One of the best ways for companies to increase employee engagement while improving their communities is through workplace giving programs. And the most effective workplace giving happens when companies lead their staff in campaigns that have a little pizazz.

Yes, believe it or not, giving campaigns can be cool. But how do you put the fun in fundraiser so that your employees actually want to participate?

When casting about for fundraising ideas - ones that also happen to be employee engagement ideas - start with the 3Fs: food, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and first-place.

Allow me to explain.

1. Food

Nothing breaks up the work day like a particularly nice meal; lots better than the usual cold sandwich wolfed down desk-side, no? So sponsor a fun lunch catered by the yummiest spot in town, invite employees to attend for a reasonable price per head, and donate all the proceeds to a non-profit. Better yet, widen the net by inviting clients and community members, and encourage your employees to sell tickets to their networks. The casual tone of a lunch-raiser at your office makes this easy to tackle. Just set up a buffet, turn on some music, and voila. Insta-giving.

2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Take a page from Ferris and designate a day where employees take a day off from work to collectively volunteer for a charity. Go one step further and implement a dollars for doers program; for every hour an employee volunteers, the company matches it with a cash donation. If your company is huge, break up the volunteers into various groups and work for different non-profits. Add some gamification to the mix by seeing which group can raise the most money either through volunteer hours or donations.

3. First-place

Did someone say competition? Get your employees fired up by challenging your staff to create their own fundraisers. Top performers can be rewarded with unique prizes like an extra vacation day or special privileges such as “work from home week.” Implementing a robust corporate philanthropy and volunteering program that incorporates donation processing will help your organization create and manage competitive fundraising campaigns, even across different office locations, making it easy for every employee to track their progress and efforts. Competitive social fundraisers can be a memorable way to support good causes while improving the relationships employees have with each other and your company.

Regardless of the fundraising tactic you choose, the main point to remember is that the level of participation from your employees is the key to your campaign’s success. So if you want your workplace giving program to function as an employee engagement program, lead by example. Employees need to know that upper management is actively supporting the effort; after all, if the boss isn’t participating, why should they?



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