Microsoft recently announced its employees have raised $1 billion for nonprofits in a little more than 30 years. The company celebrated with additional $25,000 grants for nonprofits. The announcement provided a great public relations platform for Microsoft, but it also demonstrates the power of developing corporate partnerships for your nonprofit organization.
Employee giving can move the needle for critical causes in communities.
The recent USA Giving report showed a 13.7% percent increase in funds given by corporations, including employee giving campaigns. Businesses increasingly understand the importance of giving back to the community and more importantly, maximizing opportunities for their employees to do the same (Source: Forbes).
uBack’s own research shows that millennials especially want to work for organizations that recognize the importance of giving back to their communities. When it comes to employee giving and match opportunities, this important demographic also wants the ability to support the causes that matter the most to them. They don’t want to be forced into supporting those organizations that the company has deemed important. How is your organization working to tap into these important revenue sources?
Here are three ways you can ensure you are maximizing any employee giving initiative.
Corporate Visibility
It can be a challenge for nonprofit organizations to ensure corporate brand visibility when it comes to match opportunities. When you launch any employee giving or corporate match initiative, develop a process and mechanism to make sure you are able to (1) provide visibility for the partnerships and (2) track how that visibility drove engagement or growth.
Social Sharing
Millennials are more likely to share information with their social networks than any other demographic. They also are more likely to garner information from social than any other platform. If you want to truly drive results, you need to align your efforts with social platforms. Here are some key questions to consider:
- How are we enabling corporate organizations and employees to promote our cause socially with their own professional and individual networks?
- How are people able to challenge their own personal networks to support the cause too?
- How are we able to track social impact?
Make it Easy
Finally, it’s important to meet your donors where they are. If you’re targeting employee donors who can leverage a company match, you need to make it easy for those donors to give, no matter the size of their donation. Five dollars may not do much for your organization, but 1,000 people giving $5 can likely move the needle.
Every year, online and mobile giving drives more funds for nonprofits. The digital economy is an incredible opportunity for nonprofits that draft into platforms that meet donors where they are – online and on their phones.
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