack and join you Netflix party using a link.
Guest Speaker Series – Choose a subject theme such as The Science, History and Modern Developments of Making Beer or The History of Southern Oregon. Collect your speakers, employees pay to attend virtually.
Baby Face Contest – Select employees to send photos of themselves as babies. Create a simple document that you can send out to employees. Ask co-workers to pay $1 per ballot to match the baby pictures to the correct employees. A prize goes to the employee who correctly identifies the most babies.
Virtual Talent Contest – Kick off the Charitable Fund Drive with a Zoom talent show – ask employees who play music, juggle, or have other performing talents to show what they can do!