· dear , , thank you for your generous donation last year as a
TRANSCRIPT
CEO Ask Letter to Employees (Option 1)
<insert date>
Dear <insert employee name>,
During the next few weeks, you will be hearing a great deal about our local
United Way. <insert local United Way name> recruits people and organizations
from across the community to bring passion, expertise and commitment to get
things done. By focusing on the building blocks for a good quality of life —
education, income, and health — United Way is strengthening communities
and opportunities for all who live there.
Please take time this year to learn more about how United Way is advancing the
common good and join me and many other employees who Live United. There
is a lot you can do. You can give, you can advocate, and you can volunteer.
An explanation of United Way’s work and a pledge form is attached (or pledge
online with instructions). Plus, over the next few weeks, you will have many
opportunities to hear and learn more about the difference United Way makes in
our community. Please join me in supporting United Way.
Thank you.
<insert name of CEO>
CEO Ask Letter to Employees (Option 2) <insert date>
Dear <insert employee name>,
At <insert company name>, we’ve always been about helping others and
strengthening the community. Now our commitment is even more important.
Soon you’ll have the opportunity to show how much you care by supporting the
annual United Way campaign. United Way advances the common good by
creating opportunities for a better life for all. Your donation, no matter what
the amount, makes a difference and is vitally important.
With one gift to United Way, you will touch the lives of many individuals and
families. When we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all.
We all win when a child has a head start on quality education that leads to
success in future jobs, when individuals have enough income to support a family
through retirement, and when we all enjoy good health.
These results and changes have benefits that ripple out to the community as a
whole, helping others and strengthening the community. Now, more than ever,
your gift goes further with United Way.
We will be kicking off our United Way workplace campaign on <insert date>. Our
campaign team has put together a series of great events for us to support. Let’s
make this the most successful campaign ever!
Please join me in giving to United Way and complete the enclosed contribution
form (or pledge online with instructions). Remember you can give, you can
advocate and you can volunteer. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED.
If you have any questions about the campaign, please contact <insert employee
campaign coordinator name(s) and contact information>.
Sincerely,
<insert name of CEO>
CEO Ask Letter to Employees who previously donated (Option 3)
<insert date>
Dear <insert employee name>,
<insert employee name>, Thank you for your generous donation last year as a <insert company name>
employee.
United Way recruits people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and
resources needed to get things done. Last year, your gift was combined with others to
help advance the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all.
Our company’s 2011 United Way campaign will begin on <insert date>. During the
campaign, you will hear more about the impact United Way is making in helping
families move from barely surviving to succeeding.
For 123 years, United Way has been the trusted leader mobilizing resources to
address the community’s most pressing issues, resulting in solutions that create
measurable progress. Your donation allows United Way to continue to strategically
focus on — education, income and health — the building blocks for a good life.
Each of us can share something, so please join me in making a generous gift to
United Way. I invite you to connect with <insert employee campaign coordinator
name(s) and contact information> to take an agency tour, volunteer and get more
involved with our company campaign.
Your gift, your voice and your talent are unique and important. When you share these
with others, you exemplify what it means to LIVE UNITED.
Sincerely,
Sample Campaign Plan
Getting Started
Establish your committee right now! Every department should be
represented including union representatives
Pick up campaign materials at UWRC and utilize them immediately
Hang UWRC flyers throughout each department
Establish a date and time for presentations
Inform UWRC of the date and time so a UWRC representative can attend
Educate and motivate your campaign coordinators
Set campaign goal
Aim for 100% participation from your organization
Refer to “Keep the Fun in Fundraising” insert for new ideas
Refer to “Key Phrases” and the “Fact Sheet” inserts for additional talking points
The Perfect Campaign Presentation – 20 Minutes
Distribute pledge form
Welcome by campaign coordinator 2 minutes
Introduce UWRC presenter
Explain what it means to “Live United” 2 minutes
(refer to “How to Live United” insert)
Explain UWRC initiatives “who we help” 2 minutes
(refer to Community Impact Information Sheet)
If available, introduce speaker
Stress that UWRC is local & every dollar counts
Introduce UWRC video & play it 6 minutes
Incentive Information 2 minutes
Explain the various ways to donate: 3 minutes
Cash, Payroll Deduction, Credit Card, Stock, Online
Offer to answer any questions
(refer to “Frequently asked questions”)
Encourage them to complete pledge form 3 minutes
After your presentations
Keep up the communication
Within committee, with top management, with all co-workers
Use e-mail, bulletin boards, mailboxes
Use case stories/testimonials to make the case to give
Keep your committee informed of their progress
For more information visit our website www.uwrc.org
Show your enthusiasm
Thank everyone often
~ Over, please ~
Before you finish the campaign
Each person should be approached again
If you already have their card, thank them again
Collect all pledge cards regardless of whether a donation is made
If they are uncertain about donating ask again on the last day
Completely answer questions
Prior to reporting results to United Way
Total results & communicate success
Submit pledge cards to payroll
Please remember to submit them to UWRC after payroll is
completed
Thank you/wrap up meeting (include food!)
Start planning other UWRC events to increase visibility
Food, back-to-school, children’s books, toys, toiletry drives
E-mail updates throughout the year to donors
KEY CAMPAIGN PHRASES
LIVE UNITED
LIVING UNITED MEANS THINKING OF WE BEFORE ME
WHEN WE REACH OUT A HAND TO ONE, WE INFLUENCE THE
CONDITION OF ALL
IT TAKES EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY, WORKING TOGETHER, TO
CREATE A BRIGHTER FUTURE
THE MOST POWERFUL WAY TO INVEST YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS TO
GIVE TO THE UWRC COMMUNITY ACTION FUND
ADVANCING THE COMMON GOOD MEANS CREATING
OPPORTUNITIES FOR A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL
THERE ARE BASIC THINGS WE ALL NEED FOR A GOOD LIFE
INCOME, EDUCATION AND HEALTH
A quality education that leads to a stable job
Income that can support a family
and good health
UNITED WAY’S GOAL IS TO CREATE LONG-LASTING
CHANGES BY ADDRESSING THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF
PROBLEMS
OBTAIN MEASURABLE RESULTS
YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU WILL NEED THE UNITED WAY
1 OUT OF 3 PEOPLE WILL USE UNITED WAY SERVICES
TOGETHER WE CAN GET RESULTS THAT NO ONE CAN ACCOMPLISH
ALONE
GIVE ADVOCATE VOLUNTEER
Fact Sheet
What is United Way of Rockland County?
The United Way of Rockland County is you, your friends and neighbors. It is a local, independent organization that is run
by volunteers and staff who focus on addressing long-term solutions for health and human Services problems in Rockland
County. Volunteers do everything from raising money from businesses, their employees and our entire community to
evaluating what local programs should be funded. Three full-time and two part-time staff members assist over 550
volunteers who work every day to improve the lives of the people who work and live in Rockland County, New York.
Where does my donated dollar go?
If you give to the United Way of Rockland County’s Community Care Fund, your dollar is combined with hundreds of
thousands more to fund programs that serve everyone from the smallest child to the most senior adult in Rockland.
Whatever is raised here, stays to help here (unless you establish on our pledge form that it is to go elsewhere).
How much of the money raised goes to the programs you fund?
Because the United Way of Rockland relies on volunteers, operating costs stay low so more money can be spent on
needed services. In 20010, United Way of Rockland withheld approximately 14.96% of the total campaign to help fund its
operations. The Better Business Bureau has given us their “seal of approval” for many years and stated that in their
opinion a charity is not spending too much on fundraising as long as the fundraising overhead is less than 33% of what is
raised. These fundraising and administrative costs are much lower than if each organization, supported by United Way,
were to raise the money completely on its own.
What is the history of the United Way movement?
United Way traces its history to 1887 in Denver, when a priest, two ministers and a rabbi planned the first united
campaign for ten health and welfare agencies raising $21,000. But the organizations as we know them today were
developed in the twenties, thirties and forties, when business and labor leaders together sought to reduce the number of
charitable appeals being made to them by conducting a single, efficient, fundraising drive. United Way of Rockland
County was established in 1964.
Today, there are approximately 1220 independent and autonomous United Ways in the United States and many more
across the rest of the world, working with volunteers to improve their community. Approximately 32 million people, one
out of three people employed in the United States, contribute to United Ways each year, making United Way the largest
charity in the country.
Confidentiality
United Way of Rockland County believes that giving is a personal matter. Whether individuals wish to give and how
much they choose is a personal choice and we keep this information confidential. All United Ways are totally opposed to
any type of coercion. Fundraising success is dependant on how much potential donors know and understand the
organization.
How is the United Way governed?
The United Way of Rockland County is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. These volunteers come from all
segments of the community. They serve on committees that plan and implement the campaign, market our service to the
community, study Rockland’s needs and determine where the money that is raised is to go. This process of “citizen
review” allows volunteers to be part of the entire process, to help solve community problems, meet community needs and
to plan for future community requirements by making focused, result-based funding decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are so many good charities – why give to UWRC?
A donation to United Way of Rockland County is the most powerful investment
you can make in your community because it is combined with other gifts –
multiplying their power to reach more people and to impact critical needs in our
community far more than you could do with a single gift to another organization.
A typical United Way donor supports at least one other charity along with their
church, temple or mosque as there are many needs in Rockland to be addressed.
However thousands of people who work and/or live here recognize that UWRC is
a charity that supports initiatives geared to improving lives in our community
regardless of income, background, race, ethnicity or background.
I don’t use these services – so why should I support them?
You never know when you will need United Way – don’t you want them to be
there for you when you do?
Your contribution is an investment in your future as well as your family’s future.
Whatever we raise this year for Rockland will be given out next year for
programs that help you, your co-workers, neighbors and friends.
The world would be a much better place if we could all take care of ourselves and
no one needed our help. However, none of us really goes through life alone, and
none of us is really beyond the problem of sickness or the tragedy an accident can
bring. The great thing about United Way is that it provides one very practical
way for self-sufficient…and fortunate…people to give direct help to people who
cannot help themselves, such as a neglected child, a person in crisis or an elderly
retiree.
I live outside of Rockland County – why should I give here?
Many people who work here use the services of our non-profit community
throughout the work day (such as child care, United Way’s 211 helpline etc.).
Local businesses such as ours are running a United Way of Rockland County
campaign because they believe in supporting United Way’s work.
If you also want to support the local United Way in which you live, make that
clear on your pledge form.
Why don’t you fund my favorite agency OR I don’t like that you support xyz agency.
This year UWRC opened up its grant process to ALL non-profits in Rockland and
is concentrating on initiatives to focus on issues that Rockland residents
prioritized for us.
The community Initiatives that we are funding are focused on literacy, financial
stability and family supports.
Have you been touched by the United Way?
Have you (or any member of your family) friend, neighbor or co-worker:
1. had a house fire?
2. taken a CPR course?
3. cared for an elderly parent, grandparent or family member?
4. been treated for mental or emotional problems?
5. had a problem with alcohol or drugs?
6. did not know where or how you were going to pay for food or utility bills?
7. been a victim of domestic violence?
8. just needed someone to talk to on the phone?
9. been a companion to a younger child?
10. needed clothing for school age children?
11. been in a flood or tornado?
12. been sexually assaulted?
13. participated in a community center program?
14. mentored anyone?
15. know anyone with Down’s syndrome?
16. needed to visit a food pantry?
17. had meals delivered to your home?
18. worked with a deaf or blind person?
19. needed emergency shelter?
20. had a legal problem?
21. needed day care for a child?
22. utilized an afterschool program?
23. needed help learning to read?
If you have said YES to any of the above, you may have been touched by a
program funded by the United Way of Rockland County’s Community Care Fund.
The message: If you want to help the most members of our community,
please give to the United Way of Rockland County Community Care Fund.
Incentive Information
1. FOR COMPANIES THAT MATCH: Remind your employees that their
company really believes in the results that come from donating to United
Way. They will match each donation, so your dollar goes even further.
2. Additional Incentives: Be Creative!
Examples:
a. Have a raffle to encourage employees to donate with
prizes such as:
The parking spot nearest the door
Leaving an hour early
Dress down day
b. 100% participation = a bagel breakfast
THANK EVERYONE AGAIN AND AGAIN! Remind them that you never know
when you will need the United Way and the only way that we will be there to help
is if we receive support in whatever amount you can afford today.
KEEP THE FUN IN FUNDRAISING
1. Bring small prizes such as: candy, pens or keychains
2. Begin with a few ice breaker questions & give a prize
Examples:
Who has worked here the longest?
Whose birthday is nearest to today?
Who has the most children?
Who is wearing blue socks?
Who is wearing contact lenses?
3. Add an element of surprise:
Before the presentation attendees arrive, place a sticky under a seat and who ever
is sitting in that chair gets a small prize
4. Who’s been listening?
While people are filling out their pledge forms ask Q&A’s about the UWRC
Examples:
What is the UW Motto? (Live United)
What is the UW of Rockland Website? (www.uwrc.org)
What is the UW largest day of community service called? (Day of Caring)
What are the UW Worldwide 3 Impact Areas? (Education, Income & Health)
Name a service specific to the UWRC (2-1-1, CA$H)
What percent of Rocklanders are touched by the United Way? (1 in 3)
What is the UWRC phone number? 845-358-8929
5. Give an “I donated to the UWRC” sticker to anyone who contributes