Running the Campaign

Why run a United Way Workplace Campaign?

Running a United Way Workplace Campaign is more than collecting money. A Workplace Campaign is a great way to work with people outside your regular teams, as well as interact with people at different levels of the organization. You're also doing something good for the place in which you live; and you'll have some fun while you're at it!

Last year over 600 organizations in Windsor and Essex County raised a total of $6.7 million dollars. We encourage anyone not currently running a Campaign to get involved and show you care about this community! For more information, call (519) 258-0000 x1178.

Workplace Campaign Coordinator

The central person in any organization's Workplace Campaign is the Workplace Campaign Coordinator. Each year, employees from companies throughout Windsor and Essex County step up to lead the United Way campaign in their workplace. The Workplace Campaign Coordinator is the main point of contact for employees in an organization who want to donate to United Way. The Workplace Campaign Coordinator works with their Campaign Cabinet to promote the campaign, solicit donations, and plan and execute workplace fundraisers.

In general, a Workplace Campaign consists of the following elements:

Contact United Way's Fund Development team at (519) 258-0000 x 1178
Select your Campaign Committee and recruit Canvassers
Run Events and Have an Agency Speaker come to your workplace
Collect pledges
Report back to your United Way Fund Development Manager

1. Contact United Way's Fund Development team at (519) 258-0000 x 1178
The staff at United Way will help you get the your Campaign rolling and assist you along the way by providing print materials (like pledge forms) as well as helping you plan events and bring in speakers to motivate your workplace to give.

It's never too late (or too early!) to start planning your Campaign, so call United Way today! If you have run a campaign before, you already have a Fund Development Manager who is assigned to help you organize your campaign.

2. Select your Campaign Committee and recruit Canvassers
Your campaign committee is a group of your coworkers who will help you set the goals and timeline as well as organize events for your workplace. Some common goals include:

Approaching 100% of employees
Increasing employee participation over last years'
Increasing the number and amount of payroll deductions

Canvassers are those people who will help you collect pledges and talk to employees individually.

3. Run Events and Have an Agency Speaker Come to Your Workplace

Events
Many companies host one or more events during their Campaign time. A general rule is one event to kick-off your Campaign, and then depending on the timeline of your campaign, additional events throughout your Campaign to keep morale high and bring awareness of the Campaign back to the forefront in your organization. Examples of great events in Windsor and Essex include barbeques, bake sales, auctions, and dress down days. If you have a great idea for your organization's fundraiser, we want to hear it!

Agency Speakers
Agency Speakers are persons who work for or have been affected by the funds that are received from the United Way. These persons know firsthand the value of donating to the Windsor-Essex Community through United Way and can easily demonstrate the impact their donations have on the lives of people in our community. Through the Speakers Bureau program, Workplace Campaign Coordinators can arrange for a speaker from a United Way funded agency to present to donors in the workplace.

Hearing a personal story gives donors a deeper understanding of how their dollars are invested and demonstrates the impact that their donation has on individuals in Windsor-Essex, which can inspire donors to give generously in support of their community.

Your Fund Development Manager is there to assist you with both organizing events and booking an agency speaker.

4. Collect pledges
Canvassers talk to employees individually or in groups to seek their support for United Way. The United Way provides the pledge forms, canvasser training guides, lists of agencies funded by United Way in Windsor and Essex, signage, and other support materials to make your canvassing go smoothly.

5. Report back to your United Way Fund Development Manager
Report back to your United Way Fund Development Manager frequently throughout your Campaign. We want to hear about your successes and help you out if you have any concerns. Once your Campaign is finished, it is essential that all pledges and reports be given to United Way as soon as possible.

For more information on running a successful United Way Workplace Campaign, please see the Workplace Campaign Coordinator and Canvasser brochure (PDF - 230KB)

Other ways to get involved with the United Way Campaign:

Loaned Representatives
During the Annual Campaign, United Way invites persons within the community from outside the United Way to contribute to Campaign in a different and impacting way. A Loaned Representative is an employee of a company or institution in Windsor - Essex who works for and with United Way for the entire four month Campaign period. This person is sponsored by his/her workplace and still receives the same pay and benefits as his/her regular position, but is retained by the United Way as a full-time employee for the Campaign duration. The Loaned Representative experiences a new environment and develops professionally in a wide range of areas, including public speaking, fundraising, time management, networking and office skills.

By "loaning" an employee to the United Way, a company gives its greatest resource. We strive to ensure that the employee returns to the company with renewed enthusiasm and a satisfying work experience. Past Loaned Representatives have come from organizations such as Canada Revenue Agency, CAW Local 195, The City of Windsor, Chrysler, General Motors, Green Shield Canada, Ford Motor Company, Lear Corporation Canada, The University of Windsor, and Zehrs Markets.

"I came back to Green Shield with more knowledge about the community and with different tools to use in my job. Going out to educate and ask people to support the United Way was new and exciting to me. My networking, time management and communication skills were definitely enhanced through this experience."

Ms. Angela Watson, Green Shield Employee
2005 Loaned Representative

For more information on Loaned Representatives, click here or call (519) 258-0000 x 1179 to find out how to become a Loaned Representative or submit someone from your company for consideration.