The Power of Employee Engagement in Corporate Fundraising
When it comes to corporate fundraising, employee engagement can make all the difference. Not just to how successful your fundraising events are, but also how fulfilled your employees feel within your organisation.
From the planning phase through to the day of your fundraiser, getting your employees involved boasts many benefits for both your organisation and your staff. Not only will more hands on deck help with promoting the event and hitting fundraising goals, these types of initiatives also provide employees with an added sense of purpose and motivation in the workplace.
Requiring brainstorming, planning, idea sharing and collaboration, corporate fundraisers offer a great creative outlet to employees. One that encourages team building, problem solving and skill development that their day job may not otherwise provide.
As a highly rewarding initiative, corporate fundraising is ultimately a powerful tool to engage employees and give them a strong sense of purpose and pride while working within your business. In turn, this can contribute to higher retention, boosted morale and improvements in overall workplace culture.
Understanding the Benefits of Employee Engagement in Fundraising
Fostering a Culture of Caring, Giving and Empathy
Corporate fundraising can instil positive values in your organisation and foster a culture of empathy, caring and giving. With like-minded people and the entire business behind them, employees are more likely to get involved in charitable events and put these values into practice.
Not only will these values benefit the charities you choose to support through increased employee engagement and support, but they will also have a positive impact on the workplace culture of your organisation. Employees who feel a sense of reward, achievement and belonging in the workplace are more likely to advocate for your business and the causes it supports.
Over time, as your organisation demonstrates the importance of giving, caring and empathy, more and more employees are likely to get involved and adapt these values in the workplace. In turn, this contributes to the ongoing success of your fundraising initiatives while continuously improving your culture.
Boosting Employee Morale and Job Satisfaction
On top factors like salary and job title, workplace culture is among the biggest contributors to job satisfaction and employee morale. Companies that neglect workplace culture are more likely to have unhappy, unmotivated staff and higher turnover rates. While those with a positive and supportive workplace culture are far more likely to keep staff around for the long run.
Corporate fundraising is a simple yet powerful initiative that can help contribute to a positive workplace culture. Not only does it set the precedent that the organisation is caring and compassionate. But it also gives your employees the opportunity to mix up their work routine, collaborate with individuals from different departments, express themselves creatively and give back to a great cause.
Ultimately, when your employees feel fulfilled within their role and feel that they are working for an organisation that makes a positive impact, they are more likely to be engaged, enthusiastic and passionate about their job. Collaborating with colleagues for a good cause can also help with interpersonal relationships in the workplace, which can also have a significant impact on overall employee sentiment and job satisfaction.
10 Corporate Fundraising Ideas to Engage Your Employees
1. Office Olympics
Great for those who love a little competition, an office Olympics can really engage your employees in support of a great cause.
Whether you want something elaborate in a gym or other sports setting, or you want to create your own games suitable for an office setting, this fundraising idea is open to interpretation and can be completely focused on your employees and their ideas for the day.
When planning an office Olympics, be sure to include a range of activities from physical challenges through to creative problem solving and teamwork challenges. This will help to boost participation and ensure no employee feels excluded by your event.
2. Dress Down or Themed Dress Days
Dress down days or themed days are a great way to raise funds for charity while giving your employees the chance to express themselves in the workplace. For offices with a smarter dress code, dress down days are a super simple yet impactful method of getting employees involved that may otherwise not take part in a fundraising initiative.
Themed days are also ideal to engage employees, particularly for those who enjoy being creative. Not only is this fun for those who take part, it’s also a great conversation starter and can help in promoting the charitable initiative within your organisation.
3. Charity Run/Walk/Bike Events
Events that incorporate exercise are a popular option for corporate fundraisers and can be great for raising large amounts of money.
Employees that commit to a run, walk or biking challenge will likely have to physically train and prepare for the event. And with the support of the organisation and an important cause behind them, these employees will often do all they can to raise as much money as possible.
Typically, everyone will have their own fundraising page. This is a fantastic motivator for the employee who’s committed to the challenge. Employees are also likely to share the charity event or fundraising page with their own networks, ensuring plenty of awareness for your chosen charity.
4. Battle of the Departments
Giving each department in your business a fundraising challenge can help maximise awareness of a chosen cause, as well as the potential funds raised.
With the overarching objective of who can raise the most money for charity, departmental challenges can really encourage creative thinking, brainstorming, collaboration and teamwork in order to meet the objective.
Adding a bit of healthy competition into the mix with a ‘Battle of the Departments’, is a fun way to get staff involved in charitable initiatives, including those who may not typically take part in larger events.
5. The Great Company Bake-Off
A quick, simple and extremely impactful charity fundraising idea is a classic bake-off event. In this challenge, employees commit to bringing in their finest baking creations. Whether it’s a Victoria sponge, a batch of brownies or some gooey cookies, the goal is to raise as much money as possible for charity and win the title of Star Baker.
Baked goods always go down a treat in virtually any office setting. This makes a bake-off challenge a great way to raise money while giving a fun, competitive element to those taking part.
6. Matching Gift and Donation Programs
Matching donations and gift programs can help incentivise employees to donate to and promote the charitable cause your organisation is raising funds for. With the knowledge that every donation will be doubled by the company, employees are more likely to give what they can, knowing it will have an even bigger impact than it would on its own.
Matching donations can make the fundraising effort seem even more impactful and exciting as the number quickly climbs and employees see the impact of the initiative in real-time. Overall, this is a simple yet very powerful option to encourage donations and get employees excited about charitable initiatives.
7. Charity Auction
Charity auctions can be an incredibly exciting and engaging event for those who take part, particularly when there are fantastic items up for grabs. With the knowledge that all proceeds go to charity, employees or other attendees will be more likely to give generously. They will be incentivised by the items on offer, as well as the potential to give back and do good.
For maximum impact, be sure to have some great things in the mix. This could be a luxury spa break, some signed memorabilia or a special experience to drum up excitement.
8. Skill-Based Fundraising Events
Skill-based events such as hackathons, bake-offs, talent shows or even Lego building competitions can bring employees with similar passions and interests together. And raise money at the same time too.
To garner as much participation as possible, why not send out a survey or suggestions sheet to your organisation to see what type of skill-based events you can host? Not only can there be a fundraising goal to hit, things like hackathons can also lead to new ideas and efficiencies being made for your organisation – a win-win for all!
9. Payroll Giving
Payroll giving means employees can donate money to a cause with minimal fuss.
Whether employees have no cash or change to spare on the day of an event, or simply want to give a large or small amount more discreetly, payroll giving is a quick and efficient option for them to give what they wish to with ease.
Not only that, payroll giving allows your employees to donate to a charitable cause without paying tax on the donation.
10. Sponsored Silence
Though quiet, a day of sponsored silence can be an amusing and highly engaging activity for employees.
More challenging than it sounds, employees must commit to staying completely silent for a set amount of time. This encourages them to come up with creative ways of communicating, leading to unique and innovative problem solving, as well as new methods of teamwork.
With the incentive of a charitable cause behind them, your staff are less likely to give up on this rather difficult challenge, making for a fun and memorable charity event.
Bonus – Use Easyfundraising to Help Raise Money for Charity
easyfundraising offers a simple and impactful solution for organisations looking for an engaging charity initiative for their employees. We’ve partnered with over 7,500 brands who will donate a portion of what you spend with them to a charity of your choice.
With these fees covered by the brands themselves, your employees benefit from easy and enjoyable online shopping in their favourite places, all the while donating to charity at no extra cost to them.
For organisations who want to give back but are short of time, struggling for staff resource or unsure of where to start with corporate fundraising, this is a simple and engaging solution that your employees are likely to take part in. And if you’re running in-person events with your employees, you can also use easyfundraising as an ongoing way to supplement these fundraising efforts.
Strategies to Encourage Employee Participation
Communication and Recognition
From the outset, you should clearly communicate all the essentials about the charity you choose to support, as well as the potential events that will be taking place as part of the fundraising effort. Communicating this through engaging emails, flyers and open forums or meetings can ensure your employees fully understand the cause, its importance, and why their participation is meaningful and valuable.
For those who do take part in the initiative, recognition is also an important factor in not only saying thank you for the time and effort invested, but also to encourage repeat participation and advocacy to get others involved as well.
Incorporating Fun and Social Elements
Combining a charitable event with a social, interactive outing is another option to get staff involved in your fundraising efforts.
Whether it’s a scavenger hunt around the city, a movie night or some simple beer, pizza and board games in the office after work, a relaxed, social event can be just the thing that encourages participation within your workplace.
No matter what event you put on for charity, ensuring the fun doesn’t feel forced and that there are genuinely enjoyable elements will make all the difference to employee enthusiasm and participation. Taking polls and surveys after your events can help you improve on this as you go too.
The Power of Employee Engagement in Fundraising
Employee engagement has a significant impact on corporate fundraising efforts, both in terms of funds and awareness raised, as well as employee participation and satisfaction. When employees are engaged, they become passionate advocates for the cause and your organisation alike, and are more committed to making a positive impact.
Employees who are engaged in fundraising and philanthropy will also drive a positive workplace culture that improves their wellbeing, morale and overall job satisfaction. No matter what corporate fundraising idea you choose, ensuring your employees are engaged throughout the process can make all the difference.
Ready to dive into corporate fundraising? You can get started in just a few minutes with easyfundraising. Not only can we help you raise money for charity and engage your employees, but with a site packed with helpful resources, we can also provide tips, ideas and support with all aspects of your charitable fundraising.